WEATHER ALERT:

Wednesday, February 5, Childcare at Leawood, West, Overland Park will not be open during morning due to local public school systems announcing late arrival schedules.  All church buildings will operate on regular schedule. However, at Leawood, West and Overland Park, programs requiring childcare will not be held prior to noon Wednesday.

IMPORTANT:

On Sunday, February 9, we’re moving our regular 5 pm worship service to 4 pm so everyone can get home in time to watch the Chiefs play in the Super Bowl.

Love doesn’t lower “standards”—it IS the standard

October 25, 2024
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Daily Scripture

Romans 13:8-10

8 Don’t be in debt to anyone, except for the obligation to love each other. Whoever loves another person has fulfilled the Law. 9 The commandments, Don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t desire what others have [Exodus 20:13-15, 17; Deuteronomy 5:17-19, 21] and any other commandments, are all summed up in one word: You must love your neighbor as yourself [Leviticus 19:18]. 10 Love doesn’t do anything wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is what fulfills the Law.

Daily Reflection & Prayer

Paul sent this letter to Roman house churches (there were no big Christian cathedrals in his time). Some house churches were mainly Jewish, others mostly Gentile. Their standards of “righteousness” varied (cf. Romans 14:1-15:13). It was easy for them to criticize each other. Paul said the purpose of God’s law or rules is to help us love. Love, he said, isn’t just one command among many, but the essence of all God’s instructions. “Love is not a ‘soft’ option, but the hardest thing of all.” *

  • Paul said love fulfills the entire law. This simplified the complex religious rules he had learned in his youth into one guiding principle. You may often face situations where multiple ethical principles seem to conflict. How might focusing on love as the ultimate standard change your approach to difficult decisions? Can you think of a recent situation where prioritizing love would have led you to act differently? How would this align you with Jesus’ Golden Rule?
  • How might ugly religious episodes (e.g., the Inquisition, Salem witch trials) have been different if Christians had trusted love to fulfill the law? How can you stand for truths that matter without being unloving toward those who disagree? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow the inner qualities (they may not come naturally) that help you live out the law of love. What practical steps could you take to more fully embody the “love your neighbor” principle in your family, workplace, or community?
Prayer

Lord Jesus, “love is what fulfills the Law” sometimes feels too easy to me. Until, that is, I try to do it—then I realize how high and hard a standard that is. Teach me how to love the way that you love. Amen.

GPS Insights

Picture of Darren Lippe

Darren Lippe

Darren Lippe serves as a Couples Small Group co-leader & Men's Group Leader, while volunteering in a variety of other capacities at Resurrection. He and his wife, Doris, first met in a Resurrection Single Adult Sunday School class in 1997 and were married in what is now the Student Center. They are empty nesters with 2 college-aged sons, Matthew and Jacob.

 

Today’s passage offers us a daunting challenge. We aren’t just supposed to tolerate & endure the time spent interacting with “John Q. Public,” but we’re supposed to actually love them. Seriously? Did Paul ever meet the public? I liked it when a young lady asked a preacher, “Do we need Jesus to go to heaven?” He jokingly replied, “Honey, you need Jesus just to go to Wal-Mart.”

Well, if we are supposed to actually demonstrate Christian love to everyone we meet, what might that look like? Back in 2011, our Small Group participated in the trendy “Love Dare” challenge. This was a 40-day challenge for couples to understand & practice unconditional love. Each day had a devotion & a “to do” activity. For example, one day we were to ask our spouse what might be 3 things that we do that he/she thought were irritating. I recall telling my wife, Doris, that if she needed more time to try to come up with 3 annoying traits of mine, we could talk about it later that week. She quickly interjected, “Do you want it alphabetical or chronological? I can sort my spreadsheet either way.” (The list itself wasn’t so bad; it was the 4 tabs on the spreadsheet that was a tad disconcerting.)

Since we have 12 days until Election Day, let’s consider one “love challenge” for each of the 12 days:

  • Go 24 hours without complaining or offering negative comments about anyone you encounter; this includes that guy using the speaker-phone to detail his irritable bowel condition, or the gal who warmed up a cod casserole in the office microwave, or the goofball driving 35 mph when the speed limit is clearly 35 mph.
  • Show up 10 minutes early to one event on your calendar this day. Use this extra margin to visit with someone, ask how he or she are doing, & actually wait for a response.
  • Say something nice & uplifting to every person you encounter. It could be as simple as, “What a beautiful sunrise this morning” or “I like your Chiefs’ sweatshirt.”
  • Pray for a patient heart, especially when you are watching a scene in the show, “The Old Man,” where the intricacies & nuances of a complicated plot are being quietly detailed & your wife asks, “Do you think her freckles are real?”
  • Greet everyone you meet with a friendly wave, a sociable head nod, or a genuine smile. It might just be the friendliest encounter they have that day.
  • Do a routine task that you dread, so that no one else has to do it. It could be washing the coffee cups in the break-room sink or folding & actually putting away the laundry in the laundry basket or picking up after someone else’s dog while on your walk.
  • Say a silent breath prayer for people who cross your path that day. We have no idea what others might be going through, so just offer a prayer that God bless them or grant them peace or show His love for them that day.
  • Willingly cede an argument over some minor topic or inconsequential disagreement. Find peace in not having to be “Always Right” or being “Number One.”
  • Hold the door open for someone. (Tip: Make sure they are near the door, so they don’t have to break into that awkward mini-jog to avoid the guilty feeling of inconveniencing you.)
  • Pretend you are a huge fan of the person you are with at the moment. Wouldn’t we put our phone down & focus on everything they said? Wouldn’t we root for them to have the best day possible?
  • Avoid unrealistic expectations/demands on others for this day. Offer grace & forgiveness & don’t let disappointment cloud our emotions. (Note: This challenge is not applicable if we are undergoing brain surgery.)
  • Finally, sincerely pray over our own potentially irritating habits & ask God to help us mend our charming eccentricities so that we can avoid being a burden to those around us. (After all, these minor idiosyncrasies could someday be referred to by police as “motives.”)

Now if you’ll excuse me, the spreadsheet says I’m not very spontaneous, so I need to go make reservations for our “spur-of-the-moment” date night tonight.

© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References

* N. T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: Romans Part 2. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, p. 89.