Tag Archives: Learning to Love

Love Like Jesus

Eastertide
May 22, 2017

Scripture Reading: Acts 1:6-14

So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’ –Acts 1:6-11

What does Jesus mean when he says we are to be his witness?  A witness, in general, is one that gives evidence regarding matters of fact under inquiry*. I have testified in court as an eyewitness reporting what I observed directly and as what is called an expert witness as one with knowledge of a subject pertinent to the case. Child abuse and neglect were the subjects about which I provided information. It is rare for two people to report the exact information about an event that leads to a court hearing. As objective as we try to be, we all take in information based on our histories and understandings. Judges and juries make decisions based on the collective information presented to them.

The same is true of people trying to understand this man call Jesus and his impact on the lives he touched in first century Judea and Galilee, throughout subsequent history, and the lives he touches today. Particularly in the USA, most people possess some knowing about Jesus, so we rarely have the opportunity to share our witness about Jesus to someone who has never even heard of him. In some instances, existing ideas are positive in others negative. I believe in most cases our actions speak louder than our words. If we talk about love and live out enmity, we send a double message. The only solution is to become an expert witness through our love, and that takes a lot of study and a lot of practice.

1 John 3:18-20 states it this way:
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Prayer: Teach me to love like you. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/witness

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Trusting Like a Child

maxresdefaultLiving in the Spirit
October 4, 2015

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:2-16

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. –Mark 10:13-16

My church operates a child care center. One morning as I was walking from the parking lot to the building, I strolled beside a young father with his, I would guess, about three year old son. We shared greetings and observations about the weather as we walked. The closer we got to the door and out of the parking lot, the more excited the son was to get to school and his dad dropped his hand so he could ran ahead to the door, which he could not have opened on his own as he was neither tall enough to reach the door handle nor strong enough to pull it open. His dad opened the door while saying, “Hold up Bud, we need to let the lady go first.” The little guy stopped as if on a dime, placed his little hands on the bottom of the door doing his part in holding it open, and smiled broadly at me as I thanked him. He was being taught by a gracious father how to be a gracious man.

Children take in information like a sponge in those first formative years. Much of that is what parents and others model for them through their own ways of being. Such a relationship involves total naive trust like children have for their parents and that trust is what Jesus is saying we need to transition to a Kingdom ruled by God.

It is scary to think about trusting God’s message through Christ that we are to live our lives ruled by love when we live in a world where mass shooting are becoming common place, where terrorist are deemed to be behind every bush, and where our worth seems to be established more on what we possess then who we are. But trusting and living God’s message of love is the only way we will find shalom, the peace of God, for which we all long.

Prayer: Lord, grant us your peace, free us from the fears that box our love into small containers shared only when we feel safe by helping us comprehend more completely that ultimate safety lies in your arms of love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.