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Relationships
Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017
Important Reminder – There is no group meeting this Thursday, Feb. 16. We resume group next week, Thursday, Feb. 23.
This week Pastor Brian continued his message series about Heaven. This Sunday’s emphasis was on what relationships in Heaven will probably look like. I have to admit, his scriptures for this Sunday served this purpose perfectly but were a little hard for me to apply to recovery. SO … I’ll stick with his theme of relationships as applied while we are still in the body. For scripture reference we’ll look at a piece of Paul’s letter to the Romans.
(Romans 20:17-20) 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.”
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
A searching and fearless moral inventory produces a detailed list of our character defects and shortcomings. Once we have become entirely ready for God to remove them all and have humbly asked Him to do so, we commence a new life in Christ seeking His will for us and asking only for the power to carry it out. From that point forward our day to day interactions with others provide continuous opportunities to show God’s grace. Clearly, this is easier said than done. God will most certainly remove, at least for the moment, our negative human ways but only if we remain surrendered to His will. Freedom of choice is both His gift to us and a challenge for our judgement is flawed and self-centered. For this reason, Paul’s scriptural direction is specific. We should understand that “justified anger” is not a luxury we can afford. Anger ultimately leads us off our spiritual path and inevitably back to our addiction.
Paul very specifically tells us to respond to evil with grace and to always do what is right. We need to seek peace with everyone. “As far as it depends on you …” is an interesting caveat. It shows understanding that we are humans living amid other humans so we may not be able to remain at total peace since we may not be able to affect their feelings. Still, we are to keep our side peaceful and seek no revenge or self ruled justice. Judgement is up to God. Instead, we are to respond with peace and helpful aid. I’m not entirely sure about heaping burning coals on heads but hopefully our response will help bring peace for all.
As Pastor Brian described in Heaven, our primary relationship will be with God and all others will be secondary. By living as Paul describes, we are able to build a glimpse of what Heaven may look like right here on earth.
Once again, see you next week, Thursday, Feb. 23 6:30-7:30 PM HCC Youth Building.