The Powerful Life

Romans 12:9-21

⁹Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. ¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Since the fall of Adam and Eve into sin we have been looking for utopia. Authors have written fictionalized versions of the idea and TV producers have tried to create shows about it. As much as we might like to try our hand at creating utopia we’re never going to succeed because our starting material (us) is flawed – deeply flawed. Our propensity toward sin will ruin every single effort.

Then we read a passage such as we have today. You have to admit, it sounds pretty good, right? I read these words and think that I wouldn’t mind living with people who practice what these verses espouse. And while we know that there will be failure, striving to live this way is worthwhile and probably achievable at some level with the help and empowering of the Holy Spirit.

But – and this is a big caveat; almost instantly our sinful self rises up for the purpose of self-defense. “Well, I’ll behave that way if everyone else will too.” At least that’s what my flesh says because if I live with these attributes I will be stomped on by every other person on the planet. I will become everyone’s servant rather than living equally with my neighbors. And suddenly a picture emerges of Jesus Christ. He embodied every single one of these characteristics and look at what happened to Him. For me what suddenly snaps into focus is Matthew 16:24-25. “²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

These words from the Concordia Commentary: Matthew by Dr. Gibbs is worth quoting here, as he does a great job of shining light on our reality.

Sometimes, the . . . disciple [strives] to personally appropriate the insistence that God work in humanly powerful ways, so that the disciple desires to exercise power over others, especially over fellow disciples, so that he can accomplish what he believes should be done. Living in each disciple is the dark conviction that can destroy unity and do untold damage to the cause and name of Christ: “put me in charge, and I’ll set things aright.” This conviction can take the form of ambition, a disguise considered good, even in the church. It readily sprouts forth as criticism, competition, and one-upmanship. Quiet, prideful comparison in which one doesn’t actually do anything, but merely demeans a brother or sister, is the way that the more introverted sinners might choose to worship Lord Self and to think 'the things of men' over against 'the things of God.' Ambition, comparison, and criticism are all ways of embracing and exalting oneself, rather than denying oneself. The way of Jesus, however, is the way of humble obedience and submission to the will of Another. When first confronted by the voice of Satan (Matthew 4:1–11), Jesus set aside his own power (Matthew 4:3–4) as well as the presumption that his Father’s powerful provision would rescue him from reckless independence (Matthew 4:5–7). Instead, Jesus chose the way of service and obedience and suffering for the sake of Israel and the world. Now he calls every disciple—every Christian—to look at the darkness within, at the desire for power over others, and to deny that desire whenever and wherever it shows itself. If any of us wants to come after him, let us deny ourselves!

©2006 J. Gibbs. Concordia Commentary Series: Matthew. p. 842. CPH.

Paul’s description of that Christian community where everyone is following Jesus rather than themselves sounds pretty good. While we will not attain it this side of heaven, it is worth striving for and allowing God to empower in us. When we see our own power through the lens of the Cross, we are able to humble ourselves to the place of servant, seeking to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters, pouring out love and kindness where the world wants only to take.