Counter Culture: Teach One Another — Monday
Romans 13:9b
These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (NLT)
A very defining moment in my life occurred several years ago when I was serving as part of a church leadership team. Our team was having dinner as we wrapped up a long weekend of being guided by a spiritual director. We were all very tired from the rigorous discussions that had taken place over the course of the weekend as we dove deeply into challenges we were facing as a church. A primary agenda item with the spiritual director was spiritual formation. Our church was focused on reaching the unchurched, and we were growing rapidly. As a result, we had a community filled with people who were all very new to the faith. It seemed as though many of them were content to just show up and be entertained each weekend rather than taking next steps in their relationship with Jesus. As a young pastor, I was indignant about this perceived lack of willingness to grow. In a moment of exasperation, I blurted out to the spiritual director, “I just don’t understand why our people aren't hungry!” I can picture the scene again so vividly in my mind. Every eye in the room looked toward the consultant, and without pause, she calmly said back to me, “Are you hungry?” Gut punch. She nailed it. At that time, I wasn’t hungry either. I was just treading water each week as we were trying to “build a church” with limited resources. The spiritual director helped me identify a deficiency in my thinking and practice as a follower of Jesus. I can only encourage, counsel, guide, correct, and love as I myself am growing and learning to love, too.
Sunday’s message, as part of the teaching series Counter Culture, was about Paul’s challenge to believers that we teach one another. But Paul knew that the way we engage each other as fellow followers of Jesus would be fully informed by how we first engage ourselves (Romans 13:9).
Monday’s Reflection
Do you find yourself quick to evaluate the lives of others more than your own? Let that be a prompt to guide you inward. With the Father’s help, you can learn to love yourself, and others, better.
