The Meaning of "Walking in Love"

There is so much in the news that paints Christians as unloving.  Chick-fil-a didn't attack homosexual marriage, but defended traditional marriage.  ..There are gay bars so why can't there be "Family" restaurants?  Where is the tolerance for Christians?  Our society is  bent to believe that Christians are uneducated or simple minded. (I have three college degrees..).  Our society is bent towards being intolerant to Christian principles and ideals.  Why do Christians want these ideals, beyond God said it?  Because working hard, treating people like you want to be treated, forgiving others, marriages (where no one gives up), ..are the things that are best for people.   No one wants their possessions stolen.  No one wants their children splitting time living with another spouse. No one wants their children not to have the influence of both a father and mother (as neither are replaceable).  No one wants to be treated unkindly.  I do think there are people that identify themselves as Christian , yet do not do the very thing that Christ called us to do... to humbly  Walk in Love. You have seen in the media... photos of "christians" with picket signs with hateful things such as "God hates______"  (fill in the name of a people group).  I would say these people identify themselves as Christian aren't spirit-filled or haven't come to a place of brokenness over their own sin.    We can be kind to all people without saying "Oh, I think your sin is greater than mine".    If we say we aren't going to treat gay people kindly (and I know NONE of my friends that would say this ..or do this)...but if we say that, then are we going to treat people that are  200lbs over weight unkindly?; (they must be gluttons..also a sin).    Are we not going to allow them into our wedding photos?    What about the man and wife that is living under the same room...yet not married?  What about the man/woman that is struggling with addiction?   What about the man/woman that you know is currently committing adultery or the man/woman that   recently got caught stealing?  What about the man/woman who doesn't "keep the Sabbath day holy"?   That is one of the ten commandments after all.  YOU can see how ridiculous this is..   No one would say "Uncle Bob can't be in our wedding photos, or can't come to dinner...because he doesn't keep the Sabbath day".    We must walk in LOVE.  This doesn't mean we don't stand up for what God teaches, but it should change how we treat all people...regardless!   No one wants to know what God teaches if they can't see His love.  Like it or not, He has made us His hands and feet... ministers to the world.  Are we doing a good job?

So, what do I mean by walking in love?    Ephesians 5:1 says,   Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Anyone who has ever taken a Bible class knows that when you see "therefore" ..you have to go to the sentences before to find out why the therefore is there.   So Let's look at the verses before the therefore.  (They are all at the bottom of this post).  These verses say be angry, but don't sin (Eph 4:26) . (Anger isn't the problem it is what we do with that anger).   That verse goes on to say to deal with your anger quickly because if you don't deal with it quickly, you will give the devil an opportunity to create pain and harm.  Vs. 28 says Labor...work so you have something to share.   Walking in love means  saying what is good for building up and "giving grace to those who hear it". (Eph 4:29).  That doesn't mean we can't say hard truth.  Ephesians 4:25  tells us to speak truth... .but we need to test our own hearts to discern if  our motives are good. .  Are we trying to build that person up and give them grace?  We are to stop being bitter. We are to put away wrath, anger, clamor, and slander...and be kind to one another.   Ask yourselves...if doing ______, kind?  If the answer is NO, don't do it.   Then verse continues by saying be tenderhearted..forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  Let's think about that.  Did you do anything to deserve God's forgiveness? No...but He forgave you anyway.   We need to dwell on what that looks like... Forgive as God forgives.  He doesn't bring up the offense over and over.  He says He remembers our sins no more.  (Hebrews 8:12).  Are we making someone jump through hoops..even though we said we have forgiven them?  Are we withholding a blessing..even though we said we have forgiven them?  Our words are lies if our words don't match our actions.   So, we go from Ephesians 4: 32... (  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you)... to Ephesians 5: 1- 2 ..  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God..     

In case you think I missed the mark, back up.. Read Ephesians 4: 1-7 

 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵  one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Another call to walk with humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with each other... EAGER to maintain unity.   BEARING means this person is hard to get along with.  Bearing means to bear, sustain, endure, or tolerate.   We have to put up with each other...we can't ignore, cut out, or walk away.  This implies it isn't all going to be smooth sailing... it assumes there is a conflict.   So how do we bear?  ...keep reading the verse... "In love".  What does love look like? Thankfully God spells out a definition of love for us... 1 Corin. 13: 4- 7     Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;^[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

If I am not bearing with people in this way, I am just plain wrong.  Read it again.  We are to have patience, kindness and humility.  If pride, rudeness, irritation, and resentment are our emotions...we are the ones in the wrong frame of mind.   We can't be eager to break away from those hard people.. Ephesians 1:3 says we must be eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in peace.    Once you have a brokenness over your own sins..and remember you were saved by grace and not by your own good works, you have an understanding of your "moral littleness"..and you aren't so worried about other people's issues.  Then, we can respond to others in light of our own lack of morality..own own sin issues... then we won't have a righteous indignation.   The whole point of Ephesians 1 and 2 is we have no moral high ground over anyone.  Christ paid it all. Christ did it all.  Christ gave it all. That is the gospel.     

If you don't like what Ephesians is saying... go look at Phillipians 2: 5-8  So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ²  complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,^[a] 6  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,^[b] being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

Walking in love means being willing to be a servant... you don't have to be "right" .  Walking in love means looking out for the interest of others.  Walking in love means seeing others more significant than ourselves.  Walking in love means taking the form of a humble servant.  

Those things don't feel good to our flesh.  We don't want to be humble... or be grace-speakers.  That's when we turn to Christ..who changes our heart (daily...even hourly)..to do hard things. 

Tim Keller in his book, The Reason for God, put it this way:  

The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued, that Jesus was glad to die for me.  This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time.  It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone.  I do not think more of myself nor less of myself.  Instead, I think of myself less. 

Are we going to feel that it is unfair or just plain hard to walk in love????    Absolutely.    That's why we need to His word and each other.  This is a hard journey.... a journey to be walked in humility, gratitude and love.  .. a journey with beautiful views and hard lessons ... 

Ephesians 4

Unity in the Body of Christ

4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵  one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. ⁸ Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
    and he gave gifts to men.”^[a]

⁹ ( In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also 
descended into the lower regions, the earth?^[b] 10 He who descended is
 the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill 
all things.) ¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, 
the shepherds^[c] and teachers,^[d] 12  to equip the saints for the work of 
ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature 
manhood,^[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴
 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves
 and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by 
craftiness 
in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to
 grow up
 in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶  from whom the
 whole
 body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, 
when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds 
itself up in love.

The New Life

¹⁷ Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the
 Gentiles do,in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their 
understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that
 is in them, due to their hardness of heart.¹⁹ They have become callous and 
have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of 
impurity. ²⁰ But that is not the way you learned Christ!—²¹ assuming that you
 have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²² to 
put off your old self,^[f] which belongs to your former manner of life and is 
corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³ and to be renewed in the spirit of your 
minds, ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in 
true righteousness and holiness.
²⁵ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak 
the truth 
with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. ²⁶  Be angry and do        
not sin in; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and give no 
opportunity to
 the devil. ²⁸ Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing 
honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to 
share with
 anyone in need. ²⁹  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths,
 but only 
such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give
 grace to
 those who hear. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by 
whom you 
were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹  Let all bitterness and
 wrath and 
anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with 
all malice.
 ³²  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, 
as God in 
Christ forgave you.