Tag: love

The Compelling Love of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:6-17)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

So we are always confident, even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive due recompense for actions done in the body, whether good or evil.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ urges us on because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for the one who for their sake died and was raised.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!(New Revised Standard Version)

Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the supreme authority over all things; and that we are ruled by Christ. Yet, the sort of rule Christians submit to is without any belligerence from us. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

We are ruled by Christ’s love for us. Believers are convinced that since Christ died for all, then all of us have died. Jesus died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us. Since love is our guide and rule in life, we are careful not to judge people by what they seem to be. Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The guilt and shame of our past is forgotten; everything is made new.

Love is the distinguishing mark of the believer in Jesus Christ. A person filled and ruled by Christ’s love sees all of life in a new and different way: 

  • Positive confidence and optimism replaces negative skepticism and pessimism
  • Grace overwhelms and overrules the old judgmental spirit
  • Being attentive and mindful of others erases holding onto old hurts and animosities

The person who does not change, refuses transformation of heart, and forsakes renovation of the mind, is not being ruled by Christ’s love. 

Conversely, the person who allows the love of God in Christ through the cross to thaw their cold heart to a new white hot passionate life in the Spirit, is experiencing the resurrected existence to which we have been called.

Here is a little exercise to try today: Monitor your words and actions. And at the end of the day, ask yourself a series of questions:

  1. Were my words and actions done in love?
  2. What percentage of those words and actions were loving and unloving?
  3. Was I compelled by Christ’s love, or by some other love? 
  4. How can I bring the value of love to be more operative in my behavior and speech? 
  5. Who will I share my plan with?

The reality is this: Everything comes down to God, to the Father, Son, and Spirit. 

The distinctive manner we live is to be an expression of the triune God who exists in perfect unity, harmony, love, and mission. Whether in our families, neighborhoods, workplaces, or churches, God wants to exercise and express divine love in us and through us. God’s love compels us.

Holy Scripture says that the triune God is love (1 John 4:16). God’s nature and purpose is love itself. The reason we love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength is that God is love. 

As people created in the image and likeness of God, there is within us a deep desire to know and love God. Yet, it’s possible to lose touch with this primal instinct to love God. We may become so familiar with hearing about God that we go about our days not really know God, and the love of God in Christ.

Without knowing the God who is Love (with a capital L) people might go through the motions of living, even worshiping, without any love behind it. Like spiritual zombies, we may walk about the earth, but are really dead to what is going on in God’s wonderfully big world.

For the Christian, our first love is Jesus. We may live moral lives, operate with sound ethical principles at our jobs, and diligently serve family and church, yet miss the heart and soul of loving God. 

Jesus himself said to the church at Ephesus, who had performed good deeds, that they had forsaken their first love (Revelation 2:4). The Apostle Paul put it this way to the church at Corinth: “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3)

A new robust life of love is possible because the Father first loved us, sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and gave us the Spirit in order to display God’s love toward one another. (1 John 4:10-13) 

Jesus reminded us that all of Scripture hangs on the dual command to love God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). This has been understood throughout church history as The Great Commandment. 

Christ also told us that the supreme task of the Church is to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). This has been rightly discerned through Christian history as The Great Commission. 

In order to live into The Great Commandment and The Great Commission, we are to wholeheartedly embody the community of love which exists within the triune God. This is a single-minded loyalty to do what is right, just, and good for our neighbor; we might describe this as The Great Commitment.

Finally, here is yet another few questions for both committed believers and church leaders to ask themselves:

  1. In what ways might we, in this contemporary world, faithfully and obediently live into the calling we have been given by our Lord? 
  2. How do we effectively engage this primal quest of loving God, loving one another, and loving our neighbor?

Loving God, you demonstrated your love for us through the cross of Jesus. May my life be so filled with grace that what comes out of my mouth and what is done in my behavior is consistently characterized by the sort of divine love which is always true of you. Amen.

Abide In Love (John 15:9-17)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. (New Revised Standard Version)

We Need Love

The world, in truth, spins on the axis of love. Without love, there is no beauty. Apart from love, we would all be living in a dystopian world of mere survival. But with love, there is life, hope, purpose, and meaning; there is fulfillment, satisfaction, and security. With love, our most basic needs as people are met.

So, love is a word that must be intentionally pursued and valued; because we cannot live without it.

The very word “love” gets used in various and different ways in our world. Jesus used the word in a sacrificial sense – that love willingly gives up one’s life for the benefit of another.

Love is large. It involves the whole person – body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Love in today’s Gospel lesson is used by Jesus as an action. And it’s even more than that. Christ defined love in the Upper Room to his disciples as a willingness to die – not necessarily for a spouse or a child – but for a friend, a fellow follower of Jesus.

It seems that for most Christians, giving up one’s life for another is not at the forefront of our idea of loving another. Yet, to love our neighbor as ourselves does involve the willingness to die so that another may live. To know precisely what this is like, we need look no further than the love which exists within God.

God is Love

Love is seen above all in the love of God the Father shown forth in God the Son. Because God so loves the people of this world, the Father sent the Son, Jesus, to give his life for us. And Jesus, embodying the very love of God, willingly gave himself on our behalf. It hearkens us to Christ’s earlier words about this:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

Jesus (John 3:16, NRSV)

Just as the Father loved the Son, and the Son loved us, so we are to love others with the same sort of sacrificial love which was graciously shown to us. The Apostle John made this plain in his first epistle:

God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:9-11, NRSV)

Therefore, it is our privilege and responsibility to abide in this divine love and let it fill us to the full, so that God’s love moves powerfully in us and through us, for the life of the world.

Remain in Love

Love is the end result of an abiding relationship and close connection between Christ and his followers. We are to remain in the love of Christ, just as Christ remains in the love of God. Jesus asks nothing of us that he has not already modeled for us in his sacrificial service to the world. Living in union with Christ, loving Jesus, and keeping God’s commands are all a single package, bound up together in a mutual relationship.

We don’t need to wonder what God wants for us and from us: Love. The commands of Jesus are not general; they are focused and specific. Christ commands that we love one another. Our continuing work on this earth is to keep on loving people as Christ has loved us and gave himself for us.

No Greater Love

There is no greater love than that shown in the giving of one’s life for one’s friends. The power of God’s love is focused in Christ. It is confirmed in Christ’s resurrection from death. And it flows from Christ giving his life on the cross for us.

Yes, Christians are servants who are committed to serving others with sacrificial love. Yet, the disciples and all those who follow Christ are much more than servants; they are considered primarily as friends of Jesus.

Through the cross and resurrection of Christ, believers have discovered the divine power of love. There is no greater love than this. And it is this sort of love that binds Christians together as united in their mission to love as Jesus loved them.

We have been called, chosen, and appointed by Jesus to embody love’s mission and purpose. What’s more, we are equipped for the active work of love.

Whatever You Ask in Love

The very name of Jesus is love itself. So, whatever you ask, “in my name,” said Jesus, “the Father will give you.”

Because Christians are united to Christ, they are to remain in and abide with Christ. This relational connection opens up the power of prayer. And the content of those prayers – if we are truly in Christ – will always come from a place of love, be directed to love, and go to great lengths to accomplish love.

Prayer is an activity which is grounded in the abiding relationship of Father, Son, Spirit, and the Christian community. Love directs our prayers. And prayers are directed toward the action of love.

A confidence in the power of prayer is an abiding trust in the power of Love. With love animating our prayers and infusing our service, we are bold to ask God for what is right, just, and good in this world. Indeed, we pray that we will give love to each other with the love we have received from God.

Love and Joy

Being called and appointed by God to love is a privilege and a joy. There isn’t any begrudging service when love is involved. Perhaps one of the greatest prayers we can pray is to pray that our hearts be filled with love. If you don’t feel love for others, then pray for it. And be assured that you will receive it.

Love and joy go together like mashed potatoes and gravy, peanut butter and jelly, grits and honey. We know we are loving others if our joy is complete in doing so.

Jesus came to this earth so that we might experience an overflowing life of abundant love and joy. Christ longs for his joy to be in us, and for us to abide in his love. Our joy comes from knowing that we have been loved by God – chosen, called, and sent out into the world with love and for the purpose of love.

And it is this divine love that has the power to renew and transform everything – even the most troubling and stubborn of people and problems that you are presently facing. Indeed, if love is not the answer, then you are not asking the right question.

Creator God, by the mercies of your son, our Lord, Jesus, compel us to turn our hearts to his way of Love, so that we might follow Christ together as your faithful people. Dear Jesus, guide us in your way. Amen.

The Servant of the Lord (Isaiah 42:5-9)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
    who gives breath to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people
    and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind,
    to free captives from prison
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

“I am the Lord; that is my name!
    I will not yield my glory to another
    or my praise to idols.
See, the former things have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce them to you.” (New International Version)

For those who serve the God of Scripture, there is work to be done.

According to Scripture, people are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). As the only creatures on earth with the divine stamp of God’s image, humanity’s purpose is to reflect and work toward that which characterizes God:

  • Be holy because God is holy. That is, set apart your life for good and right purposes, and not for ill. Devote yourself to being above board in everything, and work for the common good of all persons.
  • Love one another as God has loved you. Since the Lord demonstrated a sacrificial and unconditional love toward you, so do the same for others. Love God. Love your neighbor.
  • Do justice because God is just. God is concerned that everyone on planet earth has what they need – both physically and spiritually – to live and thrive in this world. Ensure that people’s needs are met, without any prejudice or favoritism.

The servant of God has a mandate to be a covenant and light for people. Since God makes and keeps promises to people; and since the Lord is light without any darkness, so God’s servant is to embrace and embody a steadfast commitment to continually doing good.

We are meant to be a blessing to people on this earth – and not a curse. (Galatians 3:8)

I don’t have much stomach for fellow believers who think they are responsible to let people know how sinful they really are. Such supposed messengers end up puking the “good news” on others, often leaving people in such a bad state that they want nothing to do with religion.

Any sort of forceful verbiage, or manipulative gaslighting of others, does not in any way reflect the God whom I serve; I view such underhanded methods as inconsistent with Scripture. Besides, the Lord certainly doesn’t need any of us, as if God is dependent on people’s gospel witness.

Instead, the Lord graciously cuts us in on the benevolent and gracious divine action that is being accomplished in the world. That God allows me to be a mouthpiece is a privilege and a responsibility. So, I will steward that trust well by using words that build up and encourage, without verbally accosting another in the name of serving God.

In the ancient world, the poor often found themselves in prison through the inability to pay off a debt. Part of the servant’s work is to cancel debt, thus providing freedom and a further means to work and support family. For the Christian, this is an elementary part of our prayers:

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6:12, NIV)

Those words of Jesus are meant to uphold the ethical teachings of the Law:

At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts… There need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.

If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. (Deuteronomy 15:1, 4-8, NIV)

Holiness, love, and justice are done by paying attention to the neediest of persons around us. The Lord’s servant can bring light because God is against the darkness. And the reason debts are cancelled (both real economic and spiritual forgiveness) is so that the monetary poor, and the poor in spirit, are liberated.

God is attentive to the vulnerable and needy; it is the Lord’s will that no one lives under the oppression of debilitating debt.

The work of the humble servant brings dignity, honor, and respect to human beings, thus honoring God and showing to the world what sort of God the Lord is – a gracious and merciful God who has a zeal for justice and for right relations in society. The Servant of the Lord, the ultimate Servant, is described in this way by the prophet:

Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:7, NIV)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. Amen.

I Am Coming to You (John 14:18-31)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Upper Room, by Gail Meyer

“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” 

Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’

“If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Ethiopian Orthodox Church depiction of the Last Supper in the Upper Room

“He’s leaving!? What!? Huh!?” Although Jesus had tried to prepare the disciples for his impending cross and resurrection, they didn’t quite catch on. It was in the Upper Room, in their final meal together, that Jesus made it plain he was leaving and going back to the Father. (John 14:1-17)

There was both confusion and distress amongst the men. Anticipatory grief had suddenly smacked them like a golf club upside the head. Dizzied and dazed with thoughts that their Lord would no longer be with them, Jesus sought to assure them that this would be temporary.

Christ is coming, again. In fact, three comings are to be realized:

  • Rising from death and appearing to the disciples
  • Sending the Spirit as the continuing presence of Christ on earth
  • Returning at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead

Jesus was caring for his followers, including us, by providing future hope.

That is just what happened with the first two comings. Christians everywhere celebrate the rising of Christ from death, his ascension into heaven, and the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Christian tradition holds that the Spirit – the Paraclete, Advocate, Comforter, and Counselor – is now presently with us.

Although the world no longer sees Jesus, believers see him with eyes of faith, hope, and love. Christians intuitively perceive another spiritual dimension in which Christ is beside them in the person of God’s Spirit. Some things can’t be intellectually explained. They just are.

Meanwhile, while Christians everywhere await the return of Christ to this earth, they are busy loving their Lord through obedience to his commands. And his command is to love one another as he demonstrated his love for them. Love and obedience go hand in hand. To know the love of God in Christ is to willingly give oneself to obey the merciful Lord.

We are not left alone to fumble around on this earth, trying to love in our own strength or ability. The Spirit is present, helping us to do loving work. There is real spiritual assistance in applying Christ’s teaching to the practical aspects of life in the here-and-now. Such constructive down-to-earth support gives Christians a sense of peace and integrity of living.

Worldly peace, which typically uses war to try and end war, has merely the absence of conflict as its goal. However, the peace of Christ is intensely personal and has the goal of unity, harmony, and love. It is his very own peace. Through Christ’s suffering and death, he absorbed in himself the malice and hatred of others and introduced a true and settled peace.

The profound absence of love, the rebellion of humanity against concern for the common good of all, and the shame of selfishness that damns the world, is overthrown by the obedience and self-sacrifice of Jesus. The world will learn this – either by discovering the love of Christ now or, at the end of the age, with the return of Christ.

Jesus came in the past through the incarnation and resurrection. Jesus is presently here in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus will come again in the future to judge the living and the dead.

These comings are for us and for our deliverance from all that is unjust and broken in this world. We are not alone. There is ever-present help. This is the basis of the Christian’s confidence.

Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful with divine love. Come as the wind that blows, come as the fire that refines, come as the dew that refreshes. Convict, convert and consecrate us until we are wholly yours, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.