Trust in God’s Love

April 19, 2015 Background Scripture: 1 John 4, 5 Lesson Passage: 1 John 4:13 – 21; 5:1 – 5 “Now that we found love, what are we gonna do with it?” That’s the question asked in a popular R&B song in the 1970’s. This question was asked concerning the attitude of a couple experiencing a romantic relationship. It is a reminder that sometimes we engage in pursuit without purpose. Too often we are geared up to go and get what we want and yet we are not always prepared to have it. This can be true for material things as well as people. We are living during a time when many are consumed with materialistic thinking and hoarding. Hoarding is a great example of this problem. We get something we did not need so we choose to store it. Christianity does not yield itself to the behavior of conquer and store. Christianity demands a lifestyle change among its practitioners. We live our faith. The bible admonishes us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Through sanctification we grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is possible because of God’s love for us. Jesus’ suffering and death on Calvary shows the depths of God’s love for mankind. He gave everything when he gave himself as a ransom for many. If we accept Jesus’ sacrifice as a substitute for the suffering and eternal death that we deserve, then we become the recipients of the love of God. That brings me back to the question: “Now that we found love, what are we gonna do with it?” I believe that John gives us directions we can use to answer the question. When we take a close look at John’s first letter, it is very much a description of love in action. John teaches us that the life of a Christian is a life of love. Just as we grow and mature in life, we also grow and mature in love. Mature love causes us to live in this world even as Jesus lived. When our love is mature, we look forward to being face to face with our Savior. When we share in his suffering in this world we look forward to reigning with him throughout eternity. Practical love gives us boldness in this world. Our love of God is a reaction to God’s love of us. As we walk in God’s love we share God’s love of us by loving the people of God. This love causes us to live out God’s desire for us in this life. Our standing in God through Jesus Christ gives us the confidence and assurance we need to overcome in this world. It is not our abilities but God’s power flowing through us that comes through faith. Once a person finds God’s love, they will know what to do with it. They will walk in it and allow the outworking of it to touch the lives of others. Jesus said it best when he said that he is the true vine and we are the branches. We cannot do anything without Jesus because spiritual life flows from him through us. We should trust God’s guidance in our lives. This does not imply obedience to commandments but the submissive compliance to the leading of the Spirit of Christ in us. Jesus always causes us to look at life and the circumstances in life through the lens of love. Mature Christians have learned to trust in God’s love. Robert C. Hudson March 11, 2015

Love One Another

April 12, 2015 Background Scripture: 1 John 3:11 – 24 Lesson Passage: 1 John 3:11 – 24 Our brains retrieve many things through word association. A word can cause a particular image to appear in the mind of one person and a totally different image in the mind of another. Some of this is due to the method in which we learned a language through rote memory. Yet the usage of a word can vary from one language to another depending on the method of translation. Some languages have words that convey thoughts that are not easily captured in another language through the use of a single word. I feel the need to express this whenever a discussion is going to ensue concerning the use of the word love as it is translated into English from Greek. The Grecian language uses three different words that tend to all be translated into English by using the single word love. The understanding then that is transferred from Greek to English is highly dependent on the proper context being established in the subsequent English text. In other words, when we read the English text and see the word love, then we should strive to ensure that we understand the proper context that conveys the Grecian thought. In our lesson today, John is writing about the mandate Christians are under to demonstrate love towards each other as an outward expression of the redemptive work of God in us. John declares that this message was delivered from the beginning of the Christian movement. Indeed, we see in the gospel account that Jesus taught this principle concerning love. So John is not making a progressive statement but instead giving a reminder of the basics of Christianity. Besides just using the word love, John went on to discuss how this love is demonstrated through righteous actions. From this it is clear then that John is not merely talking about an emotional response or display of affection. In fact, John spends little time discussing the emotional state of the one who expresses love to other Christians. John was writing about acting on behalf of others based solely on their need. This love is motivated externally by the needs of others. It is confirmed internally by the abiding Spirit of Christ in us. Obviously this is not a common or everyday usage of the word love in the English language. In English, love is often motivated internally by the emotions or the anticipated emotions of the one displaying or experiencing love. In English we can love people and they don’t even know it because this type of love does not have to be expressed through action. It can remain internalized. Perhaps this is why we sometimes lean on the excuse: God knows my heart! That’s internal and what we are suggesting is that we don’t have to express it externally. John’s use of the word is the exact same as the usage Jesus made of it when he gave the commandment for his followers to love one another. Jesus said that the proof the world has that we are his followers is the love we express one for another. It is good to hear that someone loves you but it is better to experience it in a tangible way. English does not require concrete proof for the existence of the emotion of love. The Greek usage of the word love that is translated in today’s lesson cannot exist without concrete proof. Robert C. Hudson March 10, 2015