1.2 Anger and Love

With eleven references, the second page in this notebook is nearly twice as long as the first page was. There are some charming spelling errors, including "Pether" and "Philipians". The first seven verses appear to be written with the same pen (so perhaps added at the same time). The last four were added later.

• Matthew 5:38-40, 44
• 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 
• 39 “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
• 40 “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
• 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

• Romans 12:14, 17-21
• 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
•  17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
  18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
  19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
  20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
  21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
• Romans 13:8, 13
• 8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
• 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
• Luke 6:27-29, 32, 35
• 27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
  28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
  29 “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
• 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
•  35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
• 2 Peter 1:5-8
• 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
  6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
  7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
  8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Colossians 3:8, 13-14
• 8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
• 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
  14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
• Philippians 2:4
•  4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
• Galatians 5:20, 22
• [Now the deeds of the flesh are...] 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
• 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
• 2 John 5
•  5 Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.
• 1 Corinthians 3:3
• 3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
• 1 John 4:7-8, 11
• 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
  8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
• 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
• 1 John 4:20-21
•  20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
  21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also

One of the first things I'm noticing as I expand this list is that I often unnecessarily cut out context. It may be because I didn't understand the verses I skipped over, such as the verses about going the second mile in Matthew 5, and some of the verses from 1 John 4.  More likely, I was really trying to "narrow down" and focus on words and synonyms of anger and love. 

Secondly, I'm noticing three different contexts for love instead of anger

• To enemies - Matthew, Romans 12, Luke
• Between brethren - 2 Peter, Colossians, 2 John, 1 Corinthians, & 1 John
• As a part of our transformed self - Romans 13, 2 Peter, Colossians

Philippians 2 does not fit neatly into any of these categories. I think it may have been added because I took Matthew 5 literally, not understanding the context. It was years later when I was taught about the "rights" of the Roman soldiers to demand housing, clothing, and foot service from the Jews in their region. 

Moving from that thought into the first context, I now appreciate even more Jesus's command here in the sermon on the mount. He was commanding them to show love for the people who abused and oppressed them, by bearing the abuse and showing generosity in the face of insistence. This love reflects the love of God, who sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). We are to do good to all men, including those outside of the faith. (Galatians 6:10). Romans 12 tells us to seek peace with all men, and to leave vengeance to God. He is the One with the knowledge and wisdom to serve the penalty for sins and wrongs, and has decided to save that penalty for judgment day. When someone speaks angrily to me, abuses me, spreads rumors about me, or persecutes me in any way, I am to show love, opening a door by reflecting God's glory and grace.

God says so much about loving our brethren in the Bible. 1 John 4 shows us that our love for our brethren reflects and glorifies God. The church at Corinth received rebuke because the church was divided and full of pride and jealousy, rather than brotherly love. In 2 Peter, brotherly love is listed among the qualities of a fruitful Christian. We must have diligence to show love to our brethren, and our love is based on our faith in God - it is through Him that we see each other as equal and precious. Love for our brethren requires virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, and godliness. If we lack brotherly love, and show jealousy or hatred, we have forgotten God's forgiveness! As Colossians 3 shows, just as God has forgiven us, we should forgive our brethren. (This always reminds me of the parable in Luke 16). God bears with us when we struggle, and we are to bear with our brethren. He always believes in our ability to seek Him, grow in Him, and grow in godliness.. we should have the same optimism towards our brethren.

If the Christian life is about being transformed into a reflection of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18), then we must be loving, just as He was and just as God is. We can experience righteous anger when we see God being blasphemed, but must handle that anger rightly, and seek peace. From 2 Peter, we are not only to put on love & the other qualities, but they must also be increasing within us. Every day, we need to look at God and at Jesus to see what love looks like, and then change our lives so that their light shines within us.