In Jesus we are all accepted and loved by God. And we in Jesus are to accept and love each other.
This is a love that often is full of pain, because many won't receive this acceptance and love. Or a number depart from it. Or we can struggle sometimes ourselves to rest in it.
But if we don't have this then we are not Christian. This is at the heart of what it means to follow Christ, to be the people of God in Christ, to be the church.
May God help us live in this today, and encourage others to do the same. By the grace found in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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13 comments:
Ted,
Thank you for this post. I've been thinking a lot about the love of Christ lately. Your post made me think of the "rich, young ruler". Mark tells us that Jesus loved this young man, yet the man rejected Jesus. I pray that the Spirit teaches me to love those who reject me. I want to be able to love and accept people the way that Jesus loved and accepted me.
-Alan
love one another as I have loved you... Leonard Sweet refers this acceptance and love despite the response of the recipient as, "the platinum rule."
Alan, Me too! We need to get past anything at all that may be personal or may seem that way. And I've thought some lately on how our love needs to be grounded in the relational ongoing dynamic love within the Trinity.
And as you say, to have that love of Jesus in this world towards those who are enemies. A love that sees them as God does. A great challenge but we need to be moving towards and living in that love.
Thanks.
Ah, good, Doug! Thanks.
Ted
It's so simple yet so profound. The love of Christ defines Christians.
We love because he first loved us.
(somewhere in 1 John 4)
Thanks for your post reminding us of this.
yes, I wonder what makes it sometimes hard to rest in acceptance and love...
I won't accept clowns or mimes and you can't make me. Hmph!
;-)
L.L., Good question. It's interesting that Hebrews tells us paradoxically, it seems, to make every effort to enter into God's rest, lest anyone fall by following the same example of unbelief and disobedience.
I do think there's a kind of necessary striving needed at times. Maybe to unlearn our old ways. And maybe to work through some different ways of thinking. And to get on a new path.
I'm meditating lately on Ephesians. How rich! Especially Ephesians 1, in this regard. I like translations that say that we're accepted in the Beloved.
Haha, Craver! I wonder why that's so?!. :)
ESI, Thanks. Yes, often the most simple things are really perhaps the most profound. Certainly God's love has a depth far beyond our grasp of it. Like Paul says, he prayed that we'd grasp just how great is that love! (Eph)
I am seeing this to be true in this last week- a friend who attends bible study with me this last week committed murder, confessed and now is facing life in prison. As a church- as his fellowship we have been struggling, but at the same time we came to an agreement that he is still our brother- a child of God, in need of grace, a man who is spiritually bankrupt- and we must love him deeply, pray with compassion and stand by him and his family through this. We can only hope that the love and grace that Jesus offers will be found.
Betsy Lin, Thanks so much for sharing that. As we remember we need to be lifting he and his family up in prayer as I'm sure you and your fellowship will be doing. Hopefully he'll really accept what we all so much need; and he'll see the acceptance and grace of God in your faces as well (and I'm confident that that will happen!).
Yeah- I am finding that they dont cover these sort of events in bible school
"what to do if someone in your small group commits murder"
Maybe thats the beauty in Christ- because his sin is no greater then our own.....we pray for freedom and grace....and yes I am confident as well that God will reveal his glory through this.
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