We are whipping through the letters now! We are already done with 2 Thessalonians!
A verse stood out to me in a new way this week because of a reference made to it by a Bible teacher I heard recently who was reviewing Romans. (We read that a month ago!)
Romans 12:10, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love….”
Do you remember reading that? The Bible teacher asked the audience, “How does one do that when another person can just bug the heck out of you?”
When you think about it,….sometimes it can be really hard to be “kindly affectionate”! I actually think it could be harder than the command to “love one another”. Let me explain. As a Christian, we have been taught to love everyone, including strangers. We can do that because love is a choice. One can choose to give another their coat, give up one’s rights, serve people, etc. These actions demonstrate love, but they can be done without being emotionally invested. The “brotherly love’ thing is loving on a different level. It’s not just choice to act. An emotion is connected to this type of love. You gotta be nice, friendly, enjoy the company of the other and “be kindly affectionate”.
So…..how do you do that if you get totally bugged by a person?
This is when the teacher turned to what we read this week in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy- meditate on these things.”
I always applied that verse to the things I was filling my brain with such as books, movies, news, talk with friends, etc. , trying to fill my mind with good thins, not bad stuff.
However, this teacher applied the verse to how one should think when with the person who bugs. Look for the good in him/her. Every person has some sort of good virtue! Look for that in the person and don’t dwell on his bad traits. Look for something praiseworthy in the person. Meditate, or think on, the good qualities you can find. Then when the time comes, you can be kindly affectionate to him with brotherly love.
Ah ha! I love reading verses in a new way! Have you ever read Philippians 4 like that before? I am going to remember that!
What a great tool to use next time I am with the little bugger! 😉