Love in the midst of chaos

There are going to be times in our lives that we face trials. Times when we have a choice to make, either to honor God or live like the world. These things are going to happen all the time. We live in a fallen world that is so far from perfect. Knowing how to act in the midst of these trials will tell a lot about where your heart is. The bible is very clear on how we are to act when things are coming at us. Many times though we throw that out the window when we feel like we have been wronged, like all the sudden it is OK to not act like Christ. Well lets take a look at what the bible has to say about that.

Romans 12:9-21
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need, Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on this head.” Do not be over come by evil, but over come evil with good.

The love that Paul is speaking about here in this passage is not just emotion, its how we show it with our actions. Our actions should be those that Paul goes on to describe, hopeful, patient, faithful in prayer, peaceful, and sacrificial. We should be thinking of other before we think of ourselves, yes even when that person or those people are the reason for what is going on. When Christ died on the cross, he took on the sin of all men, even the ones that were crucifying Him. We should never believe that it is not OK to seek peace. Just be faithful in prayer and let God handle the rest. It is His to avenge not ours.

Romans 13:8
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law.

Our love for one another should cancel out all debts. Nothing should ever stand in the way of our love for each other.

Galatians 5:6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Galatians 5:15
If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other,

Galatians 6:10
There fore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

The more we fight with each other, attack each other, hurt each other, the less God shows in our lives. We really don’t accomplish anything, but rather just destroy each each other. That is not what God wants from us at all, he wants us to love each other. We are called to love everyone, especially those in the family of believers. Why do we feel as if we can treat a fellow believer different? Or that its right to fight with another believer. We are called to do good to everyone. We are called to love, not separation.

Ephesians 4:2-3
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:31-32
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ god forgave you.

Colossians 3:12-14
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bearing with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

There are many other verses I could quote here. I believe with all my heart, that the first step we should always take no matter what the situation is, is to love. What if we started every action with love, how different would our relationships, our friendships, our families, and our world look. What if before we reacted to anything that happens to us we stop and ask, is my reaction out of love, cause if not then we need to stop right away. I wish I could say this is going to be easy, but its not. It will never be easy cause its not the natural thing. But it is the god honoring thing, and that should be first, When someone does something against you, don’t respond, don’t retaliate, don’t seek revenge, love the person. Do everything in your power to seek peace. Be patient, peace may not happen over night, in might not happen for years, but trust that God is making things right, your only job is to love that person or those people. Your going to get hurt, and sometimes it will be intentional, and you will want to seek revenge, you will want to stand up for yourself, but if your reaction is not rooted in love, and does not come out in the spirit of peace and love, then its wrong. God should be glorified in everything that you say and do, and there is no way he is being glorified when His people are in conflict with each other instead of loving each other. I have been learning how to do this and will have to keep learning everyday for the rest of my life, but I know that it honors God, and I want my life to honor him. I want my life to one that is holy and acceptable, even when it is not easy. I will always put others first, and consider them better than myself, even when they have done something that I feel is wrong to me. Not because its what I want to do, but because its what I am called to do. No matter what ever happens, no matter how wrong, no matter how bad, no matter how hurtful, always always always, choose love.