Jesus Fruit: Let Peace Begin With Us - Romans 12:14-21 (Wednesday Night Reflection)
What do you do?
What do you do when you are coming
home from town and as the two lanes merge into one you have someone come flying
in and force their way in front of you?
What do you do when the waitress in
the restaurant takes 15 minutes to come take your order, while you clearly see
her talking the whole time with another waitress?
What do you do when a neighbor
continually brings their dog into your yard to do their business?
What do you do when you find yourself
confronted by the neighborhood bully?
What do you do when someone begins
verbally assaulting you because your beliefs are different from their own?
What do you do if someone tries to
steal from you?
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We’ve been on this journey for some
time now…we’ve been considering what it means to bear Jesus Fruit. We’ve seemingly been away from our series for
a couple of weeks now, so let’s refresh our minds about this idea of Jesus
Fruit. Jesus had said, “I am the vine,
you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit....”[i] We decided that since apple branches produce
apples, and grape branches produce grapes, if we are branches attached to the
Jesus vine then we are supposed to produce Jesus Fruit.
What is Jesus Fruit? Jesus fruit is none other than the fruit of
Jesus’ Spirit…the Fruit of the Spirit that Paul talks to the Galatians about:
“...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control....”[ii] We came to realize that we don’t get to pick
and choose between the list that Paul offers up, but that if we are bearing
Jesus Fruit, all aspects of this one fruit will be found in our lives.
We began by considering the
centrality of love…that love has to be the foundation of all that we do…that
God is love and that without love, then nothing else we do matters. We came to understand that the love that is
supposed to be part of our Jesus Fruit is God’s agape love, so beautifully
described by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: “Love is patient; love is kind;
love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its
own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing,
but rejoices in the truth. It bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends....”[iii]
Next, we considered that aspect of
Jesus Fruit that is “joy.” We discovered
that the command to be joyful or rejoice is found throughout Scripture and that
our joy is rooted and grounded in the fact that we worship a Risen Savior…a joy
that comes from knowing that there is nothing greater than the love of God
found in Jesus…a joy that we are called to share, because it is only in sharing
the Good News…the Joy of Scripture…that our joy might be found to be complete.[iv]
We took a break to celebrate our freedom
to gather as the body of believers and enjoyed a hotdog cookout on the ground,
and then last week as we returned to worship, we took a break from our “Jesus
Fruit” series and considered the root of all freedom, the freedom that we find
through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, the freedom from bondage to sin.[v]
Tonight, we return to our Jesus Fruit
and question what it means to bear Jesus Fruit that contains peace.
How many of you have ever had to
break up a fight between children?
Working in day care for five years, volunteering in the schools for the
last eighteen years, working with children and youth in the church for the last
twenty-two years, and raising my own for the last twenty-five, I have done it
plenty.
When you break up the fight, what is
the most common thing heard? It is some
variation of, “I had it first.” “He hit
me first.” “She started it.” Sound familiar.
The said thing is, those excuses aren’t limited to children. Over the years I have heard quite a few
grownups use variations of those statements in their own disagreements…it may
vary a little, but when it comes down to it, it all means the same. The world seems to support this idea and
encourage this idea. Not only do
children watch adults fight among themselves, but Anita and I have actually had
a parent tell us years ago, that they informed their children that if someone
hits them and the parent finds out they didn’t hit back, then the kid better
expect to get whipped when they get home.
The world says get even…the world says strike back…the world says fight
it out.
Yet from God’s Word, we hear Paul
echoing Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as Paul tells the Romans:
Bless those who persecute you; bless
and do not curse them. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for
what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on
you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room
for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says
the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty,
give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on
their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.[vi]
Did you hear that? Paul said, “If it
is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Paul didn’t say live peaceably with
others if they live peaceably with you.
Paul didn’t say live peaceably with
others if they don’t hit you first.
Paul didn’t say live peaceably with
others if they don’t cut you off in traffic.
Paul didn’t say live peaceably with
others if they don’t appear to ignore you in the restaurant.
Paul didn’t say live peaceably with
others if they keep their dog on their property.
Paul didn’t say live peaceably with
others if they don’t steal from you.
Neither Paul nor Jesus called us to
live peaceably with others based on the actions of the others…their concern was
on our efforts…so far as it depends upon us, we are to called to bear the peace
of Jesus Fruit.
Does that mean that we can never
confront a wrong or disagree with someone?
No. In fact, we are called to be
faithful, and sometimes that brings us into conflict with others…yet we can maintain
efforts for peace. I took and taught a
parenting class one time called “Parenting with Love and Logic.” Some of what that program offered was
invaluable and has stuck with me…especially the parts that apply to grownups as
much as they apply to children. Among
those things was to focus on the words we use (a sermon series coming up when
we complete this one)…and that when in a conflict or an argument to avoid using
“fighting words.” It was a call to use
words that continue to discussion, but not words that are going to escalate the
situation. A simple example would be to
avoid saying to the person you are disagreeing with, “That’s stupid” (because
those are fighting words), and instead say something like, “let’s think this
through.” The tone with which we speak, as
well as our body language also becomes important as well…maintaining a calm
voice and an open posture.
Does seeking to live peaceably so far
as it concerns us mean that we cannot defend ourselves? No.
But there is a difference between blocking an attack and striking
back. I imagine Jesus, on the number of
occasions that angry crowds attacked Him, had to dodge or block a punch thrown,
yet in all of those attacks on Him, we don’t see the rest of the crowd laid out
with Jesus as the last man standing, we see Him passing through the crowd and
walking away[vii]
every time, until that day where He is walking through the crowd, not walking
away, but walking up a hill…and carrying a cross.[viii]
“But Pastor Lee, I can’t do
that. I have to argue back. I have to fight back. I am not going to let someone walk all over
me.” The truth of the matter is, we can
do it…Paul tells the Philippians, “I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me.”[ix]
Remember the freedom we talked about
last week…what may have seemed like a week away from this series, even to me,
turns out to be a needed insert. We are
free…
Not only are we free from the bondage
of sin and the fear of death…we are completely free in every aspect…we are no
longer bound.
Someone else’s actions do not bind us
in how we have to respond to them. Just
because they attack, does not mean we have to attack back—whether verbally,
physically, or some other way.
The expectations of our society and
view of others do not bind us. Just
because others would call us weak because we don’t fight back, or even go on
the offensive, does not mean we have to.
In Christ we have the freedom to
choose…
We can choose the way of retaliation
and getting even, and fasten the twin-shackles of payback and vengeance about
our wrists and ankles…knowing that the path of this slavery ends in death…
Or we can choose to embrace the
freedom that Christ offers and with it, as far as it concerns us, seek to live
peaceably with all, revealing to the world, even if it is how we take up our
own cross, that we abide in Christ, and Christ abides in us, and we are bearers
of Jesus Fruit. My brothers and sisters,
let us bear that fruit, and as far as we are concerned, let peace begin with
us.
In the Name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[i] John 15:5
[ii] Galatians
5:22-23
[iii] 1st
Corinthians 13:4-8
[iv] John 15:11
[v] Galatians
5:13
[vi] Romans
12:14-21
[vii] Luke
4:28:30
[viii] John
19:17-18
[ix] Philippians
4:13
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