It is amazing how unloving we can be, even as disciples of the one who embodied the perfect example of our Father's love. Jesus set many examples and taught exactly what real love looks like. Yet, we struggle with the "deny yourself" aspect of love. We struggle not just with strangers and enemies but with family. In fact, I suspect we are hardest on family.
God is love, says John the apostle, and we can see that from the first moments of creation. Yahweh even wrote it into the Hebrew law, again and again:
"You must not take revenge nor hold a grudge against any of your people; instead, you must love your neighbour as yourself; I am the Lord." (Leviticus 19:18)
Imagine that, revenge and holding grudges are not acts of love. In this law Yahweh was dealing specifically with the Israel family, but we know that Jesus told us, his followers, we need to apply this to those who consider us their enemy:
"You have heard that it was said, You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:43-45)
Just as Yahweh had called Israel to be a holy nation, set aside to bring him glory, giving them a law so much greater than any thing that existed in the other nations, so Jesus has called us apart to bring glory to Father. He put it to us this way:
"If you love only those who love you, what reward do you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same?" (v. 46)
Now back to the revenge and grudge thing. It happens to the best of us. We are still growing, making mistakes, learning and pressing on to maturity. The problem comes when we start keeping a list instead of confessing our error and releasing it. Paul the apostle told us that love does not keep a list of wrongs. So when we find ourselves with a list we tell Jesus what we have done and then let it go by forgiving everything wrong on that list, and never bringing them up again, no matter how much they would re-enforcing a future argument. When it is released it no longer exists, forgotten, just as Jesus has done for us.
Remember, Jesus told us to love each other as he has loved us. John told us that we cannot love Yahweh and hate a brother. It just doesn't work. When we love our God we love all that he loves, and it is only evil (as in the spiritual dark enemies of Yahweh) that we hate. Our fight is not against flesh and blood but dark principalities. No, the flesh and blood is what our Father loves, the reason Jesus came to die, resurrect, ascend to the Father and send the Holy Spirit. He loves them, and so must we. Everyone of them.
Glorify Father today. Get rid of the list.
Showing posts with label perfect. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perfect. Show all posts
Friday, February 19, 2016
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
You Are Not Perfect But You Can Desire To Be
We know we are not perfect. Not one of us is without sin, mistakes, faults, imperfections, so none of us can afford to point out the failings of others. If there is any love in us we should have a desire to see people succeed, not fail. Yet there is something in us that rejoices in the failings of others and for some reason makes us feel good about ourselves. Maybe such failings cause us to forget our own for a moment.
The strange thing is,when we accept Jesus, our sins, failings, mess ups, from our past, present and future are all forgiven and covered. But this does not negate the fact that Father wants us to seek his righteousness. He wants us to throw off the attractions of sin's system and walk in his ways, even if we stumble in doing so. He wants our hearts desire to be the things of the Kingdom. Job reflected:
I have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why then should I look upon a young woman?
For what is the allotment of God from above,
And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
Is it not destruction for the wicked,
And disaster for the workers of iniquity?
Does He not see my ways,
And count all my steps? (Job 31:1-4)
Job had a heart desire to walk in righteousness. He knew that Yahweh was occupied with him and Job desired to honour him with his life. He knew he wasn't perfect and it was for that reason he began each day with sacrifices, to cover his failings. Jesus has covered our failings with one sacrifice so we don't need the system of sacrifices, but that does not mean we should not desire to live the righteousness of Jesus.
Allow the sacrifice of Jesus cover your failings and sins but you guard your heart. Make it your great desire to honour Jesus with your living. Do what is right. Live by his instruction. Seek his face daily. Love as he loved. Sacrifice as he sacrificed. Desire to do good. And when you fall short, confess it and trust Jesus. Father has declared us to be perfect and holy according to his grace, so do your best to walk in it.
The strange thing is,when we accept Jesus, our sins, failings, mess ups, from our past, present and future are all forgiven and covered. But this does not negate the fact that Father wants us to seek his righteousness. He wants us to throw off the attractions of sin's system and walk in his ways, even if we stumble in doing so. He wants our hearts desire to be the things of the Kingdom. Job reflected:
I have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why then should I look upon a young woman?
For what is the allotment of God from above,
And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
Is it not destruction for the wicked,
And disaster for the workers of iniquity?
Does He not see my ways,
And count all my steps? (Job 31:1-4)
Job had a heart desire to walk in righteousness. He knew that Yahweh was occupied with him and Job desired to honour him with his life. He knew he wasn't perfect and it was for that reason he began each day with sacrifices, to cover his failings. Jesus has covered our failings with one sacrifice so we don't need the system of sacrifices, but that does not mean we should not desire to live the righteousness of Jesus.
Allow the sacrifice of Jesus cover your failings and sins but you guard your heart. Make it your great desire to honour Jesus with your living. Do what is right. Live by his instruction. Seek his face daily. Love as he loved. Sacrifice as he sacrificed. Desire to do good. And when you fall short, confess it and trust Jesus. Father has declared us to be perfect and holy according to his grace, so do your best to walk in it.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
By What Are You Defined?
What defines you?
Is it your hair?
Perhaps it is the way you laugh or maybe your smile. Your perfect teeth?
Maybe you are known as a reader, someone who curls up in a corner with a book and disappears from this world for hours at a time.
Are you defined by your causes, the things you constantly champion? There are so many good things in this world to hold up. So many things that people need to defend. So many needs.
You might be defined by your family, if it is a strong or strange family.
There are lots of things that can define us if we allow them to. There are many different faces we can present. There are many different ways that we can shape how we are known. Or, we can allow other people to do it for us.
Sometimes things we have no control over are used by people to define who they see us to be. Born to a single parent. Born to a poor family. Raised in a dysfunctional neighbourhood. Do we get to choose our height or gender or skin colour? But these are used by some to define us.
We cannot do much about how some people choose to define us but we can do a lot about how we define ourself. In fact, we should know that we don't define ourselves. We are defined by our Father.
A couple of things we need to understand starts with the fact that our Father had a choice with us. He could have just left us to our own destruction. Sin defined us, as did hatred and rebellion. But our Father's love for us was too great. While we were his enemies he did what had to be done so that he could adopt us. He had to sacrifice his only Son so that a way would be made possible for us to become his children.
People don't understand that Jesus sacrificed himself for eternity. Jesus gave up what he was to become the first born. He became something new. He became what we will become on resurrection day, the day we will be called to him. In a blink of an eye everything will change. But for now, at this time, in this place we are covered his grace. Our Father is covering us, calling us holy and blameless, declaring it so that it is.
You see, we are defined by our Father, by the grace he has poured over us. He has called us holy and blameless. He has called us his children. He has called us sinless and perfect in his sight.
In his sight!
It doesn't matter how anyone else defines you. Doesn't matter how you define yourself. Doesn't even matter how Satan defines you. All that matters is how the Father defines you.
And he says you are beautiful!
But don't just sit there admiring yourself. There are a lot of other people lost in the ugliness of their sin who also need to hear this good news. They need to hear that God has redefined them, that they are not stuck, that there is hope, light and a future for them. You need to tell them, because of Jesus, our Father only sees perfection in them.
Go on! Tell them.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. (Ephesians 1:4)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Is it your hair?
Perhaps it is the way you laugh or maybe your smile. Your perfect teeth?
Maybe you are known as a reader, someone who curls up in a corner with a book and disappears from this world for hours at a time.
Are you defined by your causes, the things you constantly champion? There are so many good things in this world to hold up. So many things that people need to defend. So many needs.
You might be defined by your family, if it is a strong or strange family.
There are lots of things that can define us if we allow them to. There are many different faces we can present. There are many different ways that we can shape how we are known. Or, we can allow other people to do it for us.
Sometimes things we have no control over are used by people to define who they see us to be. Born to a single parent. Born to a poor family. Raised in a dysfunctional neighbourhood. Do we get to choose our height or gender or skin colour? But these are used by some to define us.
We cannot do much about how some people choose to define us but we can do a lot about how we define ourself. In fact, we should know that we don't define ourselves. We are defined by our Father.
A couple of things we need to understand starts with the fact that our Father had a choice with us. He could have just left us to our own destruction. Sin defined us, as did hatred and rebellion. But our Father's love for us was too great. While we were his enemies he did what had to be done so that he could adopt us. He had to sacrifice his only Son so that a way would be made possible for us to become his children.
People don't understand that Jesus sacrificed himself for eternity. Jesus gave up what he was to become the first born. He became something new. He became what we will become on resurrection day, the day we will be called to him. In a blink of an eye everything will change. But for now, at this time, in this place we are covered his grace. Our Father is covering us, calling us holy and blameless, declaring it so that it is.
You see, we are defined by our Father, by the grace he has poured over us. He has called us holy and blameless. He has called us his children. He has called us sinless and perfect in his sight.
In his sight!
It doesn't matter how anyone else defines you. Doesn't matter how you define yourself. Doesn't even matter how Satan defines you. All that matters is how the Father defines you.
And he says you are beautiful!
But don't just sit there admiring yourself. There are a lot of other people lost in the ugliness of their sin who also need to hear this good news. They need to hear that God has redefined them, that they are not stuck, that there is hope, light and a future for them. You need to tell them, because of Jesus, our Father only sees perfection in them.
Go on! Tell them.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. (Ephesians 1:4)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
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