Don't Hate. Appreciate.

What do you want to be known for? When people think of you, what do you want them to think of? How fashionable you are or how you were always up to date on the coolest movies, TV shows, and music or how you could always afford nice things? I know that I want people to think of me a little differently. I want to be thought of as someone who could make anyone laugh even if they were having a horrible day or someone who took care of those who couldn’t take care of themselves or someone who always spoke kindly of others, even those that frustrated and annoyed him. When the author of 1st John, who was a close friend of Jesus, spoke about what the Son of God’s followers would be known for, He gave one simple word: love. John didn't say that people would know we were Christ's followers by: how many Christian t-shirts that we own or how many hours of Bible study and meditation that we log or how many worship songs we know or even how many people we invite to church or how many service projects or acts of service we commit. Although many of those things are forms of expressing love towards God and others (okay, maybe not the t-shirt thing), the word of God explains that Christians will be recognized by the way that we love each other.

So, how are you doing at loving others? I think most of us would say that we do a pretty good job of loving those who we like and enjoy being around, but what about the people who annoy and frustrate you? It’s often hard to identify the difference between those whose habits and actions get on our nerves or anger us, and those who we actually hate. It’s easy to look at people like Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and murderers as those who we need to be careful of hating; however, sometimes our enemies and those that we hate are actually those who we allow to frustrate us to the point that we are disgusted by them or we can’t stand to be around them. If you find yourself unable to think or speak about a person without becoming angry or saying a hurtful comment, you probably hate that person. Whenever they come around you choose to get away from them, not because it’s healthier for you to be removed from their presence, but because you want to show your disgust for them. If every time they speak you look at it as an opportunity to demean or humiliate them, then you probably hate this person. Christ didn’t call us to merely tolerate our enemies, but to love as He loved us.

Now I’m not saying that people can’t annoy you or that it’s a sin to not enjoy someone’s company. In fact, the evil actions of someone should infuriate you, but you should still be able to approach that person with love. As you read the four gospels of Jesus, it’s impossible to miss the fact that He was often frustrated with religious leaders, and we see him reprimand them for the actions. However, you never read an occasion where Jesus sees a religious leader among Him, and He says, “guys, let’s go over here. Those nerds, the Pharisees, are back.” Jesus always corrected sinful behavior, but He always did it in love and in a way that wouldn’t demean the person. In fact, there are many occasions where His own disciples frustrate Him, yet Jesus never kicks them out, even when they betray Him. This is what set Jesus apart from the religious teachers of His day, His ability to love everyone. Not because He was hip or current, but because He loved everyone, even those who hated Him. That’s what Jesus intended for His followers. That we would be set apart from the world, not by our modern worship services or how hip we are, but that we would be different in the way that we loved. That everyone who came in contact with a Christian would feel the love of the God who saves.

So, how are you doing at loving others? Love is patient: do you take time out of your schedule for others or are you just focused on what you want? Love is kind: are you known for your words of encouragement and acts of kindness? Love does not envy or boast: are you able to rejoice when others succeed, instead of being so focused on your own accomplishments to the point that you let it bother you? Love is not proud: do you humble yourself daily, and make yourself a servant to everyone? Love is not rude or self-seeking: do you lift others up, instead of pushing them aside in search of what you desire? Love is not easily angered: do you refuse to let the little, inconsequential things that others do cause you to get angry with them? Love keeps no record of wrongdoings: are you able to set aside self-serving grudges, in order to extend bridges of love and forgiveness to others. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth: are you known as someone who weeps when evil actions go unanswered, yet celebrates when good triumphs? Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, and love never fails.

Do these statements reflect your life? What would the world think of Christians, if this was true of every church? If the church was a place where everyone who was outcast by society or treated as unworthy by the world was lifted up in the church, would the world see us differently? Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to love our enemies, is that true of you? It’s time for the church to reflect the image and love of its Savior. The writer of 1st John explains that “if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is made complete in us”. Are you working to make the love of the Father complete or are you tearing it down?

Experience This
Spend time in prayer with God, thanking Him for His love, and repenting for the times that you have not extended that love to others.

Discuss This
What steps do you need to take, in order to begin loving those that you have a hard time loving?

Apply This
Do at least one loving thing for someone that is hard this week.

Forgiven

Imagine that you and your friends have been isolated and harassed by a certain group of people for no particular reason other than the fact they chose you. Every day you are continuously oppressed and harassed by this group, and there's nothing you can do to stop them. Suddenly, one of your friends chooses to suck up to the oppressors, and begins to receive special treatment from them in return for his/her cooperation in harassing you and your friends. Now imagine that person was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. This scene is the backdrop for the story of Zaccheaus in the Bible (you might recognize the name from the previously referenced children's song). Zaccheaus was a tax collector, a traitor to his people who were being oppressed by the ruling Roman government, and he was known for being a cheat and for stealing from his own nation. Due to the four steps that we discussed on Sunday, Zaccheaus was able to fully experience the forgiveness of God, and proves himself as an example for all Christ-followers.

If you've grown up in the church, or even if you haven't, you probably know the story of Zacchaeus. Most of us were taught the story of Zacchaeus through a song, that I'm sure someone, somewhere is humming right now. However, the most relevant part of the story, at least for our purposes here, is what happens after the song ends. The song ends with Jesus declaring that He will be coming to Zacchaeus' house, but this is not the end for the story of Zaccheaus; on the contrary, it is the beginning of the story of when grace and forgiveness came to Zacchaeus' house. Jesus knew who Zacchaeus was, probably due to Zacchaeus' reputation or simply because Jesus created Zacchaeus, and knew his entire past and the things he had done. Even the people in the crowd knew of Zaccheaus' history, and they were astonished that Jesus would be associated with such a sinner and traitor (Luke 19:6-7). Although it's not written in the text, I think it's safe to assume that when faced with the love and mercy of his Creator and Messiah, Zaccheaus had a decision to make: admit his sin and confess it to Jesus or make excuses and try to cover up his fault.

The first step for us to take in order to experience the grace and forgiveness of God is to acknowledge our sin. Zaccheaus could have chosen to make excuses or shift the blame to someone else. He could have said, "Jesus, the Romans are really tough on me, and they force me to take more" or "You just don't understand what it's like to be me", but he doesn't. Zaccheaus admits his sin, and makes a promise to correct his sin. Once again, we never see Zacchaeus say any of this explicitly, but we can assume that through spending time with the love of God, which he experienced through Jesus, Zacchaeus begins to understand the depths of his sin and sympathize with those he wounded. Before we can ever truly repent, which means to put our sin to death, we have to understand and feel what our sin does to God. I would believe that Zaccheaus understood the pain he had caused others, but it wasn't until he met Jesus that he began to feel the pain he had caused his Heavenly Father. Ultimately, it was the grace, love, and forgiveness, embodied in Jesus Christ, which was the catalyst for Zaccheaus to stop running from his sin, and finally admit his sin.

This leads us to the final step, which is to promise to put our sin to death. Zaccheaus does this in the end of the story by promising to repay all of those he had cheated four times what he owed them, and to give half of his possessions to the poor. Because Zaccheaus understood that in order to ever truly repent of sin, you must be willing to put it to death. Zaccheaus chose to put his greed to death, and to prove his conviction, he chose to be extravagant with his compensations. Jesus responds by saying, "today salvation has come to this household" (Luke 19:9a). Due to Zacchaeus' experience with grace and forgiveness, he chose not to just enjoy his freedom and continue sinning, but to live as a changed man, living in the love and grace of his Savior.

So, what is it that you need to truly repent of? What is it that keeps you from truly experiencing the grace and forgiveness of the one who died for your salvation? Is it that you need to acknowledge your sin? Or do you need the resolve to actually put your sin to death? When is it that you are going to stop running? When are you going to repent, so that grace, forgiveness, and salvation can come to your house?


Experience This
Spend time praising your Savior, through songs or prayer or whatever means you choose. Praise Him for the grace that He has extended to you, and the freedom you get to experience due to it.

Discuss This
Speak to someone in your small group about what it is that holds you back from taking the next step in experiencing God's amazing grace.

Apply This
Take whatever necessary actions, so that you can move forward in experience God's grace.