from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church https://ift.tt/2XKS2RW
via IFTTT Strong and gentle. Two concepts we rarely associate together. Yet they are. In fact, you can not have gentleness without true strength. Think what it takes to be gentle and loving. For example, let's say a groom wants to lovingly and romantically carry his bride across the threshold into their new life together. If he is not strong, he will struggle. In the struggle he will likely cause hurt or at least fear in his bride. Or think of a fireman needing to carry an injured person out of a burning building to save them. The fireman requires strength to be able to carry someone without causing further injury. Strength is a necessary prerequisite to gentleness. Here Paul is saying to "be strong" yet "walk in love". Strength in truth. Stand against all compromise. The Corinthian church had become weak. When members sought to define their own truth, the leadership allowed it. They did not defend the faith. The result was chaos, sin, confusion. The church as a whole suffered because the people were not standing firm in truth. They preferred to accommodate personal desire, to be inclusive, to be sure to not offend, to be politically correct. And all of that is compromise and sin. Paul says to be strong and stand for the pure gospel, speak against sin and compromise. But Do so in love. Never attack anyone nor act disrespectfully. Always consider the one struggling to resist sin as a brother needing love. Treat them with the same respect you would your best friend who is making bad choices. This takes strength. It's not easy to lovingly correct a brother. But we must. It's not easy to accept everyone in love while standing against sin, but we must. We are, in fact, our "brothers keeper". Be strong, be courageous, be brave, but act in love. Don't let people continue in sin, but rescue them from it. Speak truth in a manner that conveys respect and love.
