Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that used to listen to Led Zeppelin. It still does, but it used to too.
Quick update on my complete rewrite and expansion of The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Last week, my wife asked me how the progress on the book was coming. I told her that finishing the book by December is like taking down a mountain using a spoon. And although I’ve been researching and writing every day, I’ve only managed to take two inches off the bottom.
So your prayers are appreciated.
Following Jesus Christ is counterintuitive. Always has been.
In His famous “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus teaches that life in the kingdom of God is antithetical to what most mortals think and feel.
For instance, if someone attacks you, Jesus says don’t defend yourself or retaliate.
If someone mistreats you, forgive them.
If someone offers sincere correction, receive it in humility without being defensive or taking offense.
If someone compels you to go one mile, go two.
If someone steals your shirt, give them your coat also.
If someone hates you, love them.
If someone trashes you (gossips, slanders, invokes curses on your head), don’t act in kind. Pray for them.
In other words, even when you’re being hated, spoken evil of, lied about, and mistreated, keep the love on.
Never turn it off.
Now, that doesn’t mean you are to have warm fuzzy feelings in your belly toward those who act like sub-human pigs.
That’s not what Jesus meant by “love.”
Nor does it mean that you are to trust people who act in fleshly ways.
While love is unconditional, trust is conditional and must be earned.
Nor does loving a person mean that you are to fulfill their every request or whim.
Rather, Jesus defines love quite clearly for us in the Gospels: It’s treating others the same way we want to be treated in every situation.
To illustrate, here are some examples of people I’ve known in the past who kept the love on.
Jeff excelled at his job and earned the favor of his boss as well as a promotion and a raise.
Two people (who were buddies with each other) now had a common enemy.
Both of these befuddled souls were insanely jealous of Jeff and began fabricating false narratives about him in an effort to knock him off his horse.
Some who were gullible in the office believed the lies and stopped talking to Jeff.
Jeff kept the love on. He forgave those two people and didn’t retaliate by spreading lies about them as they had done to him. A few noticed that Jeff was taking the high road and their respect for him only increased. A year later, one of Jeff’s detractors got fired. The other had a mental breakdown. Jeff was promoted again.
“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”
~ Proverbs 18:17
“Things the Lord hates…a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”
~ Proverbs 6:19
Don was coaching a baseball team. He had to cut someone from the team because Don and the assistant coach didn’t feel the guy had what it took to be on the team.
When the guy was told that he was being cut, he became livid and shortly thereafter began demonizing Don and the other coach.
One of Don’s friends—someone quite naïve—believed the false rumors and broke their friendship with Don over it.
Don kept the love on. Don forgave the guy who was spreading the lies and he also forgave his friend who believed them. Don never spoke ill of either men. When people asked why he cut the guy from the team (after he was whining about it to everyone who would listen), Don answered honestly without exaggeration. Eventually, Don’s friend came to his senses and saw through what was going on. And the friendship was restored. Last I heard, Don was still coaching successfully and things were going great in his life.
“A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.”
~ Proverbs 16:28
“It is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”
~ Proverbs 19:11
Sarah’s boss made her the manager of a group of people at her local store.
One of the women who wanted Sarah’s position disagreed with her method of leadership.
This person tried to persuade Sarah to take on her vision and methods.
Sarah listened graciously, but chose not to go in the woman’s direction. The woman was insulted that Sarah didn’t adopt her views.
So she began laying plans to subvert Sarah’s leadership by trying to win the favor of the other workers who were under Sarah, seeking to persuade them that Sarah was incompetent.
Sarah kept the love on. She forgave the hater and didn’t retaliate. She kept silent on the matter, except when she was privately asked about what the woman was saying about Sarah. Eventually, the hater at Sarah’s job fell on her own sword. She got in trouble with Sarah’s boss over another matter and was fired.
“If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.”
~ Proverbs 18:13
“Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.”
~Proverbs 10:18
In all of the above scenarios, people opted to walk in their flesh by becoming jealous and/or taking needless offense.
Sadly, it’s often your fellow “Christians” who are the purveyors of this kind of fleshly conduct.
Even so, following Jesus Christ is taking the high road when others opt for the gutter.
When God’s people hear the way of Jesus in this regard, their natural response is usually, but this is so hard!
No, it’s not hard. It’s humanly impossible.
But we aren’t called to live as “mere mortals” (1 Corinthians 3:3-4).
It’s only possible when we learn to live by the indwelling life of Christ.
For His life knows the cross—death to self, losing, yielding, laying your life down.
And it will always lead you up a hill during times of mistreatment.
In addition, the nature of His life is love. But the word “love” is cheap these days.
If you love someone, you won’t lie about them or distort the truth.
If you love someone, you will always think the best of their intentions.
If you love someone, you will treat them the way you want to be treated in every circumstance.
Following Jesus Christ today—or as I’ve put it so often, “following your spiritual instincts”—means transcending the reactions of the flesh.
And in so doing, God gets glory, for you are a child of the most High—the One who allows His rain to shine on the wicked and the righteous alike.
So keep the love on…
This article was originally published in There Must Be More.
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Thanks Frank,
What a great word! Great article!
I about fell over laughing from the intro. “The only weekly email that used to listen to Led Zep; it still does, but it used to too.”
Same here…but my ear has changed. On my random MP3 player in the car, on the way to church yesterday, No Quarter came on. I listened with my spiritual ear and started shouting victory to the Lord.
The song is about a warrior who must get the message through. Our enemy gives No Quarter, and we give No Quarter to him (including my own flesh). I don’t care what RP was thinking when he wrote it, in fact most artists want you to take their art for what it means to you.
Half the time they don’t even know, it just came from inside them. And the rest of this most excellent article, I was shocked when I realized at the end…it is from the book sitting on my shelf for the past 6 years (I have read some, honest!).
Thanks Frank. I love the book you are re-writing. It changed the Bible for me. Prayers & blessings.
Thank you, Frank, this blog couldn’t be more timely for me.
Have you noticed how glibly people cite the two great commandments as if they are good advice anyone can do with the right perspective and commitment? As you said today, No! They are impossible apart from the power of the resurrection life of Jesus.
One statement of yours I’d like to push back on a bit is: “If you love someone, you will always think the best of their intentions.” I don’t think Jesus was naive about his persecutors’ intentions: they were thoroughly murderous.
Some of our persecutors’ intentions are singularly malign, there simply is no way to reframe them as good, true, beautiful in any sense. Regard our enemies with mercy and forgiveness, sure; put a positive spin on their malignity, no.
As always, thanks for teaching the way of the Cross and Resurrection.
Jeff
There is nuance here. I’ve written in more detail about this matter in other places (blog posts can never cover every angle on the subjects they address).
Jesus didn’t impute evil motives to people’s hearts. In those cases where He KNEW their motives, the Spirit was revealing them to Him. Either that, or their motives came right out of their mouths. That’s not judging motives or imputing them. That’s KNOWING someone’s motives. Love thinks no evil (1 Cor. 13). It never imputes evil motives or thinks the worst of other people’s intentions. It always gives the benefit of the doubt, just as we would want (Matt. 7:14).
What happens today among Christians SO OFTEN is that they will impute evil motives to their brethren, and sometimes they’ll blame the Holy Spirit (saying it was “revelation”) when it’s really their own dark hearts projecting those motives onto others.
I work on the phone customer service all day soo many words are coming out of my mouth. So there’s lots of opportunities to show unconditional love … or do the other thing. Thankfully I have seen the indwelling of Jesus making me different. That is right on Frank about it being impossible for you & me, But lately I have had the “soft answer turns away wrath” working and genuine love coming out actually caring for others and asking myself Where did that come from? Well! Jesus Christ of course. Thank God He is working Himself into us!
Hello Frank,
This article has blessed me so much this morning. I am reading again a book and having a crisis in my faith, but the “good” crisis. The Holy Spirit is convincing me in all the ways God wants to change me. Thank you so much for your words.
I am planning to read next your book “Insurgence”. I want to live in the Kingdom life all the time.