Latest / Still, Here / Let Love Enter the Closest Places – Love Beyond Measure

Transcript

Let Love Enter the Closest Places – Love Beyond Measure · Still, Here

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: A quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians chapter 5 verse 21.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the words that follow this verse have been used poorly.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Paul goes on to speak about wives and husbands, children and parents, servants and masters.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: In different times and places,
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: those passages have been used to tell one person that God requires them to submit
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: to another person's control.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: We need to hear what Paul says before any of those relationships are named.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: The small ruler says, relationships work best when someone wins, controls, or gets their way.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: The world understands power that way.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Someone has more authority.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Someone has the final word.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Someone gets to define what is good for everyone else.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Paul places Christ at the center instead.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Christ is the head.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Power belongs to him.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: That changes what strength is for.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus did not need to diminish another person in order to reveal his authority.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: He restored dignity.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: He served.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: He listened.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: He told the truth.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: He refused to be manipulated by the expectations of others.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Grace changes the way power moves between people.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Mutual submission does not mean no one has responsibility or authority.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Families, workplaces, churches, and communities still have roles and decisions to make.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: It means the relationship is no longer organized around my need to get my way.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: The question becomes larger.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: What is good for us?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: What protects dignity?
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: What serves love?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: What reflects Christ here?
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: That requires humility.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: It also requires strength.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Christ-like self-giving does not mean erasing yourself.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: It does not mean tolerating abuse, coercion, intimidation, or harmful control.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: It does not require a person to remain available to someone who is using Scripture,
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: authority, money, fear, or physical force to dominate them.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Anyone who uses power to diminish the image of God
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: within another person is not exercising the power of Christ.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: And love does not require you to surrender the image of God within yourself
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: to someone else's domination.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Our first allegiance remains with Christ.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: That matters in marriage.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: It matters between parents and children.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: It matters when someone supervises employees or leads a church.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: It matters in friendships,
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: caregiving, and every place where one person has influence over another.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: The more power we carry,
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: the more opportunity we have to use that power for someone else's good.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: That is very different from making ourselves small.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: A person formed by grace can be both loving and clear,
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: both generous and boundaried,
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: able to yield without losing themselves,
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: and able to stand firm without needing to dominate.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Love refuses to crush the image of God in another person.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Love also refuses to call domination holy.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: We are not depleting our strength when we use it this way.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: We are letting the strength of Christ take form in the closest places of our lives.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Christ Jesus, You are the head of my life and the source of whatever strength I carry.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Keep me from using power to control another person or surrendering
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: the dignity you have placed within me.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Teach me the strength of mutual care.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Give me wisdom to serve,
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: courage to speak, and freedom to set boundaries where love requires them.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Let the influence you have entrusted to me become a place where your love is felt.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: As you walk back into your home, your office, your calling, carry this prayer with you.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Christ is my source.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: I use His strength to love.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Christ is my source.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: I use His strength to love.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Christ is my source.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: I use His strength to love.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Christ is my source.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: I use His strength to love.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, stay present.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.