So you found a new friend who’s pretty cool. He’s full of fun ideas, infinitely curious and easily keeps pace with you. You’re having fun examining some strange bug you caught and his parents call him inside. Bummer. You both head home but later you realize he didn’t come back outside.

So missing him, after you finish lunch you run over and knock on his window, ‘Come back out’. He doesn’t tell you that he isn’t allowed to, maybe he’s ashamed of that or doesn’t want you to know why, or maybe it’s because he really does want to play outside and if he told you he couldn’t you’d leave, and he doesn’t want that either. So, he hops out the window and all seems good.

Then when his parents find out he’s no longer there, they call him in again. But this time he doesn’t just get called in, he gets disciplined. And maybe this happens a few times before you realize your friend keeps getting in trouble. You’re not sure what happened but you know it wasn’t good for him.

To love your brother is to not go back and knock on the window.

And he may miss you not knocking, or he may be sad, or even angry. Though it’s not necessarily about you, (if it wasn’t you, it would be another friend in the neighborhood) the Word says if one is hurting then the whole Body hurts, and when one rejoices the whole Body rejoices. Ask Simon who was picked out of a crowd and ordered by the Roman soldiers to bear Christ’s Cross in the street. It’s about bearing one another’s burdens when the load gets too heavy. And it’s about the maturing of the Body of Christ as a whole, God expects us to do the right thing by each other. You may miss your friend, but the loving thing to do is to stop knocking.

“You Do Not Understand Now, But Afterward You Will Understand”

Sometimes we can’t understand everything, but when God says, ‘Not now,’ it doesn’t mean never again. We might think it’s not like God to say yes, then no, then yes but I’ll give you the perfect example of this. Christ says, ‘Go out into all the world and preach the good news.’

Then in Acts 16.6-7 we get this seemingly contradictory shift with Paul and his men,

“Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.”

Interesting, no? Jesus didn’t give the disciples any extra instruction, simply ‘go into all the world.’ No restrictions, no set timeline. This is another reason why it’s important to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Timing is everything.

Love isn’t always an easy thing, to love your brother isn’t always easy, it takes a great deal of maturity to fully embody the attributes of love. Agape love is impossible without God. If He is love, then one can’t have Agape without Him. He is made strong in our weaknesses. And Paul’s instruction to us in Romans 14 regarding stumbling means God expects us also to help each other.

One other simple example is this: if you’re having lunch with a friend and you know he struggles with alcohol, you don’t order a drink while you’re dining with him because you get to go home, go to sleep and carry on with tomorrow’s activities.

Meanwhile, he stops by the liquor store (since he poured out all the liquor he had, struggling to get well), and he falls dreadfully into sin and maybe doesn’t stop drinking for a week, missing work, forgetting obligations, etc.

Maintaining strength is important, God’s seasons are important and it’s important to do the right thing for your brother’s sake. God is faithful.

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Romans 14:13-23

“So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.” I like this line. To some, a particular action or connection is considered evil even though we know no sin has been committed. But for the sake of good, you protect and take responsibility for your brothers or sisters who may be struggling. Even though the Spirit forbade Paul from moving into those regions he wanted to journey, didn’t mean the people there were forsaken or that God didn’t love them. It was because there was a more favorable season at a later time.

Love endures all things.

Have a blessed week, all you beautiful people~

Featured Image by Robert Collins