Upside Down
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, (Hebrews 10:24 ESV)
Stirring
My grandfather used to say, after my grandmother complained to a waitress, that we catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar. I am not certain why anyone would actually want to catch flies, but there we have it.
My grandfather knew this verse. If we wish to persuade, ask, cajole, or convince someone to take some action, kindness and gentleness are often more successful than yelling or whining.
The author of Hebrews is commenting on more than successfully getting our way, though. He is noting that Christians have in our arsenal, and in fact, at the core of our persuasions, something that can turn the world upside down.
We stir each other to love and good works in a very different way. The Holy Spirit stirs us to love and good works not through guilt, like most religions do, but by unity. Christ stirs us to love and good works not through fear, but by example. The Father stirs us to love and good works not through threats, but by promises.
When we stir each other to love and good works through the world’s methods we forget who we are.
Instead, we can turn the world upside down by following the example of the Holy Spirit, the Son, and the Father.