We Love Because God First Loved Us

Friends,

It has been a rough past week.  I shared last week about peace and security in the Lord…and that topic would still certainly be appropriate for a time like this.  Many people have a lot to say at times like this, a lot of opinions are shared when we have tragedies occur, which is their prerogative.  I guess I am just the opposite.  For me, at least, it is not a time to plea or pontificate…but a time to ponder and pray.  I just don’t know that anything I would have to say would be sufficient to deal with the raw hurt, anger, fear, sadness and other emotions that people are feeling…feelings which are entirely real and understandable.

So, whether it is the right thing or not, I try to let Scripture speak.  I want to hear the voice of God when bad news seems to be overwhelming.  It is not much different when I get called to the hospital to help a struggling family.  Sometimes…most of the time…people just need you to be present, and they need to know that God is present.  So, as it came to sharing this message today, I spent a significant amount of time thinking – what does a preacher person say?  There are a number of important passages that we could and perhaps should consider.  I tend to default to the Scriptures that remind me of God’s attributes, and what it is that He shares with us and wants us to know.

Today, I want to talk about one of my favorite Bible characters, and some of my favorite words that He shares with his readers…with us.  John is known as the apostle of love.  This is certainly due, in no small part, to His understanding and grasping the nature of his Father…and in this section he tells us that God is love.  One of the keys to John’s writings is that he wants us to know that anyone who knows God has been born of God’s love and will…and is responsive to God’s love and will.  At the beginning of chapter two of John calls his readers, “My little children.” As an aged person at this point, all of his readers would be like his children…and this reflects the fact that we are all children of our Father.  This is our big picture.  John provides to us some critical information concerning love (here, 1 John 4:7-21)…and he starts with this -- Love is not God; love does not define God, but God does define love, for God is love.   Much of what is called “love” in modern society is in reality…lust.  It bears no resemblance or relationship to the holy, spiritual love of God.  The “God kind of love” is special, unique -- agape, from the Greek, meaning – a love that knows no boundaries…it is unconditional, powerful.  It is born out of the very essence of God.  It is unique because it was delivered to us in the most powerful way --through God’s only begotten, one of a kind, Son…Jesus Christ.  None of this took place or was prompted by any love that man has ever had for God…man has betrayed God over and over – it was prompted by His love for us.  The Father was the initiator!  Unbelievers love their families, and even sacrifice for them in many respects.  Many people have some kind of intellectual understanding concerning God, but what is lacking – a personal relationship…a personal experience.  But, John says, God is invisible -- no one can see Him in His essence, only through special appearances of His glory, shekinah – burning bush, pillar of fire and cloud, mercy seat.  Yet, Paul says – “Jesus is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).  By taking on a human body, Jesus was able to reveal God to us (John 14:7ff).  God wanted to do more than just tell us of His love, rather, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  And even more than this, He wanted to live or abide in us!   He says this six times in this section.  And so He is able to do so through His Spirit…bearing His fruit.  Jesus ascended and left His Helper, the Holy Spirit to guide us.  In this way, the Father reveals Himself through the lives of His children. 

So, men may not be able to see God directly, but they can see God in us…the Father in the lives of His children.  His love is experienced in us, and then it is expressed through us to all.  Christian love is evidence that people truly know God!  It is not simply an intellectual pursuit, but through an exciting day by day walk that makes us Christ-like.  At the same time, there is the other side of the coin.  This is the part that the world does not understand, unfortunately.  We love not only those who are like us, but even those who are different from us or would be enemies to us.  For those of us who are in Christ, we can and must always find ways to reconcile our differences in the Lord.  As children of our Father, we may fuss like regular children, but we also forgive and move on.  We cannot love God and hate a brother or sister in the Lord.  We love, unconditionally…and are a blessing to all.

Yet another wonderful characteristic of the Father’s love is that His positive love removes negatives, such as fear and punishment.  Knowing the persecution that early Christians were experiencing at the time of John’s writing this letter, one would think that they would have plenty of reasons to be afraid.  Not so!  John says that we Christians can experience boldness or confidence toward our Father…we do not need to fear the past, present or future – the love of God transcends all this.  We are indeed sons and daughters in relationship to our Heavenly Father, and not prisoners who cringe before a judge, because our judgment is not future…it is past.  Jesus Christ took our sins to the cross and suffered judgment for all mankind – if we are in Him, we have no need to fear, but can have blessed assurance.

Rob Chaffart shares this -- Point Pelee's Lifesaving station in Ontario, Canada was established in 1901 as a result of the numerous lives and vessels lost to this peninsula. With its many shoals and reefs, it is most certainly a sailor's nightmare.  On November 22, 1906, the Conemaugh, a wooden steamer, lost all control in the Pelee passage. It hit the shoals with such a force that most of the blades of the propeller were broken off by the impact. The crew was in dire panic.  The team of seven at the nearby lifesaving station set out immediately to the rescue. Their task wasn't easy however, and it was made even harder by the tumultuous waves that constantly invaded their tiny boat. Once they were finally near enough to the Conemaugh, the crew went about the task of rescuing the crew.  One thing they didn't do, however, was try to pick and choose who would be saved. Imagine if they had said something like this: "Oh, here is Joe, my neighbor. A real jerk of a man! I don't think there is room for him in my boat. Good riddance!" But no such thought ever entered their heads. Rather, they made three trips, risking their lives each time, so that anyone on board of the Conemaugh could be brought safely ashore.  Would we have done the same? I'm speaking to those of us who have experienced God's love in our lives! Why is it that we have no trouble loving God, but when it comes to loving our fellow mankind, we are left wanting? So often we end up pondering how it is possible to truly love others. After all, we have been burned so many times, and these wounds continue to haunt us every step of the way.  How can we love like Jesus does? Is it even humanly possible? Immediately we are reminded that "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold..." (Matt 24:12 NIV) It is completely normal, given the evil in this world, to hesitate to love. Nevertheless, this Bible text continues "…but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matt 24:13 NIV). Those of us who do not let wickedness influence us in our love for others are the ones who stand firm!  We were destined to love! No wonder the evil one tries to thwart God's plans by every means possible! Will we let him? It all depends whether or not we are "standing firm".

We can know…we can experience genuine agape love, if we fully know the Father through the Son and have His Spirit dwelling, living in us.  We also understand that the love of the Father is sacrificial!  Know that the love of God is part of His very essence.  When we understand the Father’s love for us, it makes all of the difference in our lives.  Even, if we have not had a good example of an earthly father’s love in our lives.  When all of the pieces of the puzzle come together and in place in our lives, God’s plan becomes apparent to us and real for us.  When we understand our Heavenly Father’s love for us, we share this love with others and have no need to worry or be afraid.  He helps us to grow in our love for Him and for others.  We have everything to look forward to in our hope of joining our Heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  If we are living for Christ, we can be confident that we will be with Him one day.  We can now respect and understand just how it is that the Father had done what He has done for us…He wants us to be with Him!  We were all steeped in bad news at one time…news like the world has to offer.  But, now we have the Good News that we enjoy, and that we need to share with a world that desperately needs it.  Life is short…love is what matters.  The Father’s love through His Son is what matters most – and it is what makes the difference for us, His children.

Blessings, Don

On the Third Day

Friends,

What is interesting about the gospels, and in this case -- the Gospel of John, particularly -- is that there would be no chapter 20 if Jesus’ story was a normal biography…the story would end with the death of the individual.  If the story ends in chapter 19, then it is truly the end of the story…for Jesus and for all of humanity.  But, the account of this miracle (John 20:1-18) is proof that Jesus is unlike any other human being ever to live.  The Resurrection is an essential part of the Gospel message (1 Corinthians 15:1-8) and a key doctrine in the Christian faith.  From the very beginning, the enemies of the Lord try to deny the historic fact of the Resurrection.  The Jewish leaders claim that the Lord’s body has been stolen from the tomb.  But, this is absurd…because if the body was stolen, then how on earth would they have done it? The tomb is guarded by Roman soldiers and the tomb sealed with an official Roman seal.  Also, the disciples have not believed that He is to be raised from the dead; it is His enemies who remember His words. (Matthew 27:62-66)  The opponents certainly would not have taken the body.  The last thing they want is anyone believing that Jesus actually has risen from the dead.  As the women approach the tomb, they are worried about who would roll back such a heavy stone (Mark 16:1-3).  And this brings us to Mary Magdalene, the first of the women to arrive at the tomb on the first day of the week. As we consider her experience that Lord’s Day morning, we can see her comprehension of the truth of the Resurrection.

Mary Magdalene and several other women agree to go to the tomb of Jesus following His death on the cross and His burial.  These women, desiring to show their love for Christ, want to complete the burial preparations.  Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had been forced by the circumstances to prepare the body quickly, but now the ladies are going to finish the task.  What they are not aware of is that an earthquake has taken place and the stone guarding Jesus’ tomb has been rolled back by an angel.  It is apparent that Mary Magdalene goes on ahead of the other women and gets to the tomb first.  When she sees that the stone has been rolled away, she believes that someone has broken into the tomb and stolen the body of her Lord.  Given all that we know, and have already discussed concerning the circumstances surrounding what has happened to Jesus, it is not difficult to believe that Mary thinks this way.  Mary runs to break the news to Peter and John at an unknown location. The other women arrive at the tomb, then leave and carry the angels’ message to the other disciples.

Meanwhile, Peter and John start off for the tomb.  It is John who follows initially, but being fleeter of foot, he gets there first. When he arrives, he cautiously remains outside but looks in.  What does he see? Grave clothes lying on the stone shelf.  Peter also arrives and…true to form…impulsively heads on into the tomb.  There, he also sees the grave clothes.  John then enters the tomb, looks at the evidence and is awestruck!  It is as if the light goes on all of the sudden, because the text says, “He sees and believes” (v.8). Resurrection faith begins to take hold.  It is amazing that Jesus’ followers did not expect Him to come out of the tomb alive…after all, He had told them on numerous occasions that He would be raised from the dead (John 2:19, etc.).  Peter and John experience faith that is based on the evidence.  They see grave clothes…they know that Jesus’ body is not there.  After the resurrection, Jesus does not reveal Himself to everyone, but only to select witnesses who share the Good News with others (Acts 10:39-43).  Peter and John see and believe – soon the Holy Spirit will confirm their faith.

Peter and John have returned home by the time Mary Magdalene decides to come back to the tomb. She has stayed in the garden, such is her love and devotion to her Lord.  Mary has not reached the same conclusion as have Peter and John, for she believes that Jesus is still dead. Her weeping is the loud lament associated with how her people, the Jews, express sorrow.  When she comes to the tomb and looks inside, she sees two men dressed in white. Their positions at either end of the shelf where Jesus had been lying, makes us think of the cherubim on the mercy seat. (Exodus 25:17-19)  It is as though God is saying, “There is now a new mercy seat – my Son has paid the price for sin, and a new way is opened up to the presence of God.”  Mary does not seem to be disturbed at seeing these two men, and there is no evidence that she knows that they are angels. But, her conversation with them does nothing to calm her, or dry up her tears. 

Mary is determined to find Jesus, and at once, she turns around and sees Jesus, although she does not know that it is Him.  It is interesting that she does not recognize Him…perhaps it is too early to see well, or her tears are blinding her somewhat, or perhaps Jesus is concealing His true identity from her for the moment, as He did with the Emmaus disciples.  Jesus asks her why she is weeping…and who is it that she is seeking. Jesus recognizes her broken heart and tenderly reveals Himself to her, simply calling out her name – Mary.  When He does this, she immediately recognizes Him. All she can say is “Rabboni!” (Which means “my Teacher”). She not only speaks to Him, but grabs onto His feet, and holds onto Him…sort of like we did when we were little kids and we didn’t want a parent to leave the house.  Jesus tells her not to hold on to Him…which is curious.  One reason is that she will see Him again, as He will be on the earth another forty days before ascending to the Father. Mary does not need to panic…as if this is her last opportunity to be with Jesus.  A second reason is that she has a job to do – go tell people that Jesus is indeed alive.  She does, indeed, get up from there and share the Good News, “I have seen the Lord!”

Every year, thousands of people climb a mountain in the Italian Alps, passing the "stations of the cross" to stand at an outdoor crucifix. One tourist noticed a little trail that led beyond the cross. He fought through the rough thicket and, to his surprise, came upon another shrine, a shrine that symbolized the empty tomb. It was neglected. The brush had grown up around it. Almost everyone had gone as far as the cross, but there they stopped.  Far too many have gotten to the cross and have known the despair and the heart break. Far too few have moved beyond the cross to find the real message of Easter. That is the message of the empty tomb. (Lavonn Brown, "The Other Half of the Rainbow," submitted by Michael Adams, First Baptist Church, Union City, TN.)

This has long been one of my struggles with how people view the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  Some have put so much emphasis on the cross that they nearly miss the most important event, and this is the Resurrection.  We must not only recognize the power of the cross, but we have to live in the power of the resurrection of Jesus!  The kicker with all of this, going back to the beginning of the message today -- as good as the evidence is to convince the mind, it cannot change the life.  What do I mean?  Those of us who live centuries later cannot examine that evidence, for it is no longer there for us to inspect.  But, we do have the record of the evidence in God’s Word as it has stood the tests of time.  It is faith in the message found in the Word that Jesus wants to cultivate in us through His Holy Spirit.  And that message…the undeniable message of the Resurrection…is that – Jesus is alive!  He is alive in order that you and I may be able to be alive forever…and this is Good News!

Blessings, Don

The "Whatever You Do" Virtues

Friends,

Christian author, Charles Colson tells this story in his book, The Body: Being Light in Darkness, p.163 -- one time, theologian Francis Schaeffer, shared a platform with former politician and urban leader, John Gardner.  Mr. Gardner spoke on the need to restore values to our culture.  After he finished speaking, a Harvard student asked him – “On what do you build your values?”  Gardner, usually articulate and confident, paused, looked down and said, “I don’t know.”  Colson says, “I have repeatedly encountered this same reaction when I have contended before scholars and college audiences, that…in a secular, relativistic society, there is no basis for ethics.  No one has ever challenged me.  In fact, in private, they often agree with me.”  I would affirm -- I am not certain what other answer could there be.  Without some set standard, such as that found in the Word of God, then there can be no set standard for values.  When this is the case, every individual is his or her own standard…so, there can be any number of millions of standards.  This is the kind of pluralistic world that we are living in today in many respects.  But, before we through dirt on a Christianity that some have settled in a six foot box, let’s not forget that the power is with God, not us. Humanism has no definitive answers to life’s big questions, but...God does.  People’s doubts and fears will be erased when they trust in the God that “shows up” when we least expect it, but who also is always there.

Paul shares with the Colossian believers (Colossians 3:12-17) that, in Christ, they have been blessed with distinct values, a set of standards. The challenge is to continue to live according to these values that are revealed.  Paul wants the Colossian believers to live holy, “set apart” lives, (the original word, which we are probably familiar with, is hagios).  There are some important motives for doing such, based upon what God has done for all of us.  God has chosen His people through His Son, Jesus Christ.  He wants for all men to come to salvation.  For those who “choose their chosenness” in Christ, these are able to find salvation in Him.  And as we have indicated, believers who have given their lives to Christ also have been set apart from the world and unto the Lord.  We are not our own, for those of us who are in Christ belong completely to Him. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) This is certainly a growth process for all of us, but I appreciate what Kyle Idleman says about this subject…that we do not get “to go to a ‘spirituality’ buffet” to pick and choose what we want and what we do not want.

We are motivated by love…by such unbelievable, yet believable love, that we have a Father in heaven who would give up His Son on our behalf, so that might be able to live eternally.  Related to this is another motive for Christians to understand -- forgiveness.  In Christ, God’s forgiveness is complete and final…it is not conditional or partial.  God is able to forgive guilty sinners (which is all of us), because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. He has forgiven us for the sake of Christ. (Ephesians 4:32)  And because of this love, we should live lives of love of gratitude, thankful for what God has done.  As we grow in our love for God, we also grow in our desire to obey Him…walking in a “newness” of life in Christ.

Now, based upon these motives, believers have a solemn responsibility before God. Following are eight spiritual values that we need to grasp and apply:  Tender mercies – we live with compassion (love) toward others.  The word is, once again, one of my favorites in the original, splanchnizomai…we feel deeply, an anguish for people, as from the bowels; Kindness – because of God’s kindness toward us, we likewise need to live with kindness toward others; Humility – while the pagan world of Paul’s day admires pride and domination, Jesus exemplified humility…thinking of the Father and others first, rather than Himself; Meekness – is not weakness, rather it is “power under control”…like “healing medicine,” such as the plasma that Kent Brantly is donating to Ebola victims in order to speed their healing process; Long-suffering – literally means, “long-tempered,” which is to forbear with difficult circumstances, people without retaliating…in other words, it is patience; Forbearance – which we just mentioned means to “hold up” or “hold back”…to be patient with one another.  God holds back judgment because of His grace. As with God’s virtue above, we also exercise -- forgiveness. Unlike the Father’s love, our love is frequently conditional and partial. But the more that we grow to understand and apply God’s love to our lives, we understand that this is not acceptable. We love and forgive those who offend and hurt us.  We do this because we come to understand how much we have been forgiven, and that we have no room to be carrying such fleshly baggage around as envy, anger, worry, hate.  It is simply not enough just to endure, but we must be active in our forgiveness.  Finally -- love is the most important of all Christian virtues and values.  All of the other qualities flow out from this, as if it is the headwaters.  Love binds all virtues together.

Paul moves from character to conduct. When we live according to God’s will, we experience the peace of Christ.  When we are not at peace, it is likely that we have somehow disobeyed the Lord. But, if we have peace in our hearts, then we will also be at peace with fellow-believers.  As seen in the parallel passage, Ephesians 5:18-19, we are likewise encouraged in other spiritual pursuits by living according to the Word – teaching, admonishing, singing, and praising are all able to take place in our lives if we are living to please the Lord and not ourselves.  As Christians, we bear the name of Jesus Christ…and it is His name that has authority.  Whatever we do in our spiritual walk needs to reflect that there is salvation in no other name, but Jesus. (Acts 4:12)

A few years ago Dr. Nick Stinnett of the Univ. of Nebraska conducted a series of studies in an attempt to discover what characteristics were common in strong families. He and his researchers discovered six qualities. And the first quality and one of the most important to be found in strong families was that of appreciation. They concluded that families which were strong were strong because family members expressed appreciation for what each member DID and for who they WERE. In a similar study another researcher looked into the effect of praise in the workplace. His study showed that the ratio of praise to criticism in the workplace needed to be 4 to 1 before employees felt that there is a balance - that there had be 4 times as much praise as there was criticism before those employees felt good about their work and about the environment they worked in.  (Both studies were reported in Richard J. Fairchild’s "Gratitude-A Necessary Attitude" 2001)

People need appreciation…they need praise. And they need to receive this four times as often as they receive criticism in order to have a healthy environment at work or home.  One of the things that Christians are often accused of is that they often do not look or act any different than those who live in the world…this is a problem. The Lord calls the Colossians…and us…“holy.” Once again, “holy” means “set apart for a special purpose”. People that are set apart for a special purpose live differently from the rest of the people around them.  God chose us in Christ because He sees great potential in us. Do we really want to be like everybody else, or do we want to be special and reach the great potential that God sees in us? Do we want to “live out our salvation”?  If we want to reach the place that God has for us, we need to recognize that we belong to a different family.  We must dress in the wardrobe of that family. We are to wear white clothes that have been given to us by our Savior.  We do not want to stain these clothes with sin, or even by living in the gray areas of life.  We need to have the “whatever we do” characteristics at work in our lives – compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and love.  If we are in the Word of God, if we are at peace, by the grace of the Lord we will strive and thrive as His special people…and be thankful.

Blessings, Don