Compelled by Spiritual Love
1 John 1:5b - “God is light. In Him, there is no darkness at all.”
“Self-centered love loves the other for the sake of itself; spiritual love loves the other for the sake of Christ.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
When was the last time you let your motives be scrutinized by God? In a hard-hitting and direct way, Dietrich Bonhoeffer challenges Christians in his book, Life Together, by laying out his perspectives on the differences between truly spiritual and merely emotional communities. I spoke a little about this last week in my sermon explaining that it is not uncommon to be persuaded by false notions of what Christian community is supposed to look like. Some of that revolves around my own desires for community, and some of it revolves around my previous experiences. Depending on whether previous experiences were positive or negative, I bring my own desires to either reproduce or change what I had. In either case, I’m laying onto my Christian community what I want, or what I expect. It is rooted in emotion, or psychological needs, or friendship, but not solely in what Jesus Christ has done for me and for others in my community.
It is probably helpful to dig a little deeper and provide some contrasting examples. Bonhoeffer describes spiritual communities as being rooted in truth (John 14:6) versus emotional communities that are rooted in desires. Spiritual communities are shrouded in light (1 John 1:5 & 7) while emotional (psychic) communities are based in darkness (Mark 7:21-23) because they rely on their own interior thoughts and perspectives. Spiritual communities are ones where people recognize their calling and salvation in Christ. Emotional or psychic communities are ones where people are pious, inwardly motivated for looking and acting in certain ways without the heart and motivation that comes from life transformation. In terms of love, the differences are defined as “agape” vs. an “eros” kind of love. The self-sacrificial kind of love versus that kind of love that is rooted in desire and self-fulfillment. In the spiritual community, the Word of God stands alone. In the emotional community, an exceptional and gifted person rules with power, influence, and ability and simply uses the Word of God as an aid to their own ends. Need I go on? As I said, it’s very direct and I know it’s challenging.
It’s why I’m pressing into it. The world really doesn’t need more emotionally, psychically motivated self-help communities based on what we can achieve when we put our minds to it. The world needs the hope and love of Jesus Christ. When we see the world through Jesus and see the image of God in others, we no longer are compelled to simply be kind and generous, but we are compelled to truly love. It is the love of Jesus in our own hearts and lives that compels us to engage others on the basis of their own journey with Christ. Maybe it is best summed up in the statement by Bonhoeffer posted above. For whose sake do we love others?
This week I’m asking what compels us. What compels us to reach out and love each other? What compels us to reach beyond our community and draw others in? This year is a year I am committed to seeing our community grow. We must be compelled as a community to engage each other, and others outside the church, with deep, abiding love. We must be compelled by the Holy Spirit to become the spiritual community Christ alone fashions between us. We will not grow on the basis of our goodness, our methods, our activities, and our concern for each other. We can and will grow as we allow the Holy Spirit to shape us, mold us, make us into the spiritual community that is united around the life-saving work and love of Jesus Christ in each of our lives.
It’s important that we each review our motives to this end. Not everyone we reach will stick within our community of faith. But whomever we reach must know that they are loved and that the journey with Christ is what unites each of us as a community. We want to be filled, led and empowered by the Holy Spirit to extend Christ’s love, not some human or worldly expression of love. I encourage all of us to prayerfully ask the Lord to reveal our blind spots in relation to the basis of our relationship to our Christian community. Where there is a more emotional basis than a spiritual basis, know that God is merciful, loving, and can restore our perspectives for His good and glory. God will shed light in your heart, reveal the truth to your mind, and fill you with His love as you open your heart and mind to Him more every day.
I pray that you will continue to press into this journey even more. It is not comfortable. But the painful pruning that needs to occur will yield an abundant harvest in time. I hope to see you this Sunday as we explore a little more about “What Compels Us” as a Christian Community. And if you’re able, stick around for lunch and for our annual meeting immediately following. It’s a good time to catch up with each other.