Religion

Friday, February 18, 2011

Christianity Characterized in a Word

During this past week I have been studying Biblical love. Most people know 1 John 4:8 “God is love” and the fact that Jesus commanded us to love our enemies. In addition, many people are familiar with portions of 1 Corinthians chapter 13, also known as the great love chapter of the Bible, as it is often quoted during marriage ceremonies.

But what does Biblical love look like in action?

I believe one of the best examples in Scripture that pictures the type of love Jesus has for His children is found in the life of the Disciple John. He is referred to as the disciple Jesus loved and it is said of him that he loved Jesus. This of course begs the question - did the other disciples not love Jesus? Or did John simply love him more?

According to John MacArthur, when we read John’s gospel account, “we enter into the most sacred holy place of all, the holy of holies and we see God in person, God in flesh. And so the fourth gospel is the gospel of all gospels. It is the holy of holies of the New Testament. It is almost as if we ought to take off our shoes for we stand on holy ground as we approach this gospel because it presents in the most magnificent glory the deity of Jesus Christ. It talks about His humanity, it talks about His servant hood, it talks about His kingship, but it presents primarily His deity. It is behold your God that John is trying to get across.”

It would seem based on John’s writings that he had an intimate knowledge of Jesus unlike anyone else. Of course, John was the only disciple at the cross. Even Peter who when told that Jesus would suffer many things and be killed, bolded declared, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” (Matthew 16:22)  We also remember that when the Lord was carrying His cross to Calvary, Peter was busy denying Him three times.

But John was there, wasn’t he? He was at the cross as Jesus told him to take care of His mother. John, unlike the other disciples, was not fearful of losing his life or ashamed to be associated with Jesus because he loved him. Because he LOVED Him. Love compelled John to follow the Savior anywhere – even to the cross. And as a result of this great love, when John was isolated on the island of Patmos for his faith, cut off from civilization on that small, deserted island. Shut off from everyone. He was shut up to God and there received the most extensive revelation of future events ever shown to any writer in the New Testament.

Unfortunately in today’s word, love is associated with a feeling or an emotion. The Greek language, which is the language of the New Testament, uses two different words to describe and define love. The most commonly used Greek word translated “love” in the New Testament is “agape.” This love is represented by God's love for us. It is a non-partial, sacrificial love probably best exemplified by God's provision for our rebellion as found, by no coincidence, in the Gospel of John chapter three, verse 16, “For God so loved (agape) the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

In contrast, our love is usually conditional and based upon how other people behave toward us. The Greek word “phileo” defines this kind of love, often translated “brotherly love.” Phileo is an emotional kind of love. It is something that can be experienced by both believers and non-believers. This is in contrast to agape, which is love extended through the Holy Spirit and requires a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This kind of love gives and sacrifices expecting nothing back in return.

As we walk with the Lord and become conformed to His image, agape love should be apparent in our life. It is this type of love that makes the world sit up and take notice because it is only possessed by believers. It is agape love in action that magnifies the message of the gospel for it is the very center of it – God loving us while we were yet sinners! It is a statement we should never get over. It is a love we should never get over. And it should compel us to follow the Savior, as it did John, all the way to the cross.

"Every Christian would agree that a man's spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God." - C. S. Lewis

Friday, February 11, 2011

The Marriage/Jesus Relationship

Last week I had written a blog about humility as the Lord has been teaching me quite a bit on this subject recently. In fact, just the other day I heard John MacArthur say on the radio that the only people that are able to forgive are humble people. This statement could not be any truer. Forgiveness is impossible if a heart is full of pride. Actually, I would go as far as to say that it is impossible to please God in our daily walk if humility does not permeate our lives and attitude.

With that being said, David Jeremiah has been preaching a series of messages on the Book Song of Solomon. His main theme is marriage, love, and sex as you might suspect if you have ever read the Song of Solomon.

As a quick overview, Song of Solomon has two primary characters or narrators. There is a woman called the Shulamite and a man who is King Solomon. It is a poem that moves the reader from the couple’s courtship to marriage to consummation. Its imagery is powerful and its lyrical content is beautiful.

While there are many wonderful spiritual jewels contained in this short book on marriage and love, I wanted to focus on the one thing that I think makes a marriage all that it is intended to be from God’s point of view. This critical aspect is the relationship of the wife and husband to Jesus Christ. I realize this may seem elementary but as I look at my own marriage, I have come to realize over the years that the most important facet to my overall happiness and contentment is based upon my relationship to the Lord and my husband’s relationship to the Lord. For you see if either my relationship or my husband’s relationship with the Lord is not where it should be then we will not treat each other as the Lord has intended and the Lord says our prayers will be hindered as a result (1 Peter 3:7).

As I mentioned previously, humility is the foundation for all other virtues to flourish in the life of the believer and this is also true in marriage and all of life’s relationships. It is so easy to be offended, isn’t it? Whether it is our spouse, our kids, a co-worker, or a friend. I have found in my own walk that the closer I am to the Lord, the less offenses bother me and the more I am able to focus on the things that the Lord says are most important – loving Him with my heart, mind, and soul and loving my neighbor as myself. It is within the servant’s attitude that we find the abundant life, but so often it is hard to not put ourselves first in everything.

Marriage by nature puts us into subjection to another person as 1 Corinthians 7:4 states, “The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.” Pretty powerful text. But if we are to truly live it then we need to be at the cross daily, realizing who we are before Christ. Otherwise our marriage will begin to come apart at the seams.

It is staggering to think that we have such power when it comes to our spouses but we do. We can either use that inherit power to build them up or tear them down. On this note, a couple of years ago, I heard a speaker at a marriage conference say that God has given us our spouses in order to mold us into the image of His Son. He said this in reference to all the annoying things that we dislike about our spouses that we wish they would change. While the audience chuckled, his point was valid in that the Lord always has the same purpose for us in life as His children and that is to bring us into greater conformity to His Son. What better person to use to accomplish this task than our spouse whom we live with and interact with every day?

My hope and prayer is that my own testimony before the Lord would be an encouragement to my husband in His walk and vice versa. Please feel free to comment to let me know how the Lord is shaping you into a picture of His Son in your relationships.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Humility 101

I hope this blog post finds everyone well. I have not been able to update my blog in a few weeks due to a bad case of the flu which has run rampant through my family. I can’t remember the last time I was that sick but I am on the mend now and happy to be back writing.

Over the past several weeks, the Lord has been teaching me much about humility and harmony. I read a book by Andrew Murray called Humility: The Beauty of Holiness that was a little gem. In it Murray explains that the one characteristic that dominated the life of Christ was humility. He goes on to say that humility is the foundation for all other virtues to flourish in the life of the believer. This makes sense when you think about the insidious nature of pride and how it can ruin a life.

As I thought about humility and all that it encompasses, I came quickly to realize that there may be no harder lesson to learn or virtue to possess than humility. Ben Franklin, who spent most of his life exploring the role of civic and personal virtue, had this to say about humility, “In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”

So, how does one actually attain humility? It certainly cannot be found in text books or within the walls of our most learned institutions. It can only be found in the schools of Christ. It is only as we allow ourselves to be captivated at the foot of the cross and realize who we are before Christ that the seeds of humility are firmly planted. For you see humility does not consist of thinking meanly of ourselves as some believe, but in not thinking of ourselves at all. If humility speaks of itself, it is gone.

It was this aspect of not thinking of Himself at all that enabled Christ to fulfill his earthly mission. He was completely and totally satisfied with the Father and as a result was completely obedient all the way to the cross.

Once we are able to subtract ourselves out of the equation than we become vessels perfectly suited for the Mater’s work. This is not easy and I do not pretend that it is. I need not look any further than my own life to realize how much pride creeps at the door of my heart almost constantly. It takes much discipline to bring myself to the cross not just daily but many times daily to be cleansed and fitted for God’s purpose.

As with any virtue we seek to see demonstrated in our lives, we must feed on the Word of God in order to see it manifested. The Word is the life blood of the soul and the fuel to conquer sin, the world, the devil, and our own flesh. If you have some time this week, read Psalm 119. It is referred to in Hebrew by its opening words, "Ashrei temimei derech" ("happy are those whose way is perfect"). It is the prayer of one who delights in and lives by the Word of God, the sacred law. What makes Psalm 119 unique is the way that these requests are continually and explicitly grounded in the gift of the Law and the psalmist's loyalty to it.

I hope to continue to write more blogs on the subject of humility in the coming weeks as the Lord leads. Until then, God Bless and please feel free to comment and let me know what God is teaching you.