Tag: love

1 John 4:1-6

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            The Apostle John gave some spiritually sage advice to a group of his disciples who were being influenced by false believers:  “Dear friends, don’t believe everyone who claims to have the Spirit of God.  Test them all to find out if they really do come from God.”  Lots of people make claims, but the real muster of a Christian is in embracing an embodied spirituality that truly meets the holistic needs of others.
 
            For John, there was no room for the Platonic Greek dualism of body and spirit.  Jesus was a real man with a very real body.  To deny this was to deny the faith.  Ethereal musings about the insignificance of the body were flatly rejected by John.  The apostle was concerned that the supreme Christian ethic of love be practiced through attention to both body and soul.  This means words are not enough; actual demonstrations of love are needed in order to communicate Christ to others.
 
            I’ll be the first guy to insist on some deep theological reflection on the great spiritual, cultural, and social issues of our day.  But if it does not lead to the end of some very real tangible acts of love based on that reflection, then we have not yet been called God’s friend.  Correct doctrine will always lead to loving actions of faith.  We are to glorify God with both speech and service, and never just one without the other.
 

 

            Loving God, since you cared for us by sending your Son, the Lord Jesus, to this earth as a real human being, so let my very real body and soul glorify you with words and ways of love through the power of your Holy Spirit.  Amen.

1 John 2:7-11

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            “If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark.  But if we love others, we are in the light, and we don’t cause problems for them.  If we hate others, we are living and walking in the dark.” 
 
            Simply based on this Scripture alone, it ought to be abundantly clear that hate really has no place in the Christian’s life.  Hate is never justified for any one person or group of people.  Love, however, is the consummate Christian virtue.  The highest of all truth in Christianity is the grace that is bestowed on us through the love of God.  We, in turn, reflect our Lord’s grace by loving others, no matter their gender, race, creed, or ethnicity.
 
            We all have individuals, maybe even a particular group of persons whom we do not like.  Perhaps we even despise them.  The Apostle John throws the burden of change to fall on those who claim the name of Christ and choose to hate, and not on those for whom we dislike.
 
            So, what will you do today to deal with this Scripture?  Will you begin or continue the difficult process of forgiveness?  How will you come to be ever more characterized by love?  Will you ask God to shine his light on the shadows of your heart?  For those who are in the dark do not see their flaws, but those in the light of the Son see clearly their need for God’s help.
 

 

            Glorious God, you are right and just in all you do.  Let your love shine through me today and every day so that the Name of Jesus is known as gracious and good.  Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:11-17

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            “We are ruled by Christ’s love for us.  We are certain that if one person died for everyone else, then all of us have died.  And Christ did die for all of us.  He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us.  We are careful not to judge people by what they seem to be, though we once judged Christ in that way.  Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person.  The past is forgotten, and everything is new” (CEV).
 
            Simple observation:  The Christian’s rule of life is to be love.  Love is the distinguishing mark of the believer in Jesus Christ.  A person filled and ruled by Christ’s love for him/her sees all of life in a new and different way.  Positive confidence and optimism replace negative skepticism and pessimism; grace takes over and trumps the old judgmental spirit; living in the present state and being attentive and mindful of others negates living in the past and holding onto old hurts and animosities.
 
            The person who does not change, refuses transformation of heart, and eschews the renovation of the mind is not being ruled by Christ’s love.  But the person who allows the love of God in Christ through the cross to thaw his/her cold heart into a new white hot passionate life in the Spirit is experiencing the resurrected existence to which we have been called.
 
            Try this today:  monitor your words and actions.  At the end of the day, ask yourself:  Were my words and actions done in love?  What percentage of those words and actions were loving and unloving?  Was I compelled by Christ’s love, or by the love of self?  How can I bring the value of love to be more operative in my behavior and speech?  Who will I share my plan with?
 

 

            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 love.  Amen.

1 Corinthians 14:1-12

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Sometimes we need to look at a section of Scripture and see its big picture message, not losing sight of the forest for the trees.  At first glance, it might be tempting to question whether tongues and prophecy are for today, or not.  But, please keep in mind that this was not Paul’s driving concern when he wrote to the Corinthians.  Paul wanted the Corinthians, who were into puffing themselves up like peacocks so that others would admire their gifts and abilities, to get a basic important message which is found at the beginning and the end of our New Testament lesson for today:  “Pursue love…. strive to excel in building up the church.”
 
            There you have it.  If we miss this, we have lost sight of God’s Word to us.  We are not to be pre-occupied with tongues and prophecy, but to keep thinking about how we show love to all our brothers and sisters in Christ and to put some significant effort into doing our part to build up others.  Love and encouragement are focused toward other people, and are not inwardly directed.  God has gifted us for love and the building up of the church.  I am a teacher of God’s Word.  It would be really weird if I got up Sunday morning, got dressed, looked in the mirror and taught at myself, then when back to bed dreaming about what a great teacher I am.  Spiritual gifts are meant to be unpacked for the church.
 
            One of the great temptations of humanity is to finagle our efforts so that other people will notice and give props to our wonderful work.  Indeed, we can write Facebook messages to garner as many “likes” as we can get; post things on Twitter and our favorite blogs hoping to look smart and funny in the eyes of a community of people we may not even know personally; and, to withhold our love to actual people right in front our faces because they may not give to us the attention we crave.
 
Perhaps with Lent coming in just a few weeks, you might want to consider a fast from social media in order to better connect with people within your direct sphere of human touch and influence.  Or maybe ask someone close to you what they believe your primary spiritual gifts are, with the expressed intention of using the information to explore fresh avenues of love and service to others.  Whatever you do, pursue love and excel in building up the church.
 

 

Loving God, you have graciously gifted us all for love and service.  May I continually see your love expressed to me through Jesus Christ so that I will be always inspired to pass on that same love to others for whom you also love.  Amen.