When the Going Gets Rough

The roughed love harder!

That's the saying I got out of the passage in 1 Peter that I preached on last Sunday.

"Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart," (1 Peter 1:22 NAS)

If we are Christians, we are supposed to love.  There is no conditional phrase there.  We don't love those who love us.  We don't love those who are nice to us.  We love.  Period.  End of story.  When it gets hard, we should love more.  That is a far cry from what so many Christians do.  Often we use love as a bargaining chip or a means to punish.  When our spouse angers us, we stay away, we don't talk, we withhold expressions of love. Perhaps we disown kids who don't do as we want.  We withdraw from friends who we disagree with or who have hurt us and no longer treat them in a loving way.

Now, this does not exclude things like discipline, either in families or in church.  My kids get sent to time out.  We have had to practice church discipline before.  This is done in love, not as a means of witholding love.  Even putting someone out of fellowship is not the same as personally shunning them, which some sects have done.  It is simply a recognition that a person still needs to deal with sin in their life before then can function normally within the body.  But even when they are "put out' they are to be loved.  After all, the Bible tells us to love our enemies.  Bless them that curse you.    If we are Christ's, then we will allow His love to permeate our hearts and we will love all, no matter whether they are nice to us, or lovable, or anything.  This may be hard from a human standpoint, but with Christ, I can do all things.  So can you!