Category: Love

Is the Bible Unloving? It’s a Question that Needs an Answer-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

The Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth~ John 1:14 NKJV

 It’s been a long, miserable week in the the Pacific Northwest. Most of our region is literally on fire right now and the city I live in is so smoky and gross the whole house smells like we’ve been barbecuing in the basement. The local health department has officially classified the air quality as “hazardous”.

 The heat, smoke and air quality left me feeling more than a little unmotivated. As a result I found myself struggling to come up with a topic for this weeks blog-post. Inspiration came early Tuesday morning when I opened Facebook and ran across what I felt at the time was a rather innocuous quote from Bible teacher, Beth Moore…    

 You will watch a generation of Christians—OF CHRISTIANS—set the Bible aside in an attempt to be more like Jesus. And stunningly it will sound completely plausible. This will be, perhaps, the cleverest of all the devil’s schemes in your generation. Sacrifice truth for love’s sake, you will rise or fall whether you will sacrifice one for the other.

  Beth Moore literally could not to be any more on point with her observations. The spiritual tension that exists between biblical truth and the culture’s definition of love is the greatest theological conundrum of our generation. I have believed for a long time that if the church doesn’t get its proverbial act together and figure out a way to communicate the truth concerning this critical issue, biblical Christianity will dwindle down to a tiny remnant within a generation.

Here’s the thing:

If we set aside truth in favor of “love” we’re done. The entire world will enter a spiritual and moral dark ages, the likes of which the world has not seen since the dawn of the Christian age.

 It was not Beth Moore’s words that got me spoiling for a smackdown. It was the absurd responses to her quote I found frustrating.  To my astonishment, most of those who commented disagreed with Beth Moore. Some vehemently. All the dissenters called her unloving and accused her of lacking compassion. A few even called her out for making an idol out of the Bible.

 Seriously? Is that even a thing?

 Sadly, too many Christians have twisted love into something not found anywhere in Scripture.

 There are two truths we need to acknowledge concerning Jesus, love, and the Bible. First, we simply cannot separate the words of Jesus from the rest of the Bible. In the book of John, Jesus is referred to as The Word. By using that particular designation to describe Jesus, John is making a powerful statement about who Jesus is and what exactly Scripture is meant to reveal.

In John 1:1 the Apostle declares that Jesus is the personification and expression of all of the words of God. This means Jesus is the substance and incarnation of all that had been written in the Old Testament law and all that was to be written in the New Testament letters.

In a very real sense: Jesus IS the Bible. 

 This means that the statements Jesus made in the gospels (the red letters that contemporary Christians get all excited about) are no more or less significant than the Old Testament Law and the New Testament letters. Jesus is the perfecter of our faith and the author of ALL of Scripture. Not just the Scripture we feel comfortable with or those that reflect our current cultural values and sensibilities (Hebrews 12:2, 2nd Timothy 3:16, Luke 24:27).

 Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial requirements of the law and we no longer live in a theocracy, so as 21st century Christians we no longer sacrifice animals to have our sins forgiven (Jesus took care of that for us). Nor do we follow the civil laws that were given specifically to the nation of Israel. However, that doesn’t mean that the entire Old Testament should be tossed out because much of the Old Testament FEELS unloving to contemporary readers who have a nasty habit of leaning on their own understanding of reality rather than the revealed truth of God (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 The second truth we must understand and come to terms with is that the good news of the gospel is wrapped up in a whole lot of really bad news. The good news is: God loves people so much that He sacrificed His only son so that we could be forgiven and spend eternity with God (John 3:16).

 The bad news: is that God is a holy and perfect and He really hates sin. God decided before the foundation of the earth was laid what actions are and are not sinful. He has not modified or relaxed His standards on those issues. The penalty for for sin is awful: eternity in hell forever separated from God and all that is comforting and good. All people are sinners who cannot under any circumstances get right with God and be forgiven unless they are willing to leave their life of sin and follow Jesus wherever he leads (John 8:11, Mark 8:34).

 Those are two truths we must be honest about as we share the love of God with people. When we don’t tell the whole truth about life and sin and eternity we are really telling a lie that will eventually lead to the spiritual death of those we claim to love.

 There’s nothing loving about that.

Does Truth Even Matter or is it All About Love?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

The Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth~ John 1:14 NKJV

 It’s been a long, hot week. Most of the Pacific Northwest is literally on fire right now and the city I live in is so smoky and gross that our whole house smells like we’ve been barbequing in the basement. The local health department has classified our air quality as “hazardous”.

 The heat, smoke and crummy air quality have left me feeling more than a little unmotivated, as a result I found myself struggling to come up with a topic for this weeks blog-post. Inspiration came early Tuesday morning when I opened Facebook and ran across what I felt at the time was a rather innocuous quote from Bible teacher, Beth Moore…    

 You will watch a generation of Christians—OF CHRISTIANS—set the Bible aside in an attempt to be more like Jesus. And stunningly it will sound completely plausible. This will be, perhaps, the cleverest of all the devil’s schemes in your generation. Sacrifice truth for love’s sake, you will rise or fall whether you will sacrifice one for the other.

 It would be difficult for Beth Moore to be any more correct on this point. The spiritual tension that exists between truth and love is the greatest theological conundrum of our generation. I am convinced (and have been for a long time) that if the church doesn’t get it’s proverbial act together on this issue, biblical Christianity will all but vanish with this generation. If that happens, our culture will enter a spiritual and moral dark ages, the likes of which the world has not seen since before the dawn of the Christian age.

 It was not the quote that got me spoiling for a smackdown. It was the absurd responses to said quote that motivated me to start writing. To my astonishment, most of those who commented disagreed with Beth Moore, some vehemently. All the dissenters called her unloving and accused her of lacking compassion. A few even criticized her for making an idol out of the Bible.

 Seriously.

 The comments were a bitter reminder of a reality I frequently bump-up against when I’m interacting with other Christians. Sadly, too many in our generation have twisted love into something that is not found anywhere in the Bible.

 There are two truths we need to acknowledge concerning Jesus, love, and the Bible. First, we simply cannot separate the words of Jesus from the rest of the Bible. In the book of John, Jesus is referred to as The Word. By using that particular designation to describe Jesus, John is making a powerful statement about who Jesus is and how He fits into Scripture.

 John is declaring that Jesus is the personification and expression of the word of God. Jesus was the substance and incarnation of all that had been written in the Old Testament law and all that was to be written in the New Testament letters.

 What that means is that the statements Jesus made in the gospels (the red letters that contemporary Christians get all excited about) are no more or less significant than the Old Testament Law and the New Testament letters. Jesus is the perfecter of our faith and the author of all of Scripture. Not just the Scripture we feel comfortable with or those that reflect our current cultural values and sensibilities (Hebrews 12:2, 2nd Timothy 3:16, Luke 24:27).

 Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial requirements of the law and we no longer live in a theocracy, so as 21st century Christians we no longer sacrifice animals to have our sins forgiven (Jesus took care of that for us) or follow the civil laws that were given specifically to the nation of Israel. However, that doesn’t mean that the entire Old Testament should be tossed out because much of the Old Testament FEELS unloving to contemporary readers.

 The second truth we need to understand is that the good news of the gospel is wrapped up in a lot of really bad news. The good news is that God loves people so much that He sacrificed His only son so that we could be forgiven and spend eternity with God (John 3:16).

 The bad news for us is that God is a holy perfect God who hates sin. God decided a long time ago what actions were sinful and He has not modified or relaxed His standards on what sin is and isn’t. The penalty for for sin is awful: eternity in hell forever separated from God and all that is comforting and good. All people are sinners who cannot under any circumstances get right with God and be forgiven unless they are willing to leave their life of sin and follow Jesus wherever he leads (John 8:11, Mark 8:34).

 Those are at least two of the truths we need be real about as we share the love of God with people. When we don’t tell the whole truth about life and sin and eternity we are really telling a lie that will eventually lead to the spiritual death of those we claim to love.

 There’s nothing loving about that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Real Reasons Marriages Fail-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate~ Mark 10:7-9 NIV

 Recently, a friend informed me she and her husband were splitting up after more than two decades of marriage (she did not initiate the divorce). This unexpected news was depressing on a bunch of different levels. We’ve known these people a long time, our kids grew up together, we love them both and two decades is a long time to invest in something that has clearly ended in dismal failure. Further complicating the whole messy mess, this couple has adult children and they are grieving deeply. Both of their parents are professing Christians and the split has tested their faith in God’s power and their belief in loves ability to overcome any obstacle.

 My friend’s sad news got me all navel gaze-y concerning the topic of marriage in general and why marriages fail in particular. It occurred to me that although most folks know going-in that marriage takes a lot of energy and hard work, all marriages begin on a hopeful note. No one I have ever known (or heard of) has entered into marriage anticipating failure or hoping the marriage ends in a messy life-altering divorce.

 This truth begs the question: 

If most folks know from the very beginning marriage will not be easy then why do so many marriages fail with such depressing regularity?

 Everyone knows the statistics: roughly one-third to one-half of all marriages in America end in divorce. The most common reasons couples give for divorce are lack of sex, infidelity, money problems and poor communication.

I get that only crazy people argue with statistics but I’m doing it anyway.  

I believe with all my heart the reasons people give for divorce are not the actual reasons people get divorced. The statistical reasons given are actually just symptoms of the real causes of divorce.

We will never change the divorce rate until we get real about why people divorce.

 Marriages struggle and die not because of big problems that cannot be worked out. Relationships struggle and die for three far less discussed reasons.

 It begins with…

 Selfishness-

 According to the trusty word wizards at Dictionary.com selfishness is defined as “ being devoted to or caring only for one’s own interests, benefits, welfare, etc. regardless of others”. When we carry an attitude of selfishness into marriage it manifests itself in a lack of thoughtfulness or consideration for others. A friend (who has since repented) confessed that for years he bought his wife a big beautiful chocolate cake every year on her birthday. Not because she loved chocolate (she didn’t care for it at all) but because he loved chocolate and it was a good excuse for him to eat the kind of cake he liked (Luke 6:31, Ephesians 4:32). Over time even silly acts of selfishness like that one erode positive feelings and leave the spouse (no matter how long-suffering they may be) feeling hurt and possibly even vengeful towards their spouse. If by some miracle the marriage survives, the feelings of love and care will not.

 Flat-out ignoring Ephesian’s 5:21-

 Most Christians are very aware of the commands given to husbands and wives in Ephesians 5:22-33. Women are told to submit to their husbands and husbands are commanded to love their wives. It’s all good stuff. What most Christians don’t know is that the verse directly preceding those verses (Ephesians 5:21) tells spouses to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” because its given first, its a prerequisite for applying the verses that follow. Mutual submission is the practice of adopting an attitude of mutual cooperation and compromise in all things. Submitting to one another in marriage may mean having sex more often than you would prefer or doing chores that don’t necessarily appeal to you after a long day at work. Mutual submission means giving rather than taking and refusing to hold a grudge when you don’t get what you want (Hebrews 12:15, Matthew 6:15). Without an attitude of mutual submission the other commands given in the Ephesians passage become more about gritting your teeth to get through it rather than living out the love of Jesus.  

 A refusal to be transformed-

 Marriage has been called “the ultimate growth opportunity” and it is, as long as both parties are willing to hear uncomfortable truths about themselves and then work on their junk. Truth-be-told Christians are more capable of growth and change than any other people on earth because they have Holy Spirit helping them and guiding them in all truth (Romans 12, 2nd Corinthians 3:18). When a Christian refuses change ultimately they are choosing to be disobedient to the Holy Spirit. An incredibly foolish act, indicating an epic level of spiritual and emotional immaturity.

 An incredibly wise pastor friend once told me: “any two reasonably mature Christians can make a marriage work if they are BOTH willing to put in the necessary effort.” He understood a truth that can be a game changer in relationships: divorce is unnecessary if both parties are willing to die to self and submit to God. When that happens anything is possible in a relationship. Dead things come to life and families are transformed into trophies of God’s grace and saving power (Ephesians 1:18-20).

Should Christians and Non-Christians be Friends?

Lisa M. Price5 Comments

 Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character~ 1st Corinthians 15:33 NIV

 I subscribe to a number of Christian leadership blogs, podcasts and websites. Most of the stuff I subscribe to is pretty good. A few are hit or miss and one or two are just kind of meh. The best ones consistently tackle issues I have never thought very deeply about, challenge my biases, and help me think more imaginatively about problem solving. The not-so-great ones tend to hit on the same dozen or so issues over and over again and never really give any answers, just raise a lot questions.

 Over the course of the last couple of years, I have noted a clear trend regarding the subject matter of many of the blogs I subscribe to. All of them have been encouraging Christians to be bolder in their pursuit of authentic and meaningful friendships with sinners (their word, not mine). A few have openly scolded other Christians for not having and pursuing more intimate friendships with non-Christians. Every article I’ve read on the subject holds Jesus up as the example we ought to follow when it comes to pursuing friendships with “sinners”.

For the record, I believe with all my heart Christians ought to pursue friendships with non-Christian people (more on that later). However, I am convinced this teaching trend has become dangerously unbalanced because it presumes without offering cautions.

 I will begin with the presumptions.

 The most common presumption is that Jesus spent most or all of His time just chilling with sinners. To hear many pastors and teachers tell it, Jesus spent every moment of His life on earth at the local bars, crack houses and brothels hugging and high-fiving the local riff-raff.  

 He didn’t.

 A careful reading of the gospels reveals that Jesus did indeed attend events and parties where “sinners” were present (a very big deal in His world). We also know that Jesus was kind and welcoming to everyone (including sinners) and He definitely wasn’t shy about interacting with sinners or building meaningful relationships with very messed-up people (Luke 19:1-9, John 4). However, that was one part of His over-all ministry. Jesus spent most of His time with the twelve disciples and others (Luke 8:1-3, Luke 10:1) who were interested in following Jesus and learning to live a holy life.

 The second assumption many make is that the culture Jesus ministered in was exactly like the culture we live in.

Its’ simply not true.

Jesus lived in and ministered to a predominately Jewish culture where even the most messed-up “sinners” understood exactly what the Bible had to say about sin (John 4, Luke 9:1-9). This meant that the pre-evangelistic work of helping folks recognize the reality that they are sinners in need of redemption was done long before they came into contact with Jesus. We live in a post-Christian/atheistic culture where few people know or care about what the Bible has to say about much of anything. Even fewer feel guilt or remorse over their behavior. This difference is subtle and may seem trivial. However, it’s a difference that dramatically affects the dynamics of interacting with non-Christians. At the very least it makes spiritually productive conversations more difficult, and relationships trickier to navigate.

 And finally:

Some are assuming we are all a heck of lot more like Jesus than we actually are. Jesus was the perfect, sinless Son of God on a mission to save the world from the bondage and consequences of sin.

We are not Jesus.

 Even in our redeemed state we are still people who possess a sin nature (1st John 1:8). We are people who have been saved by the kindness and mercy of  a seriously benevolent God and nothing else (Ephesians 2:9). We are also people who have been commanded by a holy God to live a life of purity, holiness and righteousness (1st Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 5:3, 1st Thessalonians 4:7, 1st Peter 1:14-16, Hebrews 12:14). Our calling to holiness is sometimes made more difficult by our choice of friendships (Proverbs 13:20, Psalm 1, 1st Corinthians 15:33).

 All that being said, I still really believe Christians ought to be intentional about seeking out friendships with non-Christian people. People have to be led to Jesus and the only way that will happen in this culture will be through cultivating relationships. However, we need to initiate relationships with non-Christian people wisely and prayerfully, keeping two truths firmly in mind.

 First, the Bible warns us repeatedly concerning the dangers of spending an inappropriate amount of time around those who may tempt us to sin (Jude 22, 2nd Corinthians 6:14-15, 1st John 2:15-16). Secondly, we need to remember that we will NEVER lead anyone to Jesus if we make a habit out of sinning with them.

 

The Dangers of Cheap Grace and Counterfeit Love-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts~ 1st Thessalonians 2:4

 When I was a teenager I had a close friend who had- what I thought at the time-was the coolest Mother in the known universe. She was verbally expressive when it came to professing love for her daughter and she listened to any and all teenage drama (no matter how absurd and trivial) sans judgment of any kind.

 There was precious little my friend was not permitted to do and occasionally her Mother would even help her evade the consequences of her actions. One time my friend and I skipped school and her Mom wrote both of us a note to excuse the absences with nothing more than a brief and relatively friendly lecture on the importance of going to school. If my friend’s grades were less than stellar (and they frequently were) her Mom signed the report card without so much as a single negative word.

 She turned a blind eye as her daughter became sexually active and willfully overlooked disrespect, negligence, underage drinking and even occasional drug use. When questioned about her parenting techniques my friends Mother would wax eloquent on the importance of truly loving and accepting her children in a tangible way.

 In retrospect I find this tale utterly appalling.

 Not just because I’ve read a couple of books and understand codependent behavior. Nor is it just because I’ve raised a bunch of kids and know now that good parenting is about a whole heck of a lot more than accepting your children and making them feel good about themselves. The story horrifies me because I know the ultimate outcome of it all. My friend started using drugs and alcohol, never finished high school and had three children before her 21st birthday. As far as I know she never fully recovered from the bizarre leadership she received as a child.

 Sigh.

 My friend’s Mother wasn’t a bad person or a bad parent in the sense she neglected, abused or was in some way indifferent towards her daughter. There was zero malice in her actions. She just cared more about how her daughter felt about her in the short-term than the long-term outcome of her daughter’s life.

This sort of thing is not at all uncommon.

 A husband or a wife will (in the name of love) ignore their spouse’s character deficiencies to the detriment of the entire family. A friend will stand by silently and watch as someone they profess to love ventures down an ethically questionable path never warning them of the destruction that lies ahead. A parent will bail an adult child out of problems of their own making and then wonder why the kid never seems to grow-up.

 Christians do the same thing sometimes.

 We overlook the sins of those we profess to love and soft-peddle the truth of God’s word—not because we don’t believe God or His word— but because deep down inside we really want people to like us more than we want to tell them the truth. We want to be the cool friend, the cool pastor or the cool co-worker and telling the truth about life and eternity is super uncool these days.

 Dietrich Bonheoffer famously said that cheap grace is characterized by the “preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession.”

 Mr. Bonheoffer nailed it.

 Grace and love are inextricably linked. Grace cannot exist without love, because grace is the true expression of love. This means that if love is counterfeit, then grace will be cheap. Counterfeit love is appallingly common. At its root counterfeit love is selfish and deceptive. The person showing counterfeit love typically wants to love like Jesus loved. But, deep down inside, they want to be liked by others more than they want what’s best for the people they claim to love. Jesus loved passionately but He cared little about being liked.

 The bottom line is authentic love never loses sight of the long game.

 A parent who truly loves their child will risk being loathed today to ensure the child becomes a decent human being tomorrow. A genuine friend will endure a little bit of anger in the here-and-now to save their friend from a lifetime of regret. A genuinely loving Christian will risk offending someone today if it will save that person from an eternity in hell.

 It’s time for a revival of the real deal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Wishlist for the Church In 2017

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ~ Philippians 1:9-10 NIV

I have a rather sketchy relationship with New Year’s resolutions.

 I love the whole notion of New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately, I tend to struggle with the follow-thru required to actually bring my dreams of self-betterment to fruition.

 It all starts out fairly well.

 Like most folks I typically I find myself feeling a bit pudgy and sluggish between Christmas and News Years. It’s the sad but predictable outcome of too many Christmas cookies and not enough time on the treadmill in the weeks leading up to the holidays. So logically my goals for the coming year begin with a strategy for weight loss and reaching a level of physical fitness I have never achieved before (a doubtful endeavor at my age and stage of life, but you can’t fault a woman for hoping).

 Next, because I like to consider myself a spiritually minded individual, I normally include a resolution to study and pray more. I also typically resolve to read at least a couple of books written by people who are smarter and more spiritual than I am. I also always include some sort of strategy to better myself in a tangible way (i.e. become a better wife, mother, writer, speaker, leader, friend etc.)

 To my credit, I tend to do better at the stuff that actually matters (spiritual discipline, self-improvement, prayer) than I do at weight loss and achieving physical fitness goals. The only time I can remember losing a significant amount of weight in the month of January was the year my daughter was born. She was born in January, so losing fifteen pounds wasn’t exactly an earth-shattering achievement

 My biggest grievance with New Years resolutions is that most years my resolve vanishes around the same time the Valentines candy shows up on store shelves. Therefore, this year I am taking a new approach. Rather than simply resolving to make some superficial changes in my life, I have decided to choose a few issues and make them a focus of prayer throughout the year.

 Some of the things I intend to pray about are personal; others are more global, most are both. Many of my prayers for this coming year will be focused on the church and what I hope God does in the lives of His people (me included) this coming year.

 Without question, my number one yearning for Christians is that we will do what needs to be done to make the main thing the main thing once again. From God’s perspective the main thing is for people who don’t know Jesus to come to know Jesus and repent of their sins (Acts 4:12, 1st Timothy 2:3-4, John 3:16).

 Sadly, evangelism ceased to be the main thing in most of our churches long ago. Making unsaved people feel loved, welcome and utterly un-judged has taken a backseat to getting those people saved and walking in truth (Matthew 28:19-20). I pray this is the year we do the soul searching and hard work necessary to make evangelism a priority in the life of the Church once again.

 My hope is that this is the year we will gain a deeper understanding of the complexity and depth of Christian love. Love is our highest calling as Christians (1st John 4:7, 1st Corinthians 13) no one with even a shallow acquaintance with Scripture would bother arguing against that point. However, Christian love is more complicated than simply being nice to sinful people.

 Jesus was the nicest, kindest person who ever lived. However, niceness did not prevent Him from informing sinners they would go to hell if they refused to repent of their sins (Matthew 4:17, Luke 13:2-3, John 8:11) and kindness didn’t stop Him from calling out hypocrisy and pretense when He encountered it (Matthew 23). I’m thinking it’s time for the pendulum to swing back and for the church to preach all aspects of the gospel consistently once again.

 My prayer is that followers of Jesus will do the hard things that need to be done so we can grow into the people God has called us to be and reach the people God has called us to reach. If we do that, 2017 will be the year we truly impact our lost and hurting world for Jesus Christ.

 Happy New Year! 

 

 

 

 

What to do when God Calls You to Love a Jerk-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

To you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you~ Luke 6:27-28 NIV

 Pretty much every Christian I know (myself included) likes to pontificate endlessly on the topic of love.

 Why on earth wouldn’t we?

 In a world increasingly more hostile towards Christians and their faith, love is one of the few doctrines left that everyone really digs. Sin, judgment, obedience and hell are sensitive, uncomfortable, sticky-wicket kinds of issues that are all-but certain to offend pretty much everyone and create all kinds of arguments, misunderstandings and relational chaos.

However.

No one can quarrel with the whole notion of loving people.

 That said, even a hasty analysis of the comments section of any news article or blog post  clues us in to the fact that although most people love the idea of love, and we adore quoting scriptures concerning the importance of loving people.

We struggle mightily with the implementation of loving people.

 The Christian standard of love is outrageously high and almost impossible to achieve (1st Corinthians 13, Matthew 5:44, John 13:34, 1st Peter 3:8, 1st John 2:10). Mostly, because some people are jerks and God calls us to love them anyway. Scripture commands we love people who do not love us back and even those who openly despise us. We are also instructed to love people who make fun of what we believe, insult our intelligence and tell lies about us (Romans 12:9-21).

 This is quite obviously easier said than done.

 There is no question that loving people (even nice people) is a concept that is far less painful to achieve in theory than in practice. That said, it’s easier to love a person when there is relationship in place or an emotional bond that has already been established.

 Showing love to a wayward child or a spouse with a less than pleasant disposition is somehow much easier than trying to muster up some emotional warmth or caring for a heartless, egomaniacal boss or an intellectually pretentious brother-in-law/college professor/auntie/co-worker. The one who cannot seem to stop themselves from insinuating that the only possible motivations anyone could possibly have for voting for a particular political party would be racism, homophobia or a criminal level of stupidity. It’s even harder to muster grace (let alone love) for the media personality who is constantly undermining decency and openly supporting actions and attitudes wholeheartedly contrary to God’s way of doing things.

 Sigh.    

 Thankfully, authentic Christian love is more about making a choice than manufacturing a feeling. We can choose to behave in a loving way towards people we don’t particularly like. In the process we might actually change hearts and minds in a way that hateful and nasty rhetoric or sidelong glances never will.

 Loving jerks needs to begin with some honest self-examination. Sometimes we are the innocent victims of jerks and other times we are the ones acting like a jerk (2nd Corinthians 13:5, Colossians 3:5-11). Even genuine Christians, are capable of less than Christian behavior from time-to-time, especially when someone is intentionally pushing our buttons. Any time we feel offended or hurt, it’s a good time to prayerfully evaluate our own actions and attitudes to see if we are doing anything that is contributing to the problem.

 Nothing about honest self-examination is pleasant or easy, however it is necessary if we want to grow and mature spiritually (Romans 12:2, Colossians 3, Galatians 5:13-26).

 Sigh.

 If after some soul-searching we discover we are indeed part of the problem, then we need to repent. Repentance is all about changing how we think about the person who has hurt us. Instead of focusing on the things we don’t like about the other person we need to look for positive qualities. We also need to cease any hurtful actions on our part such as gossip, ugly or passive-aggressive comments, and writing rude things about the person on the Internet etc.. Genuine repentance always includes praying for the person who wronged us (Luke 6:28.

 Praying for the person who offended or wronged us really does make any repenting on our part that needs to be done easier and less painful, and prayer actually has the capacity to change the heart of the other person.

 Bonus.

 Then God calls us to the truly hard thing, blessing those who curse us and actually doing good to those who have wronged us. Doing good is about more than an absence of malice. It’s about thinking through to what Jesus would do to the person and then doing it.

 Love is an action.

 

Why We Should Stop Telling People to ask Jesus into Their Hearts

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

When He (Jesus) had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me~ Mark 8:34 NKJV

 Anyone who has been a Christian for any length of time will tell you in a state of wide-eyed wonder that evangelical Christianity has changed significantly over the course of the last three decades or so.

 Some changes have been positive and healthy. Changes in attitudes have righted some legitimate wrongs that were shockingly common in some Christian circles, especially in the arena of legalism.

 I have an older Christian friend who told me that when she was growing-up her family had an actual LIST of things she and her siblings were told they could not do if they wanted to be followers of Jesus.

 Among other things THE LIST included: skipping church for any reason other than serious illness, playing card games (because go-fish and Uno are gateway sins that the devil exploits to lay the foundation for future gambling addictions) attending movies of any kind, wearing make-up, going to the beach (because of swimsuits) and of course wearing pants (because she was a girl). Her Pastor also taught that it was possible to lose ones salvation for owning a television, smoking cigarettes or attending a school dance.

 Sigh.

 Thank heaven most of us have chosen to part ways with the pharisaical judgment of the past, and leave it in the past where it belongs.

 However, Christian’s today are far less devoted to their faith than our more judgmental forerunners were. Christians today are far less likely to attend weekly services, honor their marriage vows, observe scriptural commands regarding sexuality, read the Bible consistently (or at all), pray and serve in their local congregations.

 Sigh.

 It would be foolish to argue that the problems vexing the Church are somehow less threatening to Christianity than the sins of the past. The current crop of problems the church is dealing with may be different from the problems of the past, but that does not make them any less hazardous to the health of the average Christian.

 Theories abound as to how exactly we got into this mess. There are some who blame inadequate teaching from the pulpit. Others attribute the problems on an absence of church discipline. Many blame invading secularism and the acceptance of worldly entertainment in the Church.

 Oddly enough, there are even some who believe that it was the demise of legalism that created the problems the Church is now wrestling with.

 No I am not kidding.

 Some individuals actually believe that legalism (strict adherence to manmade rules) made Christians more aware of their own behavior and fearful of the judgment of others. Thus legalism protected the church from the sinful excesses currently devastating the body of Christ.

 Clearly, some theories have greater merit than others.

 However, in my estimation they all miss the mark. The real problem is not with legalism per se. In this case legalism is simply a symptom of a much bigger problem. The real problem lies with how we view the Christian life. If we view the Christian life as a list of rules to be kept then we will eventually devolve into a pool of legalistic goo and destroy the beauty and spirit of grace that makes the Christian life a life worth living.

 Conversely, if we view the Christian life as simply “asking Jesus into our heart” then we will inevitably come to see our relationship with Jesus as something we get to do on our own terms. The Christian life becomes something we do for our own pleasure and to meet our own needs. God becomes the servant and we become the master. He becomes a tool that we use to get what we think we need out of life. If God fails to meet our needs on our terms we leave Him on the margins of our lives or abandon Him all together and go off in search of something that will satisfy us on our terms.    

 The answer is not a return to legalism or even simply ridding our lives of bad entertainment and wrong thinking (although that idea is not completely without merit). The answer is to rethink how we view the Christian life. Christianity is not about asking Jesus into our hearts just so we have assurance of salvation.

 Christianity is about following Jesus wherever He leads and obeying His commands, whatever the cost.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Does Authentic Christian Love Look Like?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 

If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us~ John 4:12

  Every couple of years I switch out my current Bible translation for a new one.

My absurd fondness for novelty aside, the slight differences in the text forces me to pay attention to what I’m reading. It keeps me thinking, and I have found thinking is always better than the alternative.

Over the years I have made my way through the NIV, NKJV, NASB and The Message.

 With the notable exception of The Message (TOO MANY WORDS) whatever version I am currently reading typically morphs into my new favorite. My current favorite is the English Standard Version. However the ESV it is certainly different than the last version I read (NASB) and the differences have led to some thought-provoking discoveries.

 This last week was a challenging one and I found myself in desperate need of a spiritual kick in the pants. So I headed to Romans chapter twelve, it’s kind of my go-to passage anytime I need little spiritual straight-talk or a firm reminder of what the whole Christian thing is all about (Romans 12:1-21). Over the years I have probably read that particular chapter at least a hundred times, but, for some reason verse nine caught me up short and got me thinking and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it ever since. 

 It simply reads…

 Let love be genuine.

 Because the text tells us our love should be genuine, then logic dictates there is a form of love Christian people sometimes express that is NOT real or genuine. It is somehow fake, phony or counterfeit, and like every decent counterfeit, it looks genuine, at least on the surface. It’s also safe to assume that this verse serves as a warning to Christians to be vigilant about how we love others.

 All this made me want to find out what other people think about the subject of love. So I did what people do these days when they want to know what people think about a subject.

 I posed a question on social media.

 I got sixty-five responses and the responses were divided into two distinct groups. The first group defined love almost entirely in terms of feelings. They talked about how they felt about family and friends. They described the security they felt with certain people, general thoughtfulness and those they care about or people that care about them.

 Others focused more on actions. This group tended to define love in terms of what we do rather than how we feel about other people. Many used words like commitment, thoughtfulness, selflessness, and compassion. Some spoke of courage, personal sacrifice, providing for the physical and emotional needs of others and grace.

 All good stuff. But not exactly what I was looking for.

 The answers I was looking for didn’t come from the internet (surprise!) but they did come. It kind of hit me out of nowhere (thank you Holy Spirit!) that genuine Christian love is unique because it is about more than just warmhearted sentimentality, or even a firm commitment to sticking with another human being through thick and thin.

Authentic Christian love is distinct and categorically different from any other kind of love. Christian love goes beyond providing for daily needs or showing grace to a struggling soul. Love is about more than simply being kind, although kindness, care for others, commitment and grace are at the very core of authentic love. There is no love without those things. Nonetheless, Christian love is much deeper and more complex than all of that. Authentic Christian love is about more than making people feel good about themselves or the choices they’ve made in life.

 Genuine Christian love is chiefly concerned with the eternal destiny of other people (John 3:16, Mark 8:35, Romans 1:16-17, Romans 13:10).

 All Christians should be kind, generous, courageous, compassionate and gracious people . Christians should do everything possible to help meet the physical and emotional needs of others (1st Corinthians 13:1-13, James 2:14-17). Christians should always consider the feelings of others before they speak or act (James 1:19-20).

Those are all givens.

However any expression of Christian love that does not attempt to change the eternal destiny of the other person by telling the truth about heaven, hell and the sin problem of mankind is not really love at all.

 It’s a fake, a fraud, a phony, a counterfeit.

This fact ought to cause us all to evaluate how we choose to love others. Is our love primarily focused simply on kindness? Not hurting people’s feelings? Providing physical needs? All of these things are good things.  

However.

They fall tragically short of fulfilling the law of Christian love (James 2:8).  

 

Lazy Activism and Other Things That Inflame Racial Tension

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

God does not see you as a Jew or as a Greek. He does not see you as a servant or as a person free to work. He does not see you as a man or as a woman. You are all one in Christ~ Galatians 3:28 NLT

 I am not nor have I ever been black. My lack of personal experience coupled with an unbridled ambition to speak out of wisdom rather than ignorance, has made me enormously reluctant say anything at all concerning the sorry state of race relations in America.

 That said…

 I decided this week to go ahead and run the risk of looking and sounding like a chump because I believe attitudes towards race are more of a spiritual problem than a social or political issue. The ever-devolving state of race relations in this country says nothing good about the spiritual condition of our hearts (Luke 6:45).  

 Race ought to be a non-issue for Christians. The Bible is clear: in Jesus there is no color, race, sex, socio-economic class or any other of the distinctions humans are so fond of making (James 2:1-9, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11). That sort of thinking is earthly, corrupt and foolish. It leads to nothing but suffering, discord and a sinful sort of smugness that REALLY annoys the Almighty (Isaiah 2:11, James 3:15).

 As bad as things have gotten, I do not believe it is too late to correct course, but it’s going take a commitment from all us. Positive change will come about when we all examine our hearts on this issue and make a commitment to:

 Avoid lazy activism-

 Wearing a stupid tee shirt, demanding social change on Twitter, posting rabble-rousing twaddle on Facebook or refusing to stand during the National Anthem does nothing at all to improve the problems we have with race in America. Nor does it draw attention to the problem in a way that is at all constructive or healing. It only serves to spread ignorance and further divide people. If this sort of silliness is all the activism you can mange it would be far more helpful to do nothing at all.

 Stop supposing we all have the same experiences-

 There was a black guy who lived in our neighborhood in Tucson. I ran into him from time-to-time while we were walking our dogs; he was a well-dressed, pleasant guy in his late sixties who was really into his dog. I just sort of assumed that his experience living in our neighborhood was exactly like my experience living in our neighborhood. I was forced to reexamine my beliefs when my son befriended some local police officers. They divulged that they received at least two calls a week from residents in our area concerning “a strange black man roaming the streets”. No one in that neighborhood ever called the police on anyone in our family while we were walking our dog.

 Don’t joke about things that aren’t funny-

 I am not nor have I ever been one to embrace politically correct dogma, especially when it comes to words. However, I do believe there is wisdom in choosing our words wisely and that there is simply no place for bigoted words or racist jokes from anyone in the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:29) nor should Christians laugh at such things. Ever.

 Don’t assume it’s always about race-

 I did not grow-up black (obviously). However, I did grow-up poor. As a result I lived in some seriously crummy neighborhoods as a kid. And I can tell you that police treat people differently depending on their zip code. If a police officer had seen teenage-me walking my stupidly-expensive purebred dog in my old neighborhood he would have asked me— in a not so friendly manner— where exactly I got the dog. Police profiled my friends and me all the time, but it wasn’t about race, it was about socio-economic status. When I’m sitting in my car at an intersection and I see a man in the crosswalk I lock my door. It is not a racist thing; it’s a sexist thing. I don’t care what color the guy is— if he’s a he and older than 12 or younger than 80—I lock the door. Sometimes when a person behaves in a way that appears to be racist, it is racist. Other times it’s not. It would help tremendously if we would all at least attempt to assume the best in one another.  

 I am wholeheartedly convinced that Christians are called to be change-agents in whatever corner of the world God has placed them. Becoming a change-agent in this particular situation begins with attempting to see things from the other person’s point of view. But it can’t end with empathy; authentic change begins with doing what we would want done for us if we found ourselves in the other guy’s shoes.