Battle In Love

I want to talk about something that we are all dealing with. Right. This. Minute.

The Battle.

We all have some sort of battle we are facing right now. It could be unexpected, unavoidable, or self-inflicted. Doesn’t matter how it got there. We are facing it and we have to armor up.

On our unexpected trip to Kansas City (that resulted in a hospital stay), Katie and I were in perpetual worship the whole way there. Katie loves what she calls church songs (worship music). Usually she wants to hear Waymaker or Never Lost or Oceans. But this time she wanted Battle Belongs. And it instantly brought me to tears. God goes before us in battle and He is there long after we leave. We all have times that our hands are tied. We experience hardships when we are at God’s mercy and must rest in His grace no matter the outcome, and our battle plan must be prayer.

But what about the battles that we are called into action to love when it is just plain hard, and may even seem ridiculous to our worldy and simple minds? Ephesians 6:10 says, “Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6 is where we must start for 2 reasons: 1. We gain perspective of who the enemy is; and 2. We discover what we must armor ourselves with.

But instead we start with opinion, spewing hate if we don’t see eye to eye. That is not how God made us.

Today I saw a video of a people in a church building shouting “Let’s Go Brandon!” My heart instantly sank. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a fan of our president. I do not agree with mandates being passed down and at times I have even taken part in the anger and ridicule of our current political state. But this video, in a mere moment, convicted me. What, as Christians, have we come to? We are called to love others without judgement or ridicule. We are in this fleshy, worldly battle filled with misinformation and division. We shout, we hate, we call names and ostracize others if they don’t see things our way. But that is not what we were called to do.

WE ARE CALLED TO BATTLE IN LOVE.

We are called to love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:39) and we are also called to love my enemy and those who persecute me (Matthew 5:44). So, what is love then? The Bible says in John 15, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” And then in 1 Corinthians 13 the word says that love is patient and kind. It says that love does not envy or boast. Love isn’t arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way and it is not resentful. So if we are professing to follow Christ, and we are not loving our neighbor or our enemy, if we are angry rude, and resentful, then it is time to check our hearts. We are not living out the Great Commission as we are called to do.

Some of those we shout at don’t know Christ. They are lost and looking for purpose. How are they supposed to find that through us if we refuse to show God’s love? I am not talking about acceptance of sin and untruths that contradict God’s word. I am talking about the truth in love.

Battling in love is not accepting sin. Battling in love is not agreeing with something that is not backed by God’s truth. Battling love is meeting others where they are at just like God does for us. He sets the example, so why do we not imitate it?

I challenge each of you to battle in love this holiday season. How you ask? Meet people where they are at. Befriend them. Don’t tell them about God’s love, show them. Be kind, be patient. Listen. Forgive. Offer gentle truth. Humble yourself even if it takes a million times and a million hidden frustrations. God works big miracles when we are willing and obedient. Pray for the ones around you and ask God to reveal why He has placed them in your life.

Yes, the battle always belongs to God. But God calls us to be His soldiers.