The themes I see in these verses are love and submission. A life lived in Christ means submitting to his authority in every aspect of our lives. As Paul says this is the transforming and renewing of our minds. This allows us to love others beyond our own capabilities. I like Tom’s description of having compassion and love for difficult people. This is more than emotional love. It is an act of the will that is accomplished when we have the love of Christ in us. We are commanded to love God and love others. There are no exceptions for difficult or even spiteful people. It is easy to love when we are loved in return. How much more is it to love those that are hurtful to us?
Submission to Christ also involves truth telling. The people during Christ’s time were abusing the use of oaths. They would swear by lesser things than God and therefore their words would not be binding. They could speak in partial truths and not fulfill the contract of their words. It is similar for us. Is it ever okay to speak anything less than the truth? I find myself wanting to hedge on this one. It is easy to rationalize telling partial truths when it seems insignificant, (e.g. white lies), to protect a family member or protect my own interests. I would be taking a part of my life and making it exempt from the truth and therefore God’s authority. Christ clearly speaks against this.
Submitting to Christ also means giving up “our rights”. We have no right to retaliate, no right to our money or possessions, and no right to our time. Read 1 Cor 9:19-23. Paul was willing to give up his own rights and identity for the sake of the gospel. What does this mean for us? How we respond to a personal attack, use our time, money, and resources is evidence of our willingness to submit to Him. Are you looking for opportunities to use what God has given you for the purpose of growing His kingdom?
I want to make an additional point about retaliation. In today’s culture we have a perceived right to retaliate when we have been disrespected. It takes enormous effort and self control not to fight back. It does not mean we are to be doormats but our conduct should be consistent with a Christ-like life that is expected of us. Read Romans 12:19-21. “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good”. This is not possible with our own strength but only with the love of Christ working in us.
This leads us to verse 48. We are called to a standard of perfection but we all have fallen short, (Rom 3:23). It is obvious we can’t do this on our own. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross perfected our record but we will continue to sin, and he will continue to perfect us throughout life. This is the hunger and thirsting for righteousness mentioned in the beatitudes and turning to him for daily forgiveness and cleansing. We will continue to sin and may even enjoy doing it but He will continue to work on us. Initially, it may be a gentle prodding, but it may be harsh if we continue to ignore him. You can be sure He will continue shape us for his purposes. See Phil 1:6.
The bottom line is our conduct is very important. People come to know Christ as they see Him in the scriptures and in our conduct. We may be the closest someone may ever get to Christ. Is Christ’s love evident in your conduct?
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