Be Not Overcome

“And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” John 1:5

As strife, division, and general unrest intensifies throughout the nations, I’ve found myself, more than ever, pleading on my knees for wisdom on how to respond. Specifically, how should we feel, speak about, and act towards those whose actions we deem to be wrong? When situations trigger deeply emotional responses in us, it can be easy to let these emotions drive us and make us feel justified in our choice of words and actions towards those we disagree with. But each time I pray for wisdom, without fail, our Father continues to point me to the life of His only-begotten Son. And this should be no surprise, as Jesus is to us “the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30). And God’s wisdom is certainly the only wisdom humanity needs right now, as His ways are so much higher than our ways, and His thoughts above our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). It’s abundantly clear that doing things our way has not been working out so well, and thus God is calling us to look back to Jesus:

1 Peter 2:21 “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:”

So what example did He leave for us to follow? How was the wisdom of God revealed in His life?

1 Peter 2:22-23 “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

This can certainly be a hard pill for us to swallow, but this is “the faith of Jesus” which we are called to have (Revelation 14:12). He trusted His life completely in His Father’s hands, and thus He felt no need to retaliate against those doing him evil. And amazingly, He went even further than refusing retaliation…

Luke 23:33-34 “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”’

He loved them, and forgave them, in the very midst of their murderous act.

And this was not a special extension of grace connected to His crucifixion alone, but was a theme that permeated His teachings throughout His entire ministry.

Matthew 5:38-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

According to Jesus, the perfection of God is fulfilled in us when we love as He loves, and that love is completely unconditional. This love, called agape in the Greek, does not exist naturally in the human heart. It is love that does not require being loved in return. It never fades, never weakens, never stops flowing out to others in service and blessing; completely unaffected by the others’ reception or rejection of it.

Many people are familiar with I Corinthians 13, known as the “love chapter” (truly the agape chapter), which is often read at weddings. But have we really heard what it says about the nature of agape?…

I Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

There are many points we could unpack here, but right now I just want to focus on two statements in verse 7… Agape love “bears ALL THINGS” and “endures ALL THINGS“…

The question we must ask ourselves, then, is – Does all mean all?… Is anything excluded here?

If this agape describes the love that flows from God Himself, because He is agape (I John 4:8), then is there anything, any single thing, of most horrendous acts we could possibly bring to mind, that could make God stop loving us or stop trying to show us that love?

The answer is no.

So then, we must ask ourselves more questions—Why do we stop loving our brothers and sisters when they do things we deem wrong or hurtful? Why do we stop trying to show them that love? And why does it seem justified to so many to meet hatred and violence of one form, with hatred and violence of another form?

The answer is very simple, “Because lawlessness will abound, the agape of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:12)

God does not force Himself on anyone, He is truly a gentleman. He wants nothing but to heal us and bless us and fill us with His agape love, that it may flow out to others. But if we don’t want Him in our lives, He will honour this desire and leave us to ourselves, as much as it breaks His heart to do so. Lawlessness speaks to the rejection of God as a loving Father and Creator, who longs to instruct us and guide us in the ways which will bring us health and life and joy. When we don’t want His guidance, we reject His laws and push Him away, saying in effect, “I think my way is better.” We think ourselves to be wiser than God, and He simply says, “Because I love you, I will let you go,” and free will permits us to find out where our own way will take us.

But in making this choice, we disconnect ourselves from the only Source of unconditional agape love. The only love we can then experience must ultimately be a self-seeking love. Not because we are consciously thinking this way, but simply because we must receive love back from others in order to replenish our supply. If we have not made God our Source of ever-flowing agape, and we are called upon to love someone who is not loving us in return—whether they’re simply disagreeing with us, or acting in ways which are hurtful to ourselves or others—our supply for that person will dry up very quickly. Our love will grow cold because we will have nothing more to give them, as they are not giving anything back to us. And when this supply of love dries up, all of its qualities—patience, kindness, humility, hope, endurance—dry up with it, giving way to the qualities contrary to agape—envy, pride, rudeness, selfishness, impatience, irritability, anger, fear, and condemnation.

Understanding this principle, it’s no wonder that our world is facing so much dissension and division. But that’s where each of us, individually, can make a difference. By asking God to be our Guide, our Teacher, our Father, our Friend, and fill us with His agape, we can show unconditional love to those who need it the most—those whose lives and actions are the most offensive to us. God has given us this work—the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-19), which is founded upon the fact that Christ gave His life for us while we didn’t want anything to do with Him. (Romans 5:8-10) He did not look at us as hopeless rebels, but as precious children, of infinite value in the eyes of God. This is how we are to look at our brothers and sisters of the human race. We are called to this work that through our love for others they may catch a glimpse of how God feels towards them, as it is only a revelation of God’s goodness that has the power to bring anyone to repentance (Romans 2:4), to receive a new heart and a transformed life (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Therefore, if we deem that someone is in need of a new heart, we better believe that WE are personally responsible for showing them the love necessary to trigger that change.

Proverbs 10:11-12 “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.”

John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

I Peter 4:7-8 “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

So let us follow the example of Jesus. Let us love so boldly that people think it’s unnatural (because it is!!). Let us stop looking to man to create more laws or policies to fix these issues, but realize that out of the heart spring all the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). Let us look up instead—to the Living Law, Jesus Christ, who desires to write God’s eternal Law of Life upon our hearts, every word of which hangs upon the principle of receiving God’s love and loving Him in return, that we may be filled with His agape and enabled to truly love our neighbours as ourselves. (Mark 12:30-31)

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Proverbs 4:18 “For the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”

Let us be that light that shines in the darkness, that cannot, and will not, be overcome