For God did not give us a
spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline~ 2nd Timothy 1:7
February is the love month. Traditionally
Americans celebrate their affection for one another with candy, flowers and
stuffed animals. Because it’s February and everywhere I go I see reminders of
this tradition, I have been tuned into thoughts of love. The other day I came across a verse that
captured my imagination because this ordinary verse tells us a great deal about
God’s perspective on love. The passage is Colossians 2:1:
I want you to know how hard
I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met
me personally.
It was one little word that grabbed my
attention, it’s not a word that we normally associate with love or even with
Christianity: contending. The word grabbed me because of its definition; it means
to struggle, to fight with or to strive for. Some of the more colorful synonyms
for contending are: scrap, brawl and scuffle.
The discovery of this word sent me on a
biblical wild-goose chase. I learned that Scripture uses several similar words
for contend. The words can be translated wrestle, fight, struggle, and resist. According
to Scripture we can fight, in prayer (Colossians 4:12, Romans 15:30), for the
spiritual well-being of others (Colossians 1:29), against Spiritual forces
(Ephesians 6:12, 2nd Corinthians 10:4), against sin (Hebrews 12:4),
through persecution (Philippians 1:30), and for truth (Jude 1:3).
As I grasped the different uses for contend,
I was smacked with conviction: I recognized how often I fight but for the wrong
things, and in the wrong way. I fight with the cell phone company over a small
overcharge, the homeowners association over the number of trees I can have in
my yard, my kids over the sorry state of their rooms and with God over almost
everything, and yet there are things that really matter that I don’t always
fight for.
Today I want to share with you some things
that are worth fighting for along with some practical ways that we can fight in
a way that honors God and does not make us look like a bunch of jerks. We can
fight for…
Those who have not yet met Jesus~
There is a world out there dying in their
sin and we all agree that reaching people is important; but I think that we
struggle with the how. Many are SO lost that it is hard to know where to start.
We struggle to find a point of reference to start a conversation about
anything, let alone spiritual things. It all starts with prayer: pray that God
will put people in your path and then pray that you will know what to say to
them when they come along. When they come along (and they will) engage them,
ask them questions, find out how they got to where they are without judging
them, and look for ways to bless them. When
the opportunity presents itself share your story and the hope that you have
because of Jesus Christ (1st Peter 3:15). If they don’t respond in
faith immediately, don’t give up; one of the biggest grievances non-Christians
have with Christians is that they feel like Christians only want to be friends
with them if they accept Jesus.
We can also contend for…
The wandering~
We all know someone who used to go to
Church or Bible study, someone who has wandered away from the faith and is
doing their own thing. Why not give one of those people a call this week and
find out how they are doing? Take them to lunch or coffee and rekindle a
relationship with them. They are probably hoping that someone will care enough
to call.
The next generation~
If you have a kid or a grandkid or know a
kid—any kid—I urge you to fight for them. The generation of kids that we see
today has not always had healthy adults in their corner and they desperately
need some. Young people today are struggling to figure life out and are sorely
lacking role models and sometimes even practical knowledge. If we are going to
fight for future generations it starts with living our faith out in a way that
is open and authentic. We fight for them by being real with them, admitting
that we blow it sometimes and by continually growing ourselves. We contend for
future generations by getting involved in their lives, building genuine
relationships with them, teaching them truth and practical skills using
Deuteronomy 6:1-7 as a guide. We contend
for future generations by praying for them, and with them, guiding them, loving
them and, most of all by not giving up on them.
And finally, we can fight for…
Truth~
This is an area that requires some wisdom
and finesse. Fighting for truth can be tricky in a culture that has openly
rejected truth. I believe that contending for truth begins on a personal level.
It starts with asking ourselves a series of hard questions:
Am I seeking to understand truth by
studying the Bible with people who know more than I do?
I am I living out the truth that I do know
to the very best of my ability?
I am I the same person in private that I
am in public?
Am I kind to people?
Am I honest about my personal failures and
shortcomings?
Do the people closest to me believe I am
doing all of the above?
The next step is to look at our Churches;
we have to ask ourselves:
Are we teaching the truth, even hard
truth?
Are we holding people who profess Christ
to a standard of truth?
Are we firm but loving in our presentation
of truth?
I believe that one of the reasons people are
not embracing truth is because we’ve expected unbelievers to live up to the
standards that God set for believers without always living up to those
standards ourselves. When Christians live what they profess the world is
exposed to the reality that truth works; it makes a difference in the outcome
of our lives. When they see that, they listen when we speak. It is vital that
when we get a chance to speak we make the most of those opportunities because
truth is contended for in both words and actions.
~
The love that the Bible talks about is
tender but it also has toughness to it. It is patient and kind but it also
hangs in there; it doesn’t give up on people. Biblical love does more than
express feeling for a person, biblical love contends. It is so broad that it
will fight for those who are close, those whom we have never met (as in Paul’s
case with the Colossian Christians) and so narrow that it will go after a
single soul who is wandering (Luke 15:3-7)
Biblical love fights for the things that
really matter. It fights for the truth; it fights for the forgotten, for the
lost and for the wandering. I was challenged this past week to take a good hard
look at who and what I have been fighting for, to seek out people that the rest
of the world has forgotten and show them a love that is willing to fight for
them.
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us~ 1st
John 4:12
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