What would society look like if we all lived like Jesus? If the Spirit of self-control enabled us to fulfill the law of love perfectly, if our hearts fulfilled the internal law of love instead of needing the external law of government to stop our evil behaviors? Imagine if Christ-love dwelled uncontested in your imaginations, passions, and actions so that nothing was left of you but love perfected. Human governments are one of life’s necessities—we’ve discussed this over the past several weeks. “If men were angels, no government would be necessary,” writes James Madison. But men are not angels, and legal authorities are needed to suppress the evil we do to one another.
Yet, as believers, we are called to live not out of our sinful appetites but out of our new nature. We have been set free to love. "Through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). Jesus teaches, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
The Government of Christ’s Love
I've been asking myself the question, "What does it look like to be conquered by love? To give myself over to love completely and surrender myself to the heights of Christ’s desires?"
What does it look like for the sin-ego to be hollowed out by Christ? For my apathy and self-interest to become a discarded exoskeleton? For anxiety and fear to be entirely dislodged by the mountain of God’s goodness? For my outrage and offense at (certain) people to wither under the eyes of my Father’s compassions? For my approval-seeking to be lost in the ocean of altruism and concern for others? What if I had no hesitation towards truth or truth-telling, no fear of rejection lingering behind the raw edges of relationships? Confrontation would be the door to deeper understanding and deeper bonding.
What does it look like to resist evil without feeling threatened by it? To be so saturated by God’s goodness that evil and suffering are exposed as the enemy’s shallow boasts? Temporary and vanishing? Sin can do its worst to me, and I will have lost nothing that is not returned and multiplied by my eternally good Father.
What if I didn’t “take” at the expense of others, dash off to conclusions, or jump in to justify myself; if I wasn’t insecure in what I have, who I am, or my assignment in life? What if the ocean of Christ-love made me wealthy in benevolence, kindness of spirit, approbation, understanding, and forgiveness? If I could listen to others and truly hear them—their loves and fears, their deep sadness and silent joys? And if I could speak only using love’s healing salve, what would that sound like? What if I became a supplier of our Father’s abundant resources, and the more I gave away, the more I’d have to give away?
Could you imagine if our networks of relationships were so abundant with fondness and appreciation that our hearts were no longer anemic or covered with the green of greed, self-protection, or coercion? What if we were so defended and valued by Christ and his community that our society of love became a source of renewable energy and strength to us, that the bosom of unfailing relationships healed our wounded souls?
Is it foolish to give our lives for the King of Love who gave us our lives—to begin to build his government of love NOW? Here!? On earth, as it already is in heaven!? In the militant hour of political conversations, I fear we’ve already lost our sight and have become blind to faith’s ethereal vision. Here we are, fighting over the scraps of political bones when the feast of love's eternal joy is heaping on the banquet table. That is the Kingdom Christ died to provide—a government of love that hollows evil from the inside out. In this fallen world, do we need to stand against evil actions and agendas—and do we also need laws and governments to do so? Absolutely! But for Christians it’s in a new Spirit and under a new King that these things are fully matured. Our hope is in Christ and not in the political actors on the stage at the moment.
Prayer:
Jesus, King of Love, sweep through me and convulse me. Devour me with your love. Renew me. Transform me into your beautiful character. Let nothing be left of me. May I be as unyielding as a mountain against evil, and as soft as a kiss to the broken. Let all of the self within me and its deceitful cunning, coercion, thievery, jealousy, insecurity, bitterness and fear bow down to your throne of love. Sink them all in the ocean of your abundant joy. And may the light of your face show all things pale next to your glory and grace.
Tags: love, sin, freedom, christ, joy, peace, government, spirit, relationships, self-control, fulfillment, self, kindness
