Romans 13:8–What Do We Owe One Another?

Romans 13:8–"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law."

I was recently listening to a radio conversation in which the guest told the host, "I don't owe anybody anything."  To which the host replied, "that's right.  I feel the same way myself."

It occurred to me that many people live their lives with this same understanding, that they owe nothing to no one.  And even if we might not say as much we probably live our lives like it.

But God has something else for us.  he says that we do owe other people.  We owe them our love.  To be sure, this is a simple but profound thing; however, it is also an oft-neglected debt.  Truly, we do owe everyone around us our love because, at its core, our love is a gift from God.  Because our love comes as a gift from God it is out of our devotion that we deliver our love to others as an expression of our love for what God has done.  That's the least that we owe.

Acts 20:35b--More Blessed to Give than Receive

Acts 20:35b–"It is more blessed to give than to receive."

There are perhaps only few maxims of Christianity that are easier to grasp in our minds yet more difficult to actualize in our lives.  The reality is that this axiom demands serious attention from us in order that we might make this maxim a reality in our own lives.  In truth so much of our own world holds to a converse maxim that it is more blessed to receive than to give.  It then must be active posture and attitude.

To make the reality of this verse present within ourselves it demands a conscious effort, a shift in paradigm from one way of viewing things to another.  But this fluctuation from one way of thinking to another is completely in line with the Gospel: to love others as Christ loved us.  

This means that we would take it upon ourselves to count others higher than ourselves, take pleasure in giving to others, and, ultimately, go to the great lengths of laying down our very lives for the good of others before ourselves.  That is what this verse is about and that is what it demands for our lives. Needless to say, it takes utter devotion to Christ to keep this posture before us at all times

Psalm 73:25-26–Whom Have I But You?

Psalm 73:25-26–"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and portion forever."

This passage is more than a statement about priority, and it is saying something other than hope. This passage is about honesty, about a sincere contemplation of who we are in light of God's greatness and His utter majesty.  Truly, we have no one save Him!  And there is no thing besides Him!  He is the strength of our hearts and our portion forever!  Let us make this the very cry of our hearts.

1 John 3:18–Loving inDeed

1 John 3:18–"Little children, let us love not in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

"How do you know that I love you?"

I asked this question to my 9-month-old puppy recently.  She stared at me with her big eyes and said nothing.

Of course I replied, "Well, I do love you."

Again nothing, no response.  My puppy simply went back to chewing her rope toy.

It occurred to me, as I am sure it occurs to every dog owner that, despite my best efforts and notwithstanding the few trained responses, my dog does not and cannot speak english.  Because of this, no matter how well I articulate my affections for my pooch, unless I show her that I love her she would never truly know.  But I do show the puppy that I love her: I feed her, pet her, play with her, give her treats, and do all those other loving things that a dog owner should do.

Love, in a sense, is like this.  We can talk and talk and talk about how much we love another person, how desperately we tell them that we care for them, or how eloquently we express our affections, unless we show our love through action, the truth of our fondness could never be seen from the other. It is as we do that we love.

But this is not enough for we also must love truthfully.  That is to say that not every action that we could do for love actually is loving.  For instance, it would not be loving to beat my puppy without any reason and call it 'firm discipline.'  In this way, it needs to be said that we have to show our love in actions that are actually loving.

Needless to say, there is more to say about this but suffice for now to conclude with a simple statement. Our example in this is Christ Jesus who, because of His great love for us, was obedient unto death so as to show the true depth of His love for us.  Let us then always look to Him for our hope, our strength, and our wisdom as we strive to love in deed and in truth.

Get Off Your Own Perspective.

Life is so often a matter of perspective.  It is as we are able to transcend the limits of our paltry personal viewpoints that we are able to see things more clearly and able, then, to love more fully.  Consider the story of the grocer who, after finding that her husband has been having an affair with another woman for several years, is overwhelmingly rude to the patrons she helps throughout her day.  Now, as a patron, we may have the perspective that this woman is nothing more than a rude woman with little care for her job or even for human decency.  And while our perspective would certainly be considered an accurate interpretation of our personal experience it would, in the end, be an incorrect one.

There is more to life than our personal experiences and far-more useful things than our own perspectives.  One of the goals in love is to get beyond your own perspective to not only see the others but, even more so, to cherish theirs more than our own.  This is the very essence of "Love thy neighbor as thyself."  We would do well to take time throughout our days to truly consider the plights of those around us, if only so as to help us empathize and love.  To read another's story can go a long way to loving them wherever that story may be currently leaving them.

The end goal here is love: that we would love others as we love ourself.  Truthfully considering the reality of another's narrative will go far in informing us as to who they are and why they are that way. This is, to be sure, a difficult thing to do when we ourselves are so blinded by whatever predicament or emotional state that may be currently fogging our vision.  Let us, however, strive to love God with hearts of humility and honesty just as we strive to love others by putting ourselves into their shoes.

1 John 4:10–In This Is Love

1 John 4:10–"In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

Admittedly, I don't have a whole lot to say about this verse today.  This is not to say that this verse is not brimming full with force and theology.  Instead, all I mean to say is that this verse can, in so many ways, speak for itself.  In truth, this verse is a grand but direct testimony to the reality of our relationship to God in Christ.  And for this reason today this blog will seek to be nothing more than an arrow, pointing your attention to this verse and its truth so that you might contemplate it for yourself.

"In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

Amen, and praise be to God!

Matthew 22:37–Greatest Commandment

Matthew 22:37–"He said to them, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind."

Although I have written on this verse before, because it is such a foundational text I am going to look at it still.  But like an overflowing well we can go back to it again and again.  I only want to ask a simple albeit direct question today:

Why does God command this?

God does not need anything, and He most certainly does not need our love.  Furthermore, even in commanding it, He, being omniscient, had to have known that we would be unable or, at the very least, unwilling.  This leads to one logical conclusion:

God knew that we would need to love Him.

Consider that today, ponder it as you live life, thinking about how God created us needing to love Him. There is so much more to say about this but suffice for now to acknowledge that He did this by His good pleasure and will.  Therefore, let us strive to love God, not just because He commanded it but also because to love Him is, after all, the essence of our being.  To not love Him, then, would be like denying who we are in our core.  Let us simply turn to Him in love and adoration so as to keep our focus and our input right and in line with what God intended for us from the beginning.

Matt. 5:34-35–Love Your Enemy

Matthew 5:34-35–"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.  For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

This is one of the many offensive statements Jesus makes, exhorting us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us.  It would seem that Jesus expects a totally different sort of ethic for Christians, an altogether other way to live life and relate to those around us.  Needless to say, to love your enemy is hard enough but to pray for those who would persecute us–well, that is just plain ridiculous.  However, Jesus doesn't end there: He follows that statement up with another bomb–so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.  In a real sense, Jesus is indicating that we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us in order that we may be sons of our heavenly Father; as in, it is through our love that our parentage is proven or made secure.  Let us, then, take this exhortation as seriously as it is given so as to make our election and our inheritance sure.

Ephesians 5:2–And...Walk in Love

Ephesians 5:2–"And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

This is, in many ways, one of the central tenets of the Christian lifestyle.  It would be a magnificent thing for Christians to take this exhortation as seriously as it is given.  But if we were being honest with ourselves, how many of us could agree that we actually do live and love like Christ?  Or even more severely, how many of us truly give ourselves up for those we love?

But this is precisely the sort of love that Paul is calling Christians to exhibit.  He is prescribing to us much more than a different perspective; he is putting forward another lifestyle, a distinctly Christian lifestyle.

This lifestyle can be reduced, as Paul so easily confers, is this:

Walk in love.

John 14:6–I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

John 14:6–"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

This is one of those foundational verses that that is more polemic and assertive.  Jesus is, in the very least, asserting a stiff statement about who He is and His position in relation to God.  Additionally, He is consciously objecting any system of philosophy that would claim to have an 'in' with the divine apart from through Him.  To be sure, this statement is both unequivocal and unambiguous, leaving no question as towards what Jesus knew to be the road to God the Father and salvation on the whole. Additionally, Jesus doesn't make this claim lightly, understanding fully the ramifications of such an outlandish assertion.  But it is upon this claim that rests the whole of Christianity.  Therefore, let us consider it and let us make it foundational for our framework for life and everything it includes.

Matt. 22:37–Fundamentals

Matthew 22:37–"And He said to them, 'You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'"

This is one of my favorite verses.  In fact, it is one of those verse I would claim for my life, a foundational assertion from Jesus about how we are to relate to God.  This verse is without ambiguity, lacking any doubt or obscurity about the manner of life that God commands of us.  I think of this verse fundamentally, as in it encompasses everything we need to know and to do in regards to our relationship with God.  If we could keep this verse before us in every decision we make, we would go a long way.  According to this, our love for God is to encompass every little bit of who we are.  This is the commandment and this is our aim.  Let us put it before us always.

1 John 2:15–Do Not Love the World

1 John 2:15–"Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

For John, and by extension the Holy Spirit, there is a sharp distinction, a distinct dichotomy between that which is of God and that which is not.  In fact, it could be said that throughout the scope of Scripture this is a major theme that continues to develop as the contrast becomes both more clear while also being more subtle and nuanced.  Because of this, it is of vital importance that we as Christians keep our focus fixed on Christ and not be swayed to the left or the right.

There is a story of Secret Service Agents who are trained in recognizing counterfeit bills.  Instead of spending their time learning the intricacies of the false bills.  No, they become so well acquainted with the real thing that they can instantly tell whether a bill is true or counterfeit.  Similarly, Christians need to become so well familiar with the things of God that there would never be a question about whether something was of God or not; we would just know.

This is our call as Christians: that we would know God so intimately in the depth of our beings so that we could always choose Him over any counterfeit impostor the world could offer!

Philippians 2:3–A Statement on Humility

Philippians 2:3–"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves."

Humility can seem humiliating if it is divorced from love.  In the end, though, humility is not merely an intentional downplaying of self.  Instead, inherent to the humility that matters is that we would lift up others through our humility, not merely and underhandedly undercut ourselves for the covert purposes of being lifted up, e.g. "Well I'm not good enough for that..."

In truth, however, true humility is meant to arise out of a desire to love another by lifted them up. Ultimately, it is love that compels the humility that affects relationships and transforms the lives of the people around us.  This needs to be the source and intent of our humility.  Let us then love in this profound and sacrificial way!

1 John 4:16–God's Love Abiding in Us

1 John 4:16–"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.  God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him."

In our evening service, we have been going through 1 John, one of my favorite books in all of Scripture.  It, like many of the New Testament books, deals with who God is, who we are in Christ, and how Christians should live.  This verse is one of those great verses that is oft mis-quoted.  I mean, how many times have we heard that God is love without hearing the rest. Because of all this, I'm going to leave this blog fairly empty, save a repetition: read it again and meditate on its truth today.

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.  God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him."

John 14:23–If...

John 14:23–"Jesus answered them, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.'"

There are many conditional statements in the Scripture, statements made that indicate the distinct and certain responsibility that God has placed upon humans to believe and to obey.  This is one of those statements.  In simple and candid words, Jesus is telling us to love Him and to keep His Word.

In reality, this is a direct assertion, a clear statement about what God desires from us.  We would do well to listen to Jesus' prescription.

Romans 12:4-5–Many Members=Many Functions

Romans 12:4-5: "For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."
There are many partnerships and teams that are analogous to the Church.  From a football team to an army battalion, humans naturally accumulate into different files and functions within the roles they are asked to play at any time.  While the Church can be described like this, it is, however, something different too.  For the Church is always ordered into three ranked categories of function and relationship.

1. Vertical–As Christians, our focus always begins vertically.  That is to say that we are God-centered to begin with.  This distinction, ultimately, forms the basis for all Christianity as it inexorably informs the other two functions.

2. Horizontal Covenantally–From our God-centered focus, we are then commanded to live covenantally to our brothers and sisters in Christ.  That is to say that our love of Christ compels us to a sincere devotion toward every other Christian.  We, in a real sense, belong to every other Christian by virtue of belonging to Christ.  This is one of the main purposes of the Church: that we would grow in love to each other within the Christian community.  In this way, we will be equipped and capable to accomplish the third function.

3.  Horizontal Evangelistically–From Christ through the Church and into the world, it is our call.  We are exhorted and ordained to love people who are not Christians and to lead them into the truth that is a personal relationship with the Lord Almighty through His Son, Jesus Christ. Needless to say that this alone is a multifaceted endeavor but it is an essential task for the Church at large.

Now for the connection:

Each of the aforementioned functions within the Church are set before every Christian.  We are all called to commit ourselves to do each of them.  However, within that command, our personalities, gifts, talents, resources, and histories are all taken into consideration, meaning that every person actualizes the three Christian functions in slightly different-though-equally-valid ways (think of the pastor or the businessman or the evangelist, et al).

The point, then, really becomes that we would simply commit ourselves to loving God, loving our brothers and sisters, and loving our neighbors as ourselves.  Let us take these three task with the serious devotion and commitment that Jesus has shown us, being obedient to the Father unto death upon the cross.

Psalm 119:165–Loving His Law

Psalm 119:165: "Great peace have those who love Your Law; nothing can make them stumble."

Loving the Law of the Lord is tantamount to loving God Himself.  If we love God, we will love His Law.  Moreover, not only will we love His Law, we will take to the task of abiding by that Law with joy and desire.  It is like the love between lovers: if they truly love one another they will be more than happy to abide by their requests.  This sort of affection is meant as a shadow of our devotion to the Holy Lord.  We would do well, then, to desire the good Law of God.  And if we do not love the Law of the Lord, we should pray that God would stir a passion for it!

Psalm 119:114–God is the Hiding Place

Psalm 119:114: "You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word."

This had been said many times–several times by me in the last month–but life can be overwhelming.  From jobs, to bills, to kids, to volunteering, to being a spouse, and all the other pressures that weigh on us, it is easy to be overwhelmed or to feel like all the strains are continually attacking us at every turn.  Because of this it is a good thing, a necessary thing to remember this verse and those like it.

Our hope is made secure in God and in God alone.  It is always a comfort, then, to be reminded that we are not alone in the muck and mire of this life; we have God as our hope and our hiding place amidst the storms.  Let us then always seek to rest our hope in God and in Him alone!

Philippians 3:14–Pressing Onward

Philippians 3:14: "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

This verse is about, among many things, perseverance.  It speaks of pressing on toward the goal of praising Christ Jesus with every available talent, resource, and breath.  In context, Paul tells us all of the sacrifice and hardship that he has been forced to endure for the gospel, but he concludes that he "counts it all rubbish."  There is no greater prize, no more valuable treasure than to serve God with earnestness and passion.  Any other treasure is not only transient and failing, it is also counterfeit and insufficient.  Let us then press on toward the eternal prize that is knowing and serving God in Christ Jesus!

Love: Defined.

Love.  It is a word dense with connotation and value.  It has a purview of expanse and an arena that encompasses every human.  In some way, every human being experiences love.  But by that same sentiment nearly every person has experienced counterfeit love.  That is, we've often seen or been exposed to something claiming to be love which, in the end, turns out to be something less, something toxic, or even something relationally dangerous.

Yet the world is inundated with the language of love.  We speak of the things we love and the history of love.  Love songs still fill the radio waves.  Love is, it would seem, an inescapable and significant component of the human experience.  But with all this talk of love, have we not in, in some ways, dissolved the definitions of love to mean whatever we want it to mean?

But Scripture defines love not in some abstract definition but in a person, in Jesus.  He is love. His life, His death on the cross, and His resurrection: this is the definition of love.  Therefore, every other perceivable attempt at defining love must, by nature, look to Christ as its source and its rubric.  It all comes down to Jesus.  We would be so much wiser if we always kept that before us.