Armor of Light

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Armor of Light

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.  The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  Love does no harm to a neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

“And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.   The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.  So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.   Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.  Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

(Romans 13:8-14)

In a women’s Bible study with which I am involved, a friend shared her frustration with a coworker who is turned off by the ungodly attitude and actions of many of the outspoken Christians in her workplace.  Consequently, she doesn’t want to have anything to do with the God they claim to follow.  It breaks my heart to hear stories like this, but unfortunately, it reveals a cold, hard truth.  Christians sometimes turn people away from Christ by their unloving, hypocritical actions.  Focusing on trying to do right naturally leads to a judgmental spirit such as this.  If we think we can “be a better Christian” in our own strength, then our pride puffs us up and we give ourselves permission to measure everyone else according to our own standards.  Then, we come across as being cold, unloving and harsh.

Author and minister William Barclay also noticed this pattern.  He said, “More people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real Christian love than by all the theological arguments in the world, and more people have been driven from the church by the hardness and ugliness of so-called Christianity than by all the doubts in the world.”  So how do we draw people and not drive them away?

Love is the fulfillment of the law.  Love is impossible in our inherently selfish spirits, but this passage gives two steps to take toward love; getting away from fleshly temptations, and getting into Christ’s Spirit.  Only through Christ can we put on the armor of light, giving God the freedom to love through us and keep us within His commandments.  Only by giving up our own desires and surrendering to the Spirit are we able to overlook others’ issues and love them right where they are. . . in much the same way Jesus does for us.  In this way, people are drawn to God’s love in us instead of being repulsed by our ugly, sinful nature.

So, how do we love one another?  We can’t.  Only God is able, so we must let Him love through us.

People need love, especially

when they don’t deserve it.

How do you tend to judge others based on your own standards?

Do you find yourself trying to be a “good Christian” instead of letting God transform you into the image of Christ?

Heavenly Father,

It is easy for me to get caught up in trying to become the woman You created me to be.  After much trial and error, I find this pursuit impossible.  Instead of putting forth my best effort to bring about a transformation, it is my desire that I instead submit my whole life into Your hands, so You can mold me as You see fit.

In Jesus’ Name I pray,

Amen