Mercy, Love & Grace

Falling in Love with Love

2011-08-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

First, a good bit of scripture.

1 John 4

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

There are many radical statements in the Bible. The familiarity of these statements often robs them of their full impact. Having been told that "God is love" since I was a child, I never really heard it, until a couple of years ago when I really read this scripture for the first time.

"God is love" is a radical statement. To really bring this out, take a look at 1 Corinthians 13, but change out "love" for "God".

4 God is patient, God is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. 5 He does not dishonor others, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. 6 God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

So, the whole image of God as the disciplinarian in the sky, tracking each of my thoughts with the intent of punishing me is flat out wrong! This good news stuff is actually starting to sound like good news.

Now, take a look at the rest of the quote from 1 John.

He says that this radical love that is God, has to be infectious. I have to catch it and live it by loving everyone else, or else I do not love God. If I want God to live in me, love must live in me.

Further, it talks about "loving God", just like Jesus stated in Luke 10 when he said that the greatest commandment was "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind"; and, "Love your neighbor as yourself."

So, again, loving everyone else is the same as loving God.

One more time, substituting "love" for "God".

"Love love with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind"; and, "Love your neighbor as yourself."

We are supposed to love love? And not just love love, but commit to it with all our heart, mind and soul, so that it shows up as loving everyone. OK. This is good, but it is starting to make me dizzy.

Through my spinning head, some questions come to mind. If this is what being a Christian is about; if we know who is Christian by their pervasive love for one another, which penetrates heart, mind and soul, then how many Christians have I met? What does a Christian even look like? I guess, Christ, Gandhi, Mother Theresa. Why don't I look more like that? When the Bible talks about submitting yourself to God, it means submitting to this?

OK. Now this good news stuff is getting a little scary, again.

P.S. I have met a man that fits the description of a loving Christian, above. He was not a hippy. He was my pastor, when I was growing up, Roy Hazelrig. He is probably the greatest man I have ever known, though the world took scant note of him. His love changed the lives of many people. Living out the good news did not look so scary the way he did it.

Adopted By God

2008-10-08T23:15:00.000-07:00

As a foster and adoptive father, Romans 8:14-16 seems packed with meaning.

Romans 8:14-16
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."

Most children in state care got there through neglect and abuse, just as we arrived at our need for salvation through wandering in an abusive and neglectful world. These children are plagued by fear and loss, which drives their lives. Even once adopted they often continue to to view the family and world with suspicion. There is a constant anxiety that the other shoe will drop; that this all will end; that you really cannot love me like that.

Their fear and loss drives them not only to mistrust those that love them, but also to act out, and do those things that they know are wrong and hurtful. This is a test, and a quest for constant attention.

It seems that many Christians reflect this same mistrust of God. After our adoption, we cannot trust that kind of love. It cannot be that all encompassing. God must have reserved wrath for me, and that shoe is bound to drop, sometime. So, fear drives our life and relationship with God. Also, we find ourselves inexplicably acting out, sinning despite our own understanding of its destructive potential. We try to draw God's attention and wrath, even as we fear it. Better that than the helpless waiting for the day when the love just ends on its own.

There are Christians who seem trapped in the doom of God's imminent wrath, still. They have not understood their Father. I do not think that they trust His love. For these, life is a set of strict (or even impossible) rules that God will bless you for following, and curse you for the smallest infraction of.

We cannot seem to comprehend that God's wrath has been taken away, and we are now his children. We have His agape love, forever.

Let me be clear. We should fear God, as a child fears their loving parents (as I feared my parents). I did not fear that they would destroy me, but I feared that they would withhold some blessing. I feared that they would punish me, as parents do those they love. More than anything else, I feared that they would be disappointed.

We should fear God, but it should not be the defining characteristic of our relationship with him. That should be love.

God offers his broken children permanent, healing love, in the hope that one day they will come to truly trust in it; that one day we will cry out, "Abba (Daddy), Father", with all our heart.

As Christ Loved The Church

2007-03-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

The Bible instructs husbands to love their wife as Christ loved the church.

There is that word "as", again!

And once again, I have probably misread it. Again, I have read it meaning "to the degree" (i.e. Love your wife as much as Christ loved the church). However, I am now considering the meaning with respect to "in the manner" (i.e. Love your wife in the same way Christ loved the church).

In what manner did Christ love the church?

He became human for her, he became a servant for her, and he died for her while she was still in a state that could never understand and appreciate his sacrifice.

People often focus upon wives submitting to their husbands. However, this other side of that same scripture provides a context. Taken together, marriage emerges as a mutual, self-sacrificing servanthood with potential for extraordinary beauty. This is not a struggle for power or domination. Nor is it even a perpetual bargain over how to split things evenly. This is giving yourself over completely in loving trust, only to find another eagerly doing the same.

Christ asks, how can you love Him whom you have not seen, if you do not love your neighbor, whom you have seen? How much more could we ask, how can you give loving service to God, His church and the world, if you cannot give it to the closest person in your life?

On Earth as it is in heaven

2007-03-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

The other Sunday, our Pastor preached about The Lord's Prayer as our Christian Mission Statement. He stepped through the scripture and discussed each phrase.

When he came to the phrase "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" something occurred to me.

Until that moment, I had always read that part "on earth to the extent that it is in heaven". Suddenly, I realized that it could mean "Thy will be done in the same manner that it is in heaven"! That means not just done thoroughly, but done with joy, love and adoration!

God wants His will done, sure. However, if it is going to be meaningful, it must bring us joy and must emerge from a love that lives in us.

Imagine an earthly father with two children. He asks the first child to mow the front lawn, and the other the back. The first child mows the lawn, scowling and muttering the entire time, but performs a meticulous job to avoid the penalty of having to go out and correct mistakes. The second child goes about the work joyfully, and works hard at the job. However, there are a few spots missed in the back yard. Which child has best fulfilled their father's will? Which attitude will produce a life that gives the father joy?

Message Post On Biblical Inerrancy

2007-03-09T22:26:00.000-08:00

I posted the following in response to a discussion thread on the inerrancy of the Bible. I have cleaned up a few typos. Also, thinking about it, I don't know that I would have included the phrase "in all its translations".

I believe that the Bible is inerrant in all of its translations. However, my definition of inerrancy is different from that of many others.

I consider the Bible inerrant in that it was inspired by God, and became exactly what he desired it to be in order to speak his message and truth. However, I don't believe that it is primarily a history book, nor that God would have it read so.

For example, if God wanted to mathematically describe the creation of the universe, I assume that he could have given Moses holy tablets with the proper equations.

Of course, such a record would rid us of all need for faith, and all choice in any matter.

A complete, historical and technical record was clearly not God's intent.

The Bible explains man's relationship to the Creator, and tells us that He loves us passionately. He has reached down to us while we were in sin, and freely given us mercy, love and grace. That is the purpose of the Bible, and it delivers on that purpose, without error. What more would we expect?

Concerns beyond that are empty debate, perpetuated by the insecurities of followers and the belligerence of critics.

Sorry for a very long post.

60 Second Sermons: 001 - All we need is love?

2007-01-09T20:03:00.001-08:00

Wonderful little sermon I found on YouTube.

The end of the sermon refers to Luke 6:27-36.

[27] "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, [28] bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. [29] If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. [30] Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. [31] Do to others as you would have them do to you.
[32] "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. [33] And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. [34] And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. [35] But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. [36] Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Seeing Through Christ's Eyes

2006-12-08T11:56:00.000-08:00

It is said that at the beginning of the twentieth century psychiatrists saw human beings as thinking beings who happened to have feelings to struggle with. By the end of the century, they concluded that the reverse was true. Humans are feeling creatures who happen to be able to think.

In a similar manner, day-to-day life leads us to view humanity as physical beings with spiritual struggles. However, there have been several thoughtful authors who argue that we are really spiritual creatures who wear our physical bodies like coats.

This point is more than semantic. Just as a cerebral self-image can cause a lifetime of vexation as we are assailed by a cacophony of emotions, so too are spiritual struggles impossible to overcome, if we fail to see ourselves as walking in a spiritual realm. Often, spiritual struggles are not even seen from a materialist vantage point. The assault of sin and its harm are subtle and slow when we consider only the physical.

Jesus spoke often of The Kingdom of God. He stated that his kingdom was not of this world, and seemed to care little for kingdoms that were.

Might this point of view prove critical to becoming more Christ like?

If instead of seeing sin as a bad habit, which we have a lifetime to break, we viewed it as a method for Satan to hurt God through us, how would we change? If we could view the verbal digs that we give and take as assaults on one another's souls, like stabbing one another would appear materially, what changes would we make in our relationships? Or, if we could see as with our eyes the torment of a soul experiencing profound grief and loss, how much more compassion would we find?

This is what Christ calls us to open our eyes and see. But, also, he wants us to see beauty; to see faith, hope and charity. He came to physically embody God, for a world blinded to the spiritual by the material. Through Christ's life, we tangibly perceive God's mercy, love and grace.

Mercy, Love & Grace

2006-12-04T15:47:00.000-08:00

Life is a funny thing. It is both precious and fleeting, and yet we stumble through it only semiconscious of the present moment that God has blessed us with. Worse, we are often altogether unconscious of the purpose that He challenges us with, the entire point of this precious existence.

C. S. Lewis says that there are two time frames that Satan would keep our minds from, the present moment, and eternity. Further, he states that the present is the point where eternity touches time. The present is the only point in time that we can actually act in, or make a real decision about. Therefore, it also is the only point in time in which we can act towards our God-given purpose.

The most heinous part of this situation is that this state of anesthetized meandering seems rather benign from the point of view of day-to-day life. An hour passes in front of the television flipping stations. A day goes by at the mall wondering the stores. A weak passes at work getting little accomplished. However, soon these moments add to years, which turn to decades. At the end of the journey, our perspective may be quite different. Perhaps, we have mistaken an easy path for a benign one. This is why Thoreau says, "As if you could kill time without injuring eternity." These are the "lives of quiet desperation".

But there is good news. Glorious news! We still have this present moment, and a God who has put in place a grand plan to rescue us from our comatose prison. We still have the purpose that He created for us out of His tremendous love and longing. This is the Good News that Christ delivered to us.

This is God's mercy, His love and His grace.

The point of this journal is to help me to keep these aspects of God at the front of my mind, moment by moment. To keep me awake, and considering the purpose of this life. I hope that anyone reading this might be encouraged. God has gone to amazing lengths to show us that he loves us. All he asks of us is that we seek him, and love and encourage each other.