2002-01-01
Good Morning Siblings in Christ,
It’s time to begin a new series of devotions. This time the Lord directs me to write to you about love. That is a big topic, as we all know there are many kinds of love. There is the love God commands us to have for Him, and the constant, unconditional love He has for us. There is love between friends & neighbors, people we don’t know well, and that which should be between us and our enemies. There is the love which partners in marriage should have for each other and that which should be between a parent and a child. There is romantic and sexual love. And there is also kinds of love the Lord says we should avoid. Whew!-so many kinds of love; I must rely on the Lord to tell me where to begin. Of course, He directs me to begin and always undergird anything I say with the Scriptures.
The Lord our God never apologizes for repeating Himself with regard to certain themes in His teachings which He deems extremely important. One such theme is brought out in DT 6: 5-6 and again in LK 10: 19, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Never forget these commands I am giving you today.” That is clearly the response God wants from us to His sovereign right-the right to have us love Him. He shows us His sovereign choice in EX 20: 6, “But I show love to thousands of generations of those who love Me and obey My laws.” RO 8: 28 supports that eloquently, “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purpose.” God’s command for us to love Him is important enough to the Jewish people that DT 6:5 -6 is included in the Scriptures written on a small piece of parchment, rolled up, and inserted in their mezuzahs (decorated hollow tubes) to be attached to the door posts of their homes and to their gates. You will notice that this message is said in both the OT and the NT. In fact, it is repeated in many places not cited here in each. This message is consistent, often-repeated, and deemed essential by the Lord. We are never to forget it, even when sorely tempted by the conditions of our lives or by our interactions with others.
Human beings can be very hard to reach and stubborn. My people, the Jews, are no exception to this rule. That is why so many of them have a veil in front of their eyes, one which God revealed through Paul will eventually be lifted [see RO 11: 25]. The veil prevents them from knowing that the Messiah for Whom they so fervently wait is Jesus Christ. Their stiff-necked disobedience over the years is clearly responsible for a loving God deciding to make the Gospel open to Gentiles [see RO 1: 16-17]. But, I must make it clear, that God has not stopped loving His chosen people, nor is He giving up on them. A faithful remnant will come to Christ as Jewish believers like myself have. These Jews will inherit the Kingdom and are eligible for all the same wonderful rewards that come from salvation as any Gentile who has come to faith.
One of the traits of poor parenting is not making it clear to one’s children what is required of them and a way for them to carry that out. God, Who is the best Parent that ever existed, never left His children in doubt. DT 10: 12-13, “Now, people of Israel, listen to what the Lord your God demands of you: Have reverence for the Lord, and do all He commands. Love Him, serve Him with all your heart, and obey all His laws. I am giving them to you today for your benefit.” DT 6: 7 demonstrates the adamant nature of God’s desire for us to learn His ways and make them ours in our daily lives. “Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working.” There is nothing here which is hard to understand, but there is indeed something here which insists that we make God our first priority in place of human agendas. Like any good parent, there have been times when God had to allow His people (whether we refer to the Jews or to any believers including those alive in modern times) to be punished for disobedience. That is always done to demonstrate his righteousness [see RO 3: 26] and is an act demonstrating the love He has for us.
What can’t be missed here is the interaction between God’s sovereignty and our need to respond to it. I guess we could call this a kind of covenant, two-way promise. God makes us His people and demonstrates His love for us. We are to love Him, worship only Him, and serve Him, modeling the love He demonstrates to us. I know in my heart, our Lord Jehovah, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (the three persons of the Trinity) are always righteous and loving. That is why this love-covenant, if you will, is such a healthy and joy-filled relationship. It couldn’t be if our Lord weren’t always righteous. When I think of the patient, compassion that he has shown mankind over our history, I am awed by that. His advice to us has never once been wrong. Micah 6: 8, “…The Lord has told us what is good. What He requires of us is this: To do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.”
Now, it would be easy for anyone reading what I’ve written so far to say, “That’s all well and good, but we need to look at all the difficulties mankind has in following these ideals set down for them by God.” That’s part of what I hope to do in this series. However, for now, I felt it was important to present God’s side of this issue first. Zephaniah writes about Jerusalem’s sin and redemption followed by a song of joy in his third chapter. When we have faith, we experience the greatest manifestation of God’s love, which is described in ZEPH 3: 17-18. “The Lord your God is with you; His power gives you victory. The Lord will take delight in you, and in His love He will give you new life. He will sing and be joyful over you, as joyful as people at a festival. The Lord says, ‘I have ended the threat of doom and taken away your disgrace.’ “ When we are obedient to God and show our love for Him, we never forget that He sacrificed His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, so that we might have a way open to salvation. Our Lord loves us so much that He wants as many as possible of us to become perfected so that we might eventually come to Him and dwell forever with Him in His Kingdom. Now folks, that’s love!
PRAYER: O Lord, today’s prayer is simple. We come before You in gratitude, humility, and adoration to acknowledge You as the Lord of our lives. We dedicate our lives to continuing in that love-covenant with You. We commit to modeling our lives after that of Your Son. All the persons of the Trinity have shown us what love is. We mean to learn that lesson well enough to demonstrate it in our own lives. You, Dear Lord, are our first priority. We silence the noise which the devil attempts to put in our souls, so that we can hear Your commands and obey them. You always let us know when we are pleasing You, by letting us know the peace that can only come from You. For Your clear directives to us, Your patience with our sometimes feeble attempts to obey, and the sacrifice of Your Son on the cross, we offer You our loyalty, obedience, trust, worship, and reverence. You are the most loving Parent any children could ever desire. We honor, praise, thank, and glorify You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at God’s love for Israel and what it means to us. We are truly a blessed people to have such a loving Abba to be the Lord of our lives. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You,
Lynn