Archives For God’s love

Increasing Love

March 26, 2012 — Leave a comment

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.  1 Thessalonians 3.12

“Love is all you need….” Memorable lyrics from the Beatles that started rattling through my mind when I saw this verse. What kind of love, though? Maybe the sentimental, the erotic, or the bond of strong friendship? Not quite. That 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love? Yes. The love that comes from God that can increase and overflow. Love that sacrifices, serves and loses for the other. Receiving the love of God and participating in that love for others – spouse, friend, neighbor and enemy.

Is this divine love all we need? Yes, as long it is the divine love. Love can be seen in many ways. Not all that claims to be love is rooted in the divine, however. We claim to believe in love but do not put it in practice. We affirm to love our neighbor as our self but it never reaches the neighbor. Human attempts at love will falter and fail unless rooted in the humanity of God in Christ Jesus. God’s love is not some abstract concept removed from the world. That love put on human flesh, lived that love, died and rose again for us and the world. An eternal love that is ever so near….

The love of God revealed in Christ is a necessity. Without that love, the possibilities before us through creation, in freedom and in responsibility would come to nothing. Not an absurd, meaningless and senseless world, but nothing. We all need the love of God, whether we realize it or not. The alternative is frightening and hopeless, death. Yet we can face death (and how can we not?) filled with faith, hope and most of all love. A love that transforms death and ushers in the new creation. God’s love is over all and His love never fails.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Share
In one another , , , , , , ,
permalink

A Warning….

March 23, 2012 — Leave a comment

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossians 3.16

admonish 

verb
1. to reprove firmly but not harshly
2. to advise to do or against doing something; warn; caution
We admonish each other often in Christian circles. Some feel compelled to be the full time bringers of admonishment, and no, this is not a reference to a Swedish Christian black metal band. Too often the words of caution move from firm to harsh. We feel the need to warn others, caution the true believers. These are the keepers of orthodoxy who hold their dogma in a clenched fist. These are the apologists and the heresy hunters seeing only the deviance from belief while ignoring the life of love. We tend to shoot our own wounded.
If we see a sister or brother in Christ going down a path that does not embody divine love, by all means, bring the warning. Remember, the warning must be in love, not harsh, angry or full of pride. My advice, read 1 Corinthians 13 before bringing any such warning. Let that temper your concern for your sister or brother. Be gentle, understanding, willing to listen and hear their story. She may have questions. He might have doubts. They both might have been damaged by the words or actions of another believer.
If a warning is necessary, and this is a big if, do so with the utmost love and patience. Show your concern without self-righteous judgment. Love them and remind them of who they are in Christ. All too often, we forget the grace, mercy and love bestowed on us, so remind them, God loves them passionately and unconditionally, even in the midst of screw ups and despair, God’s love never fails….
Enhanced by Zemanta
Share
In one another , , , , , , ,
permalink

Devotion and Honor to One Another

February 23, 2012 — Leave a comment

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12.10

Paul repeats the command of Christ, that of loving one another. The Christian life couldn’t be expressed any simpler. Yet this simplicity allows for a depth of expression and experience that surpasses even the collected works of theologians and mystics. This may account for the abundance of writing of some.

Yet I wonder if we wane in our devotion to one another in love. The love encapsulated in 1 Corinthians 13 is only a possibility by the love of Christ for us and in us. The lessening of love is the forgetting of the way of Christ. We think we’re capable of such love apart from devotion and honor to Christ and to the other. We must remember that, like Christ, we are for others.

Devotion is often seen as personal piety or private worship. Devotion may start there but it certainly does not end there. Devotion to God will reflect devotion to neighbor in love and service. Likewise honor will seek to esteem and respect others above self. But shouldn’t we love ourselves also? This is a misunderstanding. We can’t even love ourselves if not for the love of Christ. In receiving his love, we can truly love others including ourselves. Loving ourselves, like to devotion to God, does not end with us. It extends to the others in our lives.

This is the importance of church community. If we isolate ourselves, we can’t participate in the love of God in Christ. When we see Christ in others, especially those that don’t believe or worship like we do, we have the opportunity to grow in love. Without those sisters and brothers we may disagree with, spiritual growth into divine love will be halted and stunted.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Share
In one another , , , , , , ,
permalink