Romans
12:9-21
There are a lot of ancient books that did not make it into the
Bible.
One of them is called The Didache, which means the teaching. Much of
it sounds like the Sermon On the Mount.
There is one verse that probably kept the book from becoming a part of
Scripture – 6:2 If then you are able to
bear the Lord's yoke fully, you will be perfect, but if you can not, then do
(the) best (you can).
There’s a lot of days I’ll take that last phrase – do the best you can.
In Matthew 5:48 Jesus says to be
perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. Jesus doesn’t add do
the best you can. Throughout
the Scriptures we read of what seem to be impossibly high standards placed
before us for our behavior and our attitudes. And sometimes we feel like we just don’t have it in us –
isn’t that true? Aren’t there days
when you would like to have a do the best
you can?
This morning, as we continue our series Faith In the Modern Age, we come to Relationships In the Modern Age. I did a message on relationships earlier this year, in the
series The Harder I Go, the Behinder I
Get, but this is a topic that is always worth revisiting on a regular
basis, and this morning we’ll look at relationships from the perspective of how
our complicated modern age adds so much stress to relationships.
Our Scripture passage for today comes from what I would call the other love chapter, even though it’s not a complete chapter. It’s from Romans 12, where Paul runs
through thirteen verses about love.
And they’re tough. Listen
to what he writes –
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to
what is good.
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one
another above yourselves.
11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual
fervor, serving the Lord.
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not
curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those
who mourn.
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be
proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be
conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to
do what is right in the eyes of everyone.
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you,
live at peace with everyone.
19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave
room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”
says the Lord.
20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed
him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will
heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do
not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
I have to say, life would be a lot simpler if we weren’t called to
such a high standard, wouldn’t it?
I wish Paul had given us a do the
best you can phrase at the end of that passage.
As we consider relationships in this complicated, stressful, modern
age, we’ll note that in this passage Paul gives us three types of relationships
– three circles of relationships:
our relationships with those who are not a part of our circle of family
and friends, our close relationships, and our relationship with God.
It’s Not Just the Relationships
With Those Close to Us That Matter.
I was driving down Hurstbourne Parkway in Louisville the other
afternoon. Hurstbourne has, I
believe, more traffic than any other road in the state of Kentucky, outside of
the interstates. I love driving
that road, especially during the busy time of day. To make things really interesting, the part of Hurstbourne
where I was traveling was narrowed to one lane. But thankfully, there were signs giving ample notice to
merge to one lane. Have you
noticed when there are signs to merge to a single lane how many people decide
to go as far as they can in the other lane before deciding to merge? I love those people who wait until the
last second. That is one thing
that really gets under my skin.
How do I live up to the call to feed my enemy when I want to run
over the person who waits until the last minute to merge into a lane of
traffic?
Here is what is so challenging about the gospel – all relationships
matter. Not just the relationships
with our friends and our family.
Not just the relationships with the people we love, but even the relationships
with our enemies and our relationships with the people who hate us. Jesus says in Matthew 5:46 if you love those who love you, what reward
will you get?
Paul says If your enemy is
hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. Are you kidding me? Unfortunately, no, and it is here where
we really test our faith, and there is no do
the best you can.
Be Grateful for Difficulty, As It Creates the Bond in Relationships.
That’s a really strange thing to say, isn’t it? Be grateful for difficulty? Are you kidding me? Why should we be grateful for the difficulties
that we experience in life?
Here’s why – because they deepen our relationships. A relationship never really develops
any true depth until two people walk together through suffering and
difficulty. Haven’t you found this
to be true? Once you walk with
someone through a tough time in life you find a depth to the relationship that
did not previously exist.
Paul says to mourn with those
who mourn. When you walk with
someone through a time of difficulty that relationship becomes deeply
bonded. Some of you are probably
thinking right now about such a time.
You connected with a friend when you shared a difficult time. You connected with your spouse when you
supported one another through a very difficult experience.
Can
you have a deep love without walking through difficulty together? When you share the experience of
raising children, when you encourage someone through a job loss, or when you
weep over a wayward child the relationship grows deeper.
Never
Give Up.
I
was never a great athlete, so I never made any of the teams in my high
school. Until my junior year. That was the year the school added a
rowing team. The school is located
on the Ohio River and it appeared I would have a good opportunity to earn a
spot on the rowing team (probably because they were in desperate need of team
members). We spent six weeks in
conditioning before we ever saw the boat or picked up an oar. During those six weeks we did countless
calisthenics, a lot of weight lifting, and miles and miles of running. On a crew team, everyone has to be in
perfect sync with one another, because once you are on the water it can be
disastrous if one person if out of sync with the rest of the time. As we did our calisthenics, we had to
be in perfect sync with one another.
As we did pushups, if one person was not in perfect rhythm with everyone
else we stayed on the same number.
Sometimes we stayed on the same number for a long time. As the coach kept calling out we’re still on number 10 on the pushups
I couldn’t help but look around to see who was out of sync. When I looked around, it was me!
When
we finally got on the water we all thought we were in really great condition,
but crew is a really physically demanding sport, and we found it to be
incredibly difficult, and it was easy to give up. There were eight of us rowing in the boat, and I was in seat
seven, with one person behind me.
I can still hear him, as we practiced and when we raced, saying over and
over, don’t give up, don’t give up. Don’t quit, don’t quit. There were a lot of times I needed to
hear that.
Paul
says cling to what is good, and Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome
evil with good. Life
can be very difficult. Don’t give
up. Life can be incredibly
stressful. Don’t give up. Wrap your arms around someone who is
struggling. Pull them tight and tell
them don’t give up. Don’t quit.
Don’t
be discouraged by the pressures of our day and age. Don’t allow yourself to be worn down to the point where you
throw up your hands and say I give up!
This
is what God is saying to us every moment of every day –don’t give up! Don’t
quit! You may be stuck on pushup
number ten, but don’t give up!
Relationships aren’t easy in our day and age, but faith will carry us
through.
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