2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Not every day can be bright and sunny. However, when skies are overcast, an opportunity for light strategically placed on this backdrop, to draw your attention to something wonderful, can be beautiful. That is how I feel about the Gospel, God’s light which shines to chase away darkness in the life of mankind. Today’s passage reflects that same thought. 1 PET 1: 22-25, “Now that by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves and have come to have a sincere love for your fellow believers, love one another earnestly with all your heart. For through the living and eternal word of God you have been born again as the children of a Parent Who is immortal, not mortal. As the Scripture [IS 40: 6-8] says, ‘All mankind are like grass, and all their glory is like wild flowers. The grass withers, and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ This word is the Good News that was proclaimed to you.”
When speaking of the term “born again,” we must understand that the life of a believer is one of a person given a second chance by a loving God willing to sacrifice He Who was dearest to Him, His Son Jesus Christ, on the cross. Because of Adam’s original sin [GN 3: 6], we were all born with sin. In that condition, we had no choice but to sin. Until Christ’s Atonement, there was no way out of it. That’s the overcast sky in our lives. But, God loved us enough to open a way, albeit a narrow one, to escape from such a miserable condition. My parents taught me that nothing really worthwhile in this life comes to us easily. They certainly didn’t understand that the narrow path I would choose to take would be the on opened for us by Jesus Christ, but their principle taught was certainly right. Nicodemus, a great teacher and Pharisee on the Jewish Sanhedrin (governing religious council) came to Christ under cover of night darkness to learn the truth He taught. (Excerpts from JN 3), “I am telling you the truth; no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again…no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. A person is born physically of human parents, but he is born spiritual of the Spirit. The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemis, in spite of the rabbinical influences on his training and his rather prominent position in Jewish society, had a receptive heart to the truth. I doubt Christ would have taken the time with Nicodemis that He did without knowing that. Being born of the water means that one repents of his sins. Being born of the Spirit means that he allows the Holy Spirit to indwell within him, because he has a receptive heart to the truth of Christ’s deity and a willingness to be faithful.
Peter is writing to believers and acknowledges their faithfulness in accepting the truth which purifies them. From the time of early Jewish culture, God has wanted us to treat our fellow man with love. LV 19: 18, written in ancient times by Moses and inspired by God, proves this. “Do not take revenge on anyone or continue to hate him, but love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord.” Jesus gives us a demonstration of the consistency of God’s word in MT 22: 37-40 when He speaks to some Pharisees trying to entrap Him. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.” Not only is He quoting DT 6: 5 and LV 19: 18 here, but He is making it impossible for the Pharisees to refute their very own Scriptures. By reviewing them in this way, we are reminded these teachings are not for ancient times only; they are just as applicable to us today and those who follow us in the future!
IS 40: 6-8 which reminds us of our ephemeral nature as mortal beings is also a beam of light that can help us to appreciate the value of God’s word as a way of losing that withering state which cannot endure for eternity. (8) “Yes, grass withers and flower fade, but the word of our God endures forever.” Our loving Abba didn’t leave us hanging, wondering what is meant by an immortal body. Instead, he inspired Paul to write about it in 1 COR 15: 42-44, “This is how it will be when the dead are raised to life. When the body is buried, it is mortal; when raised, it will be immortal. When buried, it is ugly and weak; when raised, it will be beautiful and strong. When buried, it is a physical body; when raised, it will be a spiritual body. There is, of course, a physical body, so there has to be a spiritual body.” JN 14: 6 assures us that we who believe in Christ have access to the hope of the resurrection, that living hope that we share. “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by Me.” We don’t have to concern ourselves that when the end of our physical life comes, that is the end of everything for us. Knowledge of the truth of that comes to us directly from our Abba Whose love for us is so great that He made it possible. His request to us to live a holy life is so small in comparison to the reward He offers us and the love He has for us. We should think about that as we face the challenges of each day.
PRAYER: O Lord, we approach You in humility seemingly unable to fully comprehend the extent of the love You have for us, but wholly appreciating the remarkable sacrifice You have made for us by Christ’s death on the cross. You have invited to a life of holy living, one that requires that we make adjustments in our way of looking at people around us and experiences we have. Yet, You equip us by making the truth known to us and giving us the Holy Spirit to understand it to make these changes in our lives. When we come closer to Your perspective, not only are our perceptions made better, but we see how vital our faith is to our very existence. We are also aware that we must love not only those easy to love, but those who are not as well. We feel the responsibility for which You have also equipped us to plant the seeds of faith in others, and to accept the great commission of MT 28: 19-20 to “make people Christ’s disciples, to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to obey His commands.” You and the truth You teach us are lights that pierce the darkness in our lives and allow us to see unparalleled beauty. That is the beauty which transcends the grave and brings eternal life, joy, and fellowship with You. We thank, praise, honor, glorify, magnify, worship, and adore You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at 1 PET 2: 1-6, a passage that deals with “choosing a valuable Stone as the cornerstone of our lives.” When God led me to write this message, He made sure that evidence of His love for us was all through it. No matter what trials and temptations we must face today, we are better equipped to deal with them when we keep that incredible and eternal love in mind. Peter and I also send you our love today.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn