2013-11-08
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The overarching question is not forgotten: We all want unconditional love, but are we willing/able to give it? It’s just that we need to examine foundational considerations before we are able to answer it. God’s love for us is unconditional, but we must understand it is necessary for Him to draw a line beyond which serial sinfulness will not be tolerated. If God didn’t do this, He would be unable to demonstrate His utter righteousness [RO 3: 26]. But the focus here must be on how we as individuals and collectively can love one another and, of course, God. Last week, we looked at our love within God’s family. As we can see, we are not doing all that well. Otherwise, there would not be the erroneous messages given in childhood by parents and others that make their destructive ways into adulthood. There would be more people willing to test those messages against the light of Biblical truth and adult maturity.
Today, we will look at our nuclear [mom, dad, and children] and extended families [grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives]. The ideal picture is one of believing parents raising children who are all believers. However, not all families are structured this way. Christ understands this and, much to the surprise of some, uttered in MT 10: 34-35, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” Christ experienced His own village turning against Him to the point of expelling Him [LK 4: 14-30]. But let me return to the MT 10 citation. This is something I’ve actually experienced, due to having a family that is divided both geographically and theologically. Christ went on to say, in MT 10: 37-39, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” It’s a tough choice indeed, because of the emotions involved. But for the sake of one’s eternal life, the choice for the Lord first needs to be made.
And what does (v.39) really mean? As our Covenant Partner, Christ told us [in JN 15: 13] “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,” right after telling us that He considers us His friends. This is a key element to this discussion, because we must understand all that this entails. Now if we go back to “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it,” we will see that this is placing our faith in Christ as the first priority of our lives. If our family member is trying to dissuade us for his own purposes from our faith in Christ, we are forced to make a choice. The choice is to live “in Christ,” or to put the family member’s agenda first. I’ve made that choice in my life, painful as it has had to be—I choose the Lord. As a Jewish person, it meant ostracism by certain family members and former acquaintances from the temple. It can be economic sanctions and other consequences for some people. And yes, it can mean no longer being made welcome in the homes of people who were a part of your own childhood or as extreme as placing your physical life in danger. But making the choice I made was the only way to preserve one’s spiritual life for eternity! Now that’s really finding one’s life.
We were created to be one in Christ, one in the family of God. And yet, many people resist the need to be part of God’s family, living as seculars. Other’s follow their own path into cults, like Scientology, Transcendental Meditation, and others. Still others join one of the many Christian or Jewish denominations, taking up the squabbles that separate them. Other’s reject Judeo-Christian religions and opt for Buddhism or one of the other Asian denominations. In my family, we have active and inactive Reform Jews, Buddhists, Mormons, and Lutherans. And yet, if God had his way, we would all be as is found in PS 100: 3-5, “Know that the Lord is God. It is He Who made us, and we are His; we are His people the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. Our God is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” All that can be said is rightly prophesied in IS 53: 6, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” We need to understand that relying on the Lord Jesus is the only way to find real unity, peace, and salvation. And the sooner, the better!
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before You always awestruck by Your immense capacity to love, to show compassion, and to supply our needs. We live in a cold, often-cruel world, but You reward our loyalty and faith in Your Son with power enough to fend off the evil one. When we follow You, we are not only being obedient, but we are making choices that will eventually grant us eternal life with You. Such a life is one full of joy and wisdom. Paul prayed for all believers in PHIL 1: 9-11, “And this is my prayer: that Your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that You may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” It is You, Dearest Abba, Who gave him these thoughts and goals to share. From You comes the hope of the resurrection shared in PHIL 3: 10, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” PHIL 4: 13 and 19 remind us, “I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength…And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” We offer You our utmost thanks and praise for all You are and all You do for us. No other can be the same kind of covenant partner as You are. We pledge to work to rid ourselves of sinful thoughts and behavior, to pray often, to study and live by Your word, and to please You with our faithful obedience. In Christ’s holy/mighty name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I have been prompted by the Holy Spirit to write on how we were created to belong. That may seem strange after our examination of MT 10 above, but is germane to the issue of families. It’s a term that must be redefined in God’s terms. In the meanwhile, our Covenant Partner has strengthened us to cooperate with Him in the process of our sanctification, to serve others in His name, to make His agenda our own, and to be faithfully obedient to Him. Our goal is a blissful eternal fellowship with Him, and His goal is to bring as many of us back to His side in heaven as possible [JN 6: 39-40]. Part of this is attention to making His divine appointments, no matter when they are and which kind they are. Often these take us outside our comfort zones to unexpected things or people. We are reminded that it is our responsibility to love others as He has loved us [JN 13: 34-35]. Other believers are our extended family of God, our believing brothers and sisters. If we are blessed with unity in our nuclear and extended families, so much the better. But if we are not, and we have done all we can to establish God’s peace and couldn’t, then we must attend to the business at hand. That is to be teachable by the Lord [IS 50: 4] and to faithfully obedient to Him [1 JN 3: 22-24]. We must not waste a drop of the blood Christ shed for us, for His Atonement was the ransom paid in full for our sins [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25; HE 9: 15]. It is by this sacrificial Offering that we have the chance to repent, genuinely express our faith in Him, and enjoy eternal salvation. This notion should give each of us great comfort: 1 JN 3: 16, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” Furthermore, when we are engaged in spiritual warfare with the adversary, we can find comfort in knowing 1 JN 4: 4, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome [evil spirits] because the One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” There is real peace and inner joy in knowing these notions discussed today. Our Covenant Partner loves us enough to strengthen, guide, and protect us. He sets divine appointments and forges friendships with other believers or potential believers for us that enrich our lives and allow us do exemplary service for Him. And to think, all we must do is believe in His Son, repenting of our sin. Our God deserves our forever praise and thanks! Hallelujah and marana tha (come, Lord, come! In Aramaic-1 COR 16: 22)!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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