Tag Archives: Loving Like Jesus

Mutual Understanding

Living in the Spirit
September 30, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:38-50

‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell., And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

  ‘For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’ –Mark 9:42-50

I like salt, always have. I fix what I call an omelet in the microwave using egg whites with a little salt and pepper added. It is good, but I have learned to stir the mixture well after adding both the salt and pepper because the consistency of the egg whites tends to hold those ingredients in one place unless I stir the concoction well. On occasion, I have failed to do that resulting in my getting a mouth full of pure salt (or pepper) which is not good. The one bite makes me sick while the rest of the omelet is rendered bland.

Discerning how to deal with children and adults on their life journeys, but particularly their faith journeys, is a challenge. I fear we drive people away from faith when we come on too strong and we make faith meaningless if water it down too much. What we do with one person probably will not work with another. Agape love, God love, requires our investing enough in another to know when they need us to be with them and in what way our presence will help the most.

One of the issues that is most perplexing is dealing with people who approach the faith community to obtain something needed or wanted that may not relate to a relationship with God and may not be the best means of addressing long-range solutions to improve their ongoing issues. How do we address immediate needs: food, housing, clothing, while trying to stabilize their situation? How do we seek to want the best for another without assuming that our vision for them is the correct path for them to take? How do we get beyond their saying what they think we want to hear and communicate on a level of mutual understanding?

As we travel deeper and further into our own faith development, we must learn to lean heavily on the guidance of the spirit and trust that whatever we do can be a conduit to loving relationships eventually in the full actualization of the Kingdom of Gods. When we make mistakes, we must learn from them. When we find something that works, we must give God the praise for it.

Prayer: God who is Love, strengthen our ability to attain mutual understanding with others. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Welcoming Cultures

Living in the Spirit
September 8, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 7:24-37

From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.  –Mark 7:24-30

For me, this story from the life of Jesus epitomizes his experience of being fully human as we all must grow beyond our cultural limitations and into the wonderfully diverse world God created as the habitat we share with all God’s children. That does not mean that Jesus’ culture was good or bad. It was probably some of both as all cultures are. Some attributes stand the test of time and need to be saved and savored even shared with others. While some parts of every culture fade from existence as they tarnish with time. I am sure the same could be said for the Syrophoenician woman’s origin.

I just had lunch with a friend at one of my favorite Mediterranean restaurants. I live a few blocks from the area in my city known as little Asia that abounds with Chinese and Vietnamese and Thai food. Several Mexican restaurants are close. That mix has become my culture.

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us to strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. All these things refers to what we eat and drink and wear which take their proper place in a world seeking to love like Jesus loves.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the blessings that come from the rich experiences of shared culture. Free us from the fear that keeps us from exploring how others practice your 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Loving Our Neighbor

Living in the Spirit
September 7, 2018

Scripture Reading: James 2:1-17

You do well if you really fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For the one who said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’, also said, ‘You shall not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgement will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement.

 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not ply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. –James 2:8-17

Christians tend to cherry pick the scriptures we favor and ignore the ones we do not. My guess is that is true also of other faiths. We identify as the worst sins those things we would probably never do in the first place but afford us the opportunity to judge others whose behavior we do not understand. I think much scriptural interpretation is derived from human nature rather than God’ nature. I guess that makes me a cynic. James speaks of murder and adultery representing sins without differing magnitudes. Human nature says adultery is not as serious as murder. I have been surprised that many people who claim to be pro-life support capital punishment that seems a contradiction to me. Did you know that the death certificates of executed prisoners indicate the cause of death as homicide? Federal law restricts the use of federal funds from being used for elective abortions, but our tax dollars pay for executions.

James is calling us to account for our hypocrisy when according to Jesus the primary law we are to follow if we love God, is loving our neighbors as we love ourselves that precludes the necessity of judging anyone but calls us to journey with others as they search for relationship with God.

Prayer: Lord, do a new thing in us helping us to love one another as Jesus modeled for us. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Moving Mountains

Living in the Spirit
September 5, 2018

Scripture Reading: Psalm 125
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
   which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
   so the Lord surrounds his people,
   from this time on and forevermore.
For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest
   on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous may not stretch out
   their hands to do wrong.
Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
   and to those who are upright in their hearts.
But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways
   the Lord will lead away with evildoers.
   Peace be upon Israel!

And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there”, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’ –Matthew 17:18-20.

What do children of God do when the spreading of God’s love requires them to move mountains? The reading of the Psalm above is comforting, if we seek a safe haven from all the evil in the world where school shooters cannot reach us, where nerve gas and bombs dropped from planes cannot fall from heaven, where children are not ripped from parents arms, where the wealth resulting from drug sales is not worth more than the peoples’ lives the drugs infest, where hunger is not as normal as death.

Jesus sang a new song, spoke a new vision calling us to place protective mountains where they are missing; calling us to step out of our comfort zones and see the scepters of wickedness resting on all lands. Jesus asked us to build nothing less than a new heaven and a new earth where the faith of our ancestors in God’s protective care still flows through us as we work to make all things whole within the love of grace of Jesus Christ.

Prayer: God of the Harvest, grow our tiny faith seeds into love that can move mountains when mountains of change are needed. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright A 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.

Spewing Hate

Living in the Spirit
August 27, 2018

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11), 22-30, 41-43

‘But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! Have regard to your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; that your eyes may be open night and day towards this house, the place of which you said, “My name shall be there”, that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays towards this place. Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray towards this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling-place; heed and forgive. –1 Kings 8:27-30

Revelation 21:3b-4 answers Solomon’s question, “Will God indeed dwell on the earth?” by saying:

 ‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’ 

God is omnipresent, bigger than both heaven and earth. God will live among us fully when love rules the world. We are the ones crowded God out.

God incarnate, Jesus Christ came to challenge us to work toward such a world to make it a reality sooner than later. The goal of Christ followers is not to judge who will be included in such a world. The goal is to work until all are included by taking responsibility for our own assignment of loving like Jesus. We are assigned the task of loving; Jesus is assigned the task of judging.

It must surely break God’s heart to hear the hate language being spewed throughout our land by those who claim to be God’s followers and those who use God’s followers for selfish gain. One way to test what we hear or say about others is how would it make us feel if someone were saying the same thing about us or treating us in the same way. It’s called loving your neighbor.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I get caught up in the movements to spread hate and divide your people. Remind us through the life of Jesus, how we are to 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Holy One of God

Living in the Spirit
August 26, 2018

Scripture Reading: John 6:56-69

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’ –John 6:66-69

“What’s in it for me.” “I just do not have the time for that right now.”  “You ask too much.” We have all heard these phrases. Probably we have said them. Jesus was and is audacious in his call. He does not ask for a tithe of our time, talent, or treasure; he asks for are all. Our work, play, hobbies, earnings, investments, families, neighbors even how we dispose of our trash, all are to be centered in loving God and loving like Jesus loved. That is a radically different call then spending a few hours at church once or so a week, donating some percent of our salary for its upkeep. The way we love today impacts the world for eternity. Styrofoam and plastic bags are predicted to last from 500 years to forever.

We have no idea what could be accomplished if all the peoples of the earth were afforded the opportunity to reach their full potential and all people loved each other.

Kingdom
Stand up and heed heaven’s call
Coming to us one and all
To live love and give love
To those who don’t know of
The lavish and true love of God 

We are the kingdom of God
We are an army of love
We carry truth to the world
We are the kingdom of God**

Prayer: Holy One of God, breathe your breath of love on us as we relish in knowing who you are and you send us forth to love one another. Amen.

*Matthew 8:21
**Kingdom by Kristian Stanfill see at https://www.mediashout.com/worship-songs-about-love/

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.

Just Love

Living in the Spirit
August 25, 2018

Scripture Reading: John 6:56-69

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’ –John 6:56-69

The teaching referred to in the above scripture is Jesus saying we must eat his flesh and drink his blood to be a part of his Kingdom. Of course, he is speaking metaphorically but I do not think he is overstating the case. The internal struggles that occur within us as we deal with the temptations of the world and the commandments to love God and love one another are hard. Our tendencies are to define narrowly what loving one another means and often define the other as people who are like us. We expel people from the list of those we must love who are not our color, not our sexuality, not our income bracket, not our language, not our faith. Jesus identified no limits.

We also like to restrict our love by our definition of sin. We say we love people but not their sin. In this case, we apply our definitions of sin to the other setting ourselves up as a judge. I think Jesus was clear that none of us got the assignment of being judge regarding others relationship with God. Jesus set the example by interacting with all types of people seeming to prefer those who were viewed as outcasts. Perhaps he thought they needed more of his love since, we his followers, were not willing to love them.

The paradox is when we let go of our need to control God and learn to love like Jesus, life gets much easier not harder. We do not have those internal struggles we do not have to worry about what other people think or how they will react. If we allow the love of God to flow through us, it is much easier to let our love flow to others.

Prayer: Lord, cleanse me of the insecurities that hold me back from loving like Jesus. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Servant-Leader

Living in the Spirit
August 3, 2018

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.                                                                                                                                                             –Ephesians 4:11-16

The business model with a power Chief Executive Officer who selects his or her staff is often presented as being the answer to all our government woes. There are some excellent CEOs who might make good government officials but that for-profit business experience is not a formula that guarantees government operation success. The CEO is not the employee of his or her staff. Government officials are. Democracy is messy as it strives to bring together divergent people to define and support the Common Good. Most for-profit businesses have one prime directive to make a profit making it easy to cut and burn anything that gets in the way of that goal. Government is often actually the counterbalance to for-profit businesses as it cleans up the messes left by workplace injury, unemployment from sudden and unexpected layoffs or closures, and inadequate salaries.  Government also provides necessary upfront supports for businesses such as education.

What is described in our scripture from Ephesians today seems to be a combination of a servant-leader CEO pulling together the masses to work toward a world whose prime directive is loving God and loving one another where everyone has enough of the necessities and all possess talents and skills to contribute.

During this election season, we must consider all the skills and talents candidates bring to the table and prayerfully consider how they complement our prime directive of love while we consider what role we are called to play in making our form of government work.

Prayer: Servant- Leader Christ be a beacon of light to us as we work together toward the full realization of your Kingdom. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

One Lord of All

Living in the Spirit
August 2, 2018

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. –Ephesians 4:1-5

Our reputation proceeds us and in many instances, our family’s reputation at least sits the stage for how others perceive us. While state employees by rule were hired via a merit system when I applied to work for Oklahoma many years ago, the reality was that if a local political power did not support you, you most likely did not get the job. I had never even met my state senator when I went to his office to ask for his support. He was very gracious and invited me into his office. Hearing my last name, he asked my lineage. After naming my father, he immediately said he had known my grandfather well. The senators said my grandfather was one of the finest men he had ever known. The Senator was one up on me as my grandfather died before I was born. We chatted about some fishing experiences he and one of my uncles had. I really do not recall much discussion about me at all. I left his office and drove the 15 miles home to my family’s farm. My mother met me at the door with the news that the state agency had called and I was to start to work the next day.

A few years later as a child welfare worker, I approached the local judge asking for an order to remove a 13-year-old girl from her home. She was being sexually abused by family members. The judge signed the order. Handing it to me, he said I signed this and you can see what you can do but I have known that family all my life and they are just no good. I knew the family’s dysfunction all too well but I was not ready to give up on the child. I was not around long enough to see if our intervention did any good, but I learned an important lesson about how the world shapes us and how hard it can be to step away from our histories.

How we live our life’s, how we love one another, as declared followers of Christ reflects for better or worse in our society on people’s attitudes toward Christ. On the other hand, Jesus Christ took on all the negatives defaming or limiting all of God’s children so that they inherited the new reputation of one who was without blame.

Prayer:  Lord, help us to see others through your eyes. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Loving Self

Living in the Spirit
July 29, 2018

Scripture Reading: John 6:1-21

Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’—John 6:10-14

For some reason, the phrase ‘Make the people sit down’ bothers me when I imagine it coming from Jesus’ mouth. The polite thing to say in English would be something like ‘Have the people be seated’. I looked up the word in the Greek and it seems to imply something more mechanical than what I at first perceived as an order. Jesus was not heavy into giving orders to anyone. He drove out the money changers from the temple, I suppose that embodies making someone do something. He gave instructions to disciples to go and do certain things, but he did so as if he were speaking to people already willing and able to help.  Go into all the world. . .* One also would not think it necessary to make hungry people eat. Perhaps it was a way of assuring order in serving the food.

How do we best gain people’s attention today to share with them the nourishing Good News of Jesus Christ? How do we spread the love of God without being authoritarian, condescending, or patronizing? How do we interact with others whose previous encounters regarding God were very negative? How do we love like Jesus loves?

It is paradoxical, but I think it is true we must first love ourselves like Jesus loves us before we can love others. Jesus said it in Mark 12:30-31, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ When we are full of self-loathing we cannot help but project that on others particularly when we are unaware of our self-assessments. Our self-assessments probably were passed to use from others trying to love us the best way they could. If we only see hurtful negatives in others rather than the image of God in which they were created, we cannot love them as Jesus does.

Accepting the love of Jesus Christ is the starting point of healing broken souls and enabling us to love in the same way he does.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for making me whole each day and always. Amen.

*Mark 16:15, Luke 14:23, Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:7-8

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.