Tag Archives: love

All you need is . .

Love. Love gets a good press, and remains universally popular. Yet Christian Love is somehow different. The early Christians knew:

  • love as family feeling
  • love as friendship with equals
  • love as sexual attraction

and still had to invent a new word for this quality of Jesus!

Now, let’s try a little experiment. I want you to read this with me:

I am patient and kind.
I do not demand my own way.
I am not irritable, and I keep no record of when I have been wronged.
I am never glad about injustice but rejoice whenever the truth wins out.
I never give up, never lose faith, am always hopeful, and endure through every circumstance.”

Did you have any difficulty in saying that? You may have recognised it was from 1 Corinthians 13 (today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 13:1-13). But was it true? Did you laugh, or wonder if anyone hearing you might have laughed? Being honest, most of us would admit that – well, we don’t quite measure up to that.

So love is admired, important, and Christian. But it’s one thing to KNOW it, another to BE it. Growing up means taking Jesus as our model, and so we need to know him better. We also need the Holy Spirit to be working on our character, our motivation, and our habits. You may know the gospel stories well, but need to ask “How does that fit?”, “How do I do anything like that?”. It is a good question.

Bits of Good News

When Paul writes warmly to the Christians in the Greek city of Phillippi, it is clear that he feels they are close. Part of that is shown in Philippians 1:6 ( we are reading Philippians 1:3-11 ), which talks about the “day of Christ Jesus” – the day Jesus will return, with judgement. You might think that this is not a positive message, but think again. One of the attractive things about Christian faith is the sense that nobody gets away with anything, and even better because it is not our job to bring injustice to light and administer judgement. I don’t mean that we shouldn’t report criminals and uphold the law – of course we should. But all human investigation and punishment is partial and flawed, all verdicts conditional. The final justice, administered with mercy and full understanding, is up to God. And that’s good news, for all will be fair, and we needn’t worry about those who appear to be getting away with things.

Final judgement is an Advent theme, appropriate for the time leading up to Christmas. Another “Christmassy” part of this text is fellowship, the experience of Christians who don’t just try to live the same faith, but find a deep unity of purpose and values in the life they share. Paul talks here of the “partnership in the gospel” v5 which he shares with these people, who are more than friends. His prayer for them is love, knowledge and depth of insight (v9) – things that will help them live and work together, and get things right as they prepare for what is to come. It may not have happened yet, but it is an important perspective for us too! It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t happen for another ten thousand years after our death, but we should be ready for it one afternoon next week!

There is one more encouragement in v 6. However much we may find life difficult, or make a mess of it, God is not giving up on us! People who have begun to welcome the love God offers should know it will not be withdrawn. This is the basis of “assurance”, not a foolish carelessness with the important consequences of life choices, but a confidence that the God who has called us and given us love and forgiveness will not lose interest or change character.

Judgement, fellowship, assurance: three more reasons to be thankful for the gospel good news, and three things to share.

Ready . .

Paul followed up his quick ministry in Thessalonica by a visit from Timothy, and then this letter (today we read 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13). Thessalonica may have been a poor community, and certainly included converted pagans. Christian faith was a problem for them, when not only social life, but political and economic life revolved around the pagan cults and practices. So their identity, as individuals and as a Christian group becomes very important.

Paul isn’t with them, but in this (the first or second Christian document to be preserved), he uses a letter to extend his presence, and offer the encouragement and teaching he would have given in person. Apart from wanting to be with them, Paul prays that they may “increase and abound in love” (v12) Of course this is fundamentally Christian, a fruit of the spirit, a basic thing for the group to hold together and enable its members. But notice: Paul does not want them to love the people in the group and recognise the difference of people outside. Though that would build up the group cohesion, he wants their love to “overflow for each other and for everyone else”

Our identity as Christians is an issue for us (and yes, it can be difficult in a work team, school or social group where we are the odd ones). So is love – the world needs more of it. Proper love, love for the difficult and unlovely, love of the sort that God shows for us, and we reflect. There is a challenge here, and a reassurance. A Challenge, to make the comment “See how these Christians love one another” be a real mark of respect, not a cynical comment about a divided and difficult group; a Reassurance, that God could and did love a church of poor people with colourful pasts, and bring them to faith.

It would probably be popular to stop with love. Paul doesn’t, he goes on to ask “May [God] strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” v13. He wants these Christians to be holy – to be separated from evil and wrong, to show the character and purpose of God in their lives. Why? not just because it would be nice, but to be ready for Jesus return. That concentrates the mind – for us too. Jesus will return, and we shall give an account of ourselves, revealed as we really are. Advent is a time to prepare for the Coming of Jesus. Do some Christmas shopping by all means, but the more important preparation is of ourselves and our lives.

Love and holiness are vital for us, as for the Thessalonians. Our identity as Christians, individually and as a group, is a strength and protection. Let us value and work on these things, as we wait for the great day.

Free Gifts – ?

Revelation 1:4-8 (the New Testament reading for Kingdom 4, or the Sunday before Advent) starts off with the offer of free gifts. Not a bad strategy, but are they worth having – you judge:

Grace and peace to you

Revelation 1:4

this is not just God being nice to us who don’t deserve it (good!) 0 the experience of God’s grace, but also we are given grace. I wonder if we take that seriously enough? Peace – again, not only are we no longer in rebellion against God, but we are given peace, not to worry about everything ?! This is not at all bad, and not finished:

who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

Revelation 1:5

To be loved, and to be set free – that’s 4 free gifts in 8 verses – its enough to get you in the habit of Bible-Reading! But there’s more. There is a good deal here about Jesus. We tend to think of Jesus the preacher and teacher, but this is later:

  • “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness “ v5 – Jesus as the witness to God’s ways and nature, helping us to understand in Down to Earth ways.
  • “the firstborn from the dead”, first, not the only one to be raised
  • “the ruler of the kings of the earth” now in power, in the world we know
  • “I am the Alpha and the Omega” the A-Z or first and last. The last Word, on us and all our problems and perplexities.

This is a different picture, and an important one – the Lord of power, who won the highest place by obedience in accepting the lowest. Free Gifts, from a Lord with power and honour, and then there’s us:

“He loves us “ v5 you can’t truly say that of many in power, but Jesus has demonstrated the point, and still does! “made us to be a kingdom and priests” ? we are all to bring people to God, and God to people; here we are told it is what we are for. Why? “to serve his God and Father” can you think of anyone better to serve? even yourself? (do you live up to his standard?)

So here we are, in Revelation, blessed with Free Gifts, given by a Risen and Powerful Lord, so that we may not live selfishly and idly, but be equipped and ready to serve God in a ministry to all the world.

Just do it!

Discrimination is Out. Increasingly it’s illegal. You mustn’t make assumptions about people who are a certain colour, a certain age, or who turn up in a wheelchair – and that’s good. Christians should benefit from religious tolerance.

On the other hand, to check your tax return find somebody who can add up; to tackle the hard work in your garden, somebody over 7 stone (50 Kg); to diagnose your illness someone good at medicine, and to cook the meal you eat out, somebody discriminating.

James is talking (we read James 2:1-17) to a community of Jewish Christians where the rich get better treatment than the poor. He won’t have it, for both are Christian neighbours. It seems that while they give the poor a hard time, they also suffer being bullied or persecuted by the rich v6. Is that relevant to us? Our communities vary – but you might like to think how money complicates international Christian relations! Theology can be bent by sponsorship offers.

James goes on talk about the command to “love your neighbour as yourself”. Then points out that it is no good to be loving in one way while forgetting another. Christian living is not about doing the bits you like and forgetting the rest. It is no use not murdering if you’re a professional thief, being proud of not committing adultery if you regularly lie about other people. It all matters, including how we treat the poor. There’s no “balance” of failure and success – but a great need for mercy, on our part, as well as our judge’s.

Finally, the test of faith. Do they believe, these people James writes to? He doesn’t want words, if they believe, it’ll show. Real faith is not about measuring passion, but about converting into obedience. “Sincerity” is not about a style of self-presentation, or carefully crafted words. To want to do as Jesus did, to live like him and imitate him, needs motivation. Real faith motivates; if we expect to get away with fine sentiments, the faith is fake.

This is no evangelistic letter; James is not going to run through basic Christian beliefs or outline the gospel. What he wants to make sure is that people who live as a Christian community should behave as a Christian community. Not hot air, but hot meals for the hungry, not fine words about Jesus, but the hard work of obeying him and becoming like him. It is a searching test, and too often churches in the past have been marked as failing by the communities in which they live.

Does belief matter?

“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is a child of God”

1 John 5:1

That is odd – We tend to separate belief and behaviour. Believe what you like, behave as we tell you – like everyone else. John does not agree, as becomes clear in 1 John 5:1-6. He is very concerned about behaviour – love and keeping God’s commands, but sees belief as key. So – what difference is this belief going to make?

It is not difficult to imagine that seeing and hearing Jesus would have lead John the apostle to admiration, enough to motivate time and attention for learning. Perhaps for many followers now, that’s about it. Others will come to obedience out of fear. God is God, active and real, in charge, and will eventually require an accounting of all of us. I’d better behave, and live as someone whose life will be inspected. I obey because I’m frightened of the consequences of not obeying, here and hereafter. It’s real, it motivates (if not very well), – but it’s not what God intended.

But if Jesus is the Messiah, God is doing something important – and wonderful. Yes, we might admire Jesus, for his dedication, his non-violence, or other qualities. Yes, we might want to give thanks for his achievement. But increasingly we are drawn in, and (if we let it) God changes us. We obey because we want to be part of what God is doing. We prefer his vision to any other. We want to see the victory of Jesus won today. This is a different sort of obedience! Let’s look again at what John is saying:

“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is a child of God”

1 John 5:1

because belief has a big effect on behaviour!

“and whoever loves a father loves his child also. This is how we know that we love God’s children: it is by loving God and obeying his commands.”

1 John 5:1b,2

If we really think that God was answering all those promises about a Great King in Jesus, then you have got to love it, and be drawn in to join others who are working with it, to apply it now. We don’t obey so much because we fear the consequences of disobedience, but because we love what God has done and is doing. The way to get things done well, is God’s way (described by his commandments).

every child of God is able to defeat the world. And we win the victory over the world by means of our faith. Who can defeat the world? Only the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

1 John 5:4b,5

So, are we invincible superheroes? No. But we are taking on the world and winning, as we live by faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, and go a different way to many. Belief – belief in Jesus – is the vital ingredient in a life that loves and wins.

Many won’t believe that. But you might.

Loving truly

True love – or perhaps more accurately, the failings of untrue love – has been the subject of more songs and stories than have ever been counted. How are we to judge the true from the false? John has a no-nonsense approach when he says “ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (The start of this week’s reading, 1 John 3:16-24).

It is hard to deny that this is a compelling demonstration of love and, as the earlier verses of the chapter have argued, one that should provoke a response. Imitation is a form of admiration. What we worship will shape our lives and characters. So we are told that our love should reach out to those in need.

We might want to use the excuse that our offering is so insignificant compared to the needs we see on television news and documentaries. It is easy to forget that the earliest Christians lived closer to hunger and homelessness than we do, yet were known to be generous. If modern communications make us rapidly aware of disasters and shortages on the other side of the world, they also enable an informed and professional response. We do have a responsibility to give, generously and repeatedly, and to do it in the most effective ways we can find. We need to make sure that our giving is a significant proportion of what we have available.

Our response to those in need should never be limited to charitable giving, however. We need to be informed, and to use our votes and our campaigning weight to encourage medium and longer term answers. At the same time, we are faced by a climate emergency. We can lobby, and give, but we also need to change our personal behaviour to reduce our impact on the environment and encourage others by our example to do the same.

Even that isn’t enough. The needs will change from time to time and place to place. At the moment racism is in the spotlight, and needs us to affirm the value of every life. There are issues of housing provision, children denied a secure family upbringing, modern slavery, unemployment – and I will have missed several. We cannot be closely involved with every issue, but need to deal with those closest to us, and to deal with them within the love of God. That does not want to make the wrong suffer, nor to expose people to shame. Rather, it looks for the restoration of a proper order, with relationships restored and life more nearly as it should be. It looks to the Kingdom of God, where God rules, and we are able to enjoy our place and our life within God’s love.

This we know – how?

The last Sunday after Trinity is often kept as Bible Sunday, and we read Colossians 3:12-17, which has some important things to say. We begin by recognising that we are “God’s chosen people”. God is indeed kind: seeing the impossible state we were in our rebellion, the Son comes, not just to teach or demonstrate, but to die for our sin and open our way to life in heaven.

This we know from scripture.

Paul moves on to the consequences of the gospel. The life we are to live is a response to what God has done, and what God is, and is to be a life powered by the Holy Spirit. There are many ways this works out, and we are given an example in verse 13.

This we know from scripture.

There is to be love, and peace. Peace not from an easy life, but from confidence in God, a firm foundation, knowing where we shall end up (even if not the details of the journey to get there)

This we know from scripture.

The message of Christ is to live with us. Teaching about life, truth, and good news – still important for us, when many understand little or nothing of it. Once again, I am encouraging you to look at a passage, and see how it works for you and your life. Where do we get this from?

This we know from scripture.

Everything is to be done “in the name of the Lord Jesus”. This is not a “formula”, but the source of power, and the spirit in which he lived. How are we to avoid the pitfalls, including sentimentality, mistakes, and the conflict of personalities?

This we know from scripture.

I hope this run through Paul’s instructions has been encouraging and helpful, but especially that they have taken you back to what he actually said. Scripture is not like the Mona Lisa – precious, but to be locked away, examined only by experts, and carefully guarded. Scripture is like a favourite tool, to be kept at hand and used often, valued for is effectiveness and practicality.

Not good news?

Paul, preacher of a wonderful gospel, is left with an agonising problem. Romans 9 opens with pain – we read Romans 9:1-5). A Jew (more observant than most – look at 2 Corinthians 11 etc) and one-time persecutor of Christians, he has been chosen as the apostle to the gentiles. His career has met with success (by grace), and a large number of churches look to him as founder. Corinth, in Galatia, Philippi, and others.

The problem? He knows, only too well, that the faith of these non-Jews, “outsiders”, has been won against the opposition of some Jews, who would have stopped them if they could. He knows that he is seen as a traitor, and there are numbers of people who would gladly kill him as a religious duty. He knows that Judaism doesn’t want to know about Jesus; there are exceptions, thank God, but the majority won’t listen.

In one sense it’s not a problem. The Christian church has made the decision – Acts 15, the Council of Jerusalem, – gentiles who become Christian believers do not have to become Jews, only to keep the Christian faith and avoid some things particularly offensive to Jews. History will show that the offspring will overtake the parent, spreading further and becoming far larger. But for Paul, there remains the pain of seeing people he knows, and others he understands so well from his former life, refusing to accept what God has done and is doing.

Are we past the issue? Many of us – perhaps all of us? – know the difficulty of friends and close family, about whose faith we have no confidence. We can’t always be sure: faith is not about words, but attitudes (and I suspect the faith of a depressive or someone with little confidence is less obvious than that of the opposite personality type – but even then it needs action, reality).

How do you cope with the fact that parents or children may live, by choice, outside Christian faith and hope? I hope you pray for them – for it is a serious matter. To live without faith is to live in danger of the judgement of God, to live without the assurance of heaven. And so we pray, and take what opportunities we can to encourage faith, to explain, to take them to places where they might hear the gospel in ways that would strike a chord. We listen, to hear what they think and feel, to check for ways in, for books or films or experiences that might help.

We may be seen as traitors, “letting the side down”. We may even find religious people trying to prevent people coming to living faith. You know the sort of phrase that begins “We don’t do that here” . . We will certainly find people who will lie and cheat, to prevent the message about Jesus being taken seriously (by themselves or others). But in the end, we have to wait for God. Knowing that we don’t understand more than a tiny part of his purposes. Knowing that, while he can work in amazing ways to turn people right around, he so values their free response that he will not force, nor let us do so. No nagging, no blackmail. We have to use the methods of Christ, and offer love, knowing it may be refused.

Paul’s concern for his fellow Jews shows his human side. How will we be seen for our concern for non-Christian friends?

All Win

Half the world is lonely. We can go to the other side of it for a holiday, but a good many people have moved away, and so old communities are full of newcomers and families are not now so close. You can take your qualifications and get a job anywhere, and people do – so the chances of knowing people well diminish, and of growing old with the same people become less likely.

If half the world is lonely, the other half is cynically looking after number one, because nobody else is going to bother. Perhaps that’s too bleak a picture, – its not one I’m going to leave you with – but for many today it’s probably a fair representation of their outlook.

How could it be any different? Some will look for a fairy story romanticism, others hark back to the good old days, others pretend not to notice. None of those works very well. There’s a better way. It’s a way which is realistic about the present and the future. Everybody wants “Somebody on my side” – that’s part of the offer. Not somebody against everyone else, but somebody with a real concern, and understanding, and the ability to change things.

Everybody wants to be understood, – and that is part of the offer.

Everybody wants to be respected, and – well that does rather depend on what you do; let’s stick with being understood.

You may have recognised that the answer comes from Romans 8 (and specifically Romans 8:26-39, which we read for Sunday 26 July in the Revised Common Lectionary). Paul knows all about the problems! He has written about the reality of evil, and of the failure of a set of rules, however good, to solve the problem. Now he is talking about God’s solution – a way of life that involves faith, and grace.

It is not an instant cure. Paul speaks of how we don’t even know how to pray about the problems – perhaps that is a reference to praying in tongues, when the person praying doesn’t know what he is asking. But he is confident that with God’s help, nothing can stand against us. And he is confident in having God’s help.

That’s the crunch. How can we know the God’s help isn’t kept for someone else? For someone more deserving, someone nicer, someone more able . . ?

If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Romans 8:31b, 32

That’s the answer! Jesus, and Jesus’ life, is given for us all – for each one, without exception. That is how we know we’re not alone. That is how we know there is someone on our side. That is the truth of love conquers all.

And so we have confidence in winning – a complete victory assured. And so we can – should – must – live in a way that is impossible for other people. We really do live in a different world to most of the people around us. We need to understand that, to make sure that we are confident and secure in God’s love for us.

Then, as that changes us, we need to tell other people. That’s why we Churches with activities aimed at those outside. Your Church is not there to provide you with your preferred spirituality. It exists to tell people how God is with us, and it expects everyone who hears that message to be active in passing it on.