Don't Be Ate Up
Don’t Be Ate Up
”For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.“
Galatians 5:14-15
Shouldn’t life just be simple? Shouldn’t we be able to navigate amongst others without having to say awful things about one another? I hate it when I have someone’s name in my mouth and I realize the things I am saying about that person are not kind, good, or loving. Of course then my “inner-lawyer” defends what I am saying, “well it is truth”! Just because something may be true in my perspective doesn’t give me the license to speak of that person with less than the love that I as a child of God have been commanded to show that person.
Life would be more simple if I would simply obey the Giver of life! Christ said that I am to love my neighbor as myself. He said that if I loved Him, I would do that. As I have studied and tried to follow Christ in my life, I have learned that hate is a stronger word in my vocabulary than it is in God’s. Hate to me is contempt or disdain. Hate to God is simply less than His love...ouch.
So, if I’m supposed to love my neighbor but they don’t ever seem to love me back...what does the Bible say about that? Well there are quite a few passages that deal with that, but this morning I was reminded of Galatians 5:15, “But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another.” Do you know why God can love us even when we hate on Him? Because He doesn’t let my lack of love eat Him up. It doesn’t consume His identity as that His identity is not defined by my actions.
So, if I am going to love someone who is actively “not loving” me, I can’t let their lack of love eat me up, that’s not what defines me, Christ is supposed to be my identity. Let that simmer for a bit.
Pastor Larry Hof
”For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.“
Galatians 5:14-15
Shouldn’t life just be simple? Shouldn’t we be able to navigate amongst others without having to say awful things about one another? I hate it when I have someone’s name in my mouth and I realize the things I am saying about that person are not kind, good, or loving. Of course then my “inner-lawyer” defends what I am saying, “well it is truth”! Just because something may be true in my perspective doesn’t give me the license to speak of that person with less than the love that I as a child of God have been commanded to show that person.
Life would be more simple if I would simply obey the Giver of life! Christ said that I am to love my neighbor as myself. He said that if I loved Him, I would do that. As I have studied and tried to follow Christ in my life, I have learned that hate is a stronger word in my vocabulary than it is in God’s. Hate to me is contempt or disdain. Hate to God is simply less than His love...ouch.
So, if I’m supposed to love my neighbor but they don’t ever seem to love me back...what does the Bible say about that? Well there are quite a few passages that deal with that, but this morning I was reminded of Galatians 5:15, “But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another.” Do you know why God can love us even when we hate on Him? Because He doesn’t let my lack of love eat Him up. It doesn’t consume His identity as that His identity is not defined by my actions.
So, if I am going to love someone who is actively “not loving” me, I can’t let their lack of love eat me up, that’s not what defines me, Christ is supposed to be my identity. Let that simmer for a bit.
Pastor Larry Hof
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