Show Love part 1
Here's my thought for this Rant series: We are the visible expression of an invisible God. We are the house He lives in. When He does something, He does it in us, and through us, and as us. Basically, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring" (Acts 17:28). And, of course, the opposite is true. In US HE lives, and moves, and has HIS being. That's what it means to be in Christ; it means that Christ is in us. That's what it means to be Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body. God is in OUR flesh. Love is in OUR body. Because that's who God is. He is love. That's not just what He does. That's WHO He is. That's His nature. Which means that's OUR nature. The new nature of the New Man. If any man is in Christ, he's a new creature, right? Because if any man is in Christ that means Christ is in him. And, again, I believe this is true for every man. Because when Jesus was lifted up from the earth on the cross He drew all men into Himself. But while something might be true, it's the truth you KNOW and BELIEVE that sets you free and makes you free. So even though the truth is true for everyone, not everyone experiences that truth. And that's where we come in. Look at 1 John 4:11, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." That, as simply as I can put it, is the gospel. We ARE loved, so we CAN love. That's the New Commandment that Jesus spoke of in John 13:34, "A new commanmdent I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." Love... as you are loved. It's that simple. (And notice I didn't say "it's that easy." Because sometimes people are hard to love. Which, of course, means they need love the most because they aren't getting it anywhere.) My point for today, and really the next couple of days, is found in Deuteronomy 11:22 in the NLT: "Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you. Show love to the LORD your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him." Now, listen, I know this Old Testament verse was specifically speaking to those people at that time and referring to the Old Covenant. The Law of Moses. I get that. But when you read the Bible you have to read it cross-eyed. Through the light of the finished work. So when I see this what I see is a "command" to follow the NEW COMMANDMENT. I see God showing us HOW to do that. By walking in His ways--and Jesus IS the way... LOVE is the way--and holding tightly to Him. That's how we show love to God. By showing it to others. That's how we show God Himself to others. Not by shoving rules and regulations down people's throats. Not by hitting people over the head with the Bible and condemning them (literally) to death. Not by scaring people straight. Because when you scare someone they run FROM you instead of running TO you. And that's the opposite of what we want. It is the GOODNESS of God that leads men to repentance. It is showing someone something BETTER than what they have--a more excellent way--that we can help them to partake of what WE have. We are God's expression. And He is love. We were created to be loved, and to love each other with that same love. We are God's love letter to the world. We are here, on this earth, in this time, to show love!