Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Reflection on Romans 12:9-21

You are loved by God and there is nothing you can do about it. You can work your whole life doing great things, and none of those things will earn you that love. You can be the most spiritual person in the world, connected with nature and other people, with niceness and wisdom oozing from your pours and still you will not have earned that love. You are loved by God, because God chose to love you. As a loving parent cradles their crying child, so too God loves you and forgives your annoying shouts and fits through the forgiveness of Jesus the Christ.

So you are in a family of love. The grace of Jesus Christ fills your entire being and surely you will allow some of it to spill out. And this is the point that Paul is at in his letter to the Romans. He has explained God’s grace, how we do nothing to deserve it, and now we have these love filed bodies. What do we do with them?

I have to admit, love isn’t an easy thing to let spill all over. God’s love certainly spilled everywhere; “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,” but we have been taught to be careful with our cups. We have been taught from childhood to pour carefully rather than to spill. When you pour, you have control over where it is going. When you pour love, you are certain that it goes in the intended direction and not behind you where it just may land on your worst enemy. What a waste that would be. When you "pour" your love, you are seen as nice. The correct people will rejoice in your niceness and will appreciate your niceness. However, niceness never travels beyond a small group of people. Niceness does not spill love on the whole world as God’s grace did. One of the worst things your church could be called is “nice.” Niceness does not transform lives; grace does.

We have been taught to pour, but Jesus the Christ appreciates the spilling action of grace. Jesus has no problem with the child who takes the cup of love and wings a nice streak of love all across the room, marking the dog, soaking grandma, filling the $2,000 curtains, and finding its way through the screen door, onto the neighbor who cut down your tree just because it was blocking the sun.

Jesus appreciates having fellow spillers to share God’s word of grace. But, spilling is hard to do. It is hard to live messy lives. Things will not always be logical in a love spilled world. People who should not be honored and blessed will be, and people who should be blessed will be expected to do the work of doing the honoring. You do not get any awards for your great wisdom or your peaceful nature in a world of spilled love. Instead, in a world of spilled love people’s lives are changed by God (people you would never expect to turn their lives around have their lives turned around), and you get no recognition. This kind of world makes little sense; it certainly not come naturally; but it is the way of God. So, like the Olympic runner who reminds themselves of specific things in order to continue running a gold metal race, “Keep your fingers loose and floppy…glide don’t bounce,” Paul reminds us of specific things that will make certain we are sharing love and not just being nice.

Hate doing evil, and embrace good.

Outdo each other in showing appreciation for each other.

Have hope, God is not far away.

Be patient…even when suffering…be patient, God is not far away.

Help the poor…those who are forgotten or hated for being lazy.

Talk to the stranger and welcome them with everything that is yours. Don’t just stare at them.

Bless those who hate you. In fact, pray for them that they may turn from their ways. Do not say bad things about them or wish them to die. Encourage the goodness that they do have.

Spend time with others: rejoice and weep with them. In hard times, do not leave those who weep alone.

Spend time with the lowly, those whom no one else spends time.

Be yourself. Who you are is good enough. Do not claim to be better or more wise.

Do not seek revenge. God showed love on the cross, not revenge. God will deal with evil people the way God wants to. Your only job is to love.

Be peaceful. Do not stir up trouble. Be a peacemaker.

When it comes to love, there is no difference between your friends and your enemies: feed them, give them drink, provide them with shelter.

Spill your love on even enemies and hot refiners coals will shower on them, the evil will burn away, and what will remain in them is God’s grace.

You are an athlete for God. Practice spilling grace. Hopefully, when someone visits the church community they will not say, “They were really nice.” Instead, they will say, “When I went there, I found what it means to be loved by God.” Practice spilling grace.

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