Click here to listen to the radio version.
Click here to search the AOG archives.
Apples of Gold
Radio Script for April 14, 2010
“What If Love is the Final Authority?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Call the authorities.
What do we usually want when we call the authorities?
We usually want an outsider to step in and mediate a situation. We need them to provide restraint.
For example, if you see two guys fighting in the street. They aren’t restraining themselves, so the authorities must step in and restrain them.
Authorities provide restraint within society. The two guys may stop fighting at the mere thought of the authorities showing up. But if they keep fighting, then the authorities have the power to break them up, even if it means blasting them with a taser. They can throw them to the ground, handcuff them and put them in jail.
Authorities provide restraint through the threat of and the use of physical force. And if you want to go wild and simply will not be restrained, they have the option of shooting you.
Then on a national scale we have the armed forces. Our military provides restraint for anyone who wants to harm us. Would North Korea like to take over America? Oh that’s right, they can’t, because we have the ability to incinerate them.
Now that’s an effective restraint!
In our world today, nuclear weapons seem to be the final authority, and that’s why we want to be careful who has them. Unless you want to live in a wretched world, the good guys need to have the final authority over the bad guys.
And that means the good guys need to have the biggest arsenal. Whether in our little towns or counties, or on an international scale, if you want to have the authority you must have the most powerful weapons and you must be ready to put the hammer down when the time comes.
Maybe it’s a guy thing, but that appeals to me. The power and the authority and the ability to crush the perpetrators of evil, to wipe them off the map. If you are doing evil, you can expect the authorities to sweep in and restrain you, even if it means using lethal force.
But then we read the words of Jesus and all his “rhetoric” about loving your enemies and doing good to those who hate you.
What? What kind of nonsense is that? If we love our enemies and do good to them, they will simply walk all over us. They will have the power and the upper hand and we will become their slaves.
If they ask for our shirt and we give them our coat as well, then we will have neither shirt nor coat. If we give them what they ask for, they will take everything. Evil will end up with everything and good will have nothing.
It looks like doing things Jesus’ way would cause society to break down into all mayhem.
No, it looks like force is the answer, all the way up to lethal force. That is the only way to keep society from swirling out of control and falling into the hands of evil.
Unless…
Think about this. What if love is the final authority?
What if loving people is the display of power?
What if loving people is the show of force?
What if love is the restraint that holds people back?
I’m not saying we dismantle the army and the police force. I’m just saying we need to take a good, long look at what Jesus said.
His big command is found in John 15. More than once He emphasizes this command: “Love each other.”
In verse 12 He said, “Love each other as I have loved you.”
Now think about this. Have you ever restrained yourself out of deference to someone who loved you?
Here is an example I have heard many times. Teenagers who want to go crazy end up restraining themselves because they know it would disappoint their parents. I’m not talking about punishment. I’m talking about young people who restrain themselves simply because they know their parents love them and they don’t want to disappoint or hurt them.
When you know someone really loves you, it changes you. It changes your actions. It sets up boundaries that you will not cross.
I’ll admit, I haven’t really wrapped my head around this concept. How would this play out in society? Is it even possible?
I’m not sure, but I do believe that love has an amazing power of restraint that we don’t give it credit for.
I’ll never forget the story of David Wilkerson ministering to the gangs in New York City. One gang leader, Nicky Cruz, with his threatening switchblade, told David Wilkerson something like, “Preacher, I could cut you up into a thousand pieces.” And Wilkerson said, “Yes, and every piece would say, ‘I love you.’”
Then there was the story of David having Nicky and his gang take up the offering at one of his meetings. They could have easily run out with the money, but for some reason Nicky made his gang members give it all to the preacher.
Could it have been the restraint of love?
Could love really be the final authority?
What would happen in our society if we really ratcheted up our level of love for each other?
I think we would find that, instead of being limp-wristed and weak, there really is a restraining power and authority when we love people like Jesus told us to.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here: http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one: douglas_apple@msn.com
(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-
No comments:
Post a Comment