Season of Love

Among the topics of Christmas we find the topic of love. This time of year, when presents are on our minds, we are reminded of God's love for us. His love was demonstrated towards us, while we were estranged or enemies toward Him, when He sent His son to die for us. It's important to note that the love God has for us is seen by giving us an unspeakable gift.

How many times have you noticed the word love attached to things, events, and people when it's really an inward focused announcement of self gratification? People "love" stuff because of what they get out of it, people included. Too often this declaration of love is based on feelings. The problem is that love, especially God's sort, is not an emotion. The sort of love we are reminded about this time of year is behavior. It's not a matter of how you feel but what you do.

The love God extends toward us is for our benefit. He had our welfare in mind. He did for us, what we couldn't do for ourselves. In fact there are many people who aren't even thankful for what was done. Yet His love is for the whole world, as John 3:16-17 tells us; "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

God's love for us is what we reflect to others. Like the dead, lifeless moon reflects the light of the sun, so we too, who were dead, can reflect the brilliance of the love of God. Is it easy? Consider how much effort the moon has to put into shining. It absorbs some light and reflects some light. We can do the same with God's love.

Reflecting God's love is important. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 brings to our attention that no amount of spirituality, Bible knowledge, or benevolence will replace showing God's love. The displays of spirituality, the prominence of Bible knowledge and the acts of benevolence, without love add up to nothing! That's right. Parading oneself as being some body has no value. Reflecting God's love is what has value.

Further on in 1 Corinthians 13, we are told how God's love is defined. Read verses 4-7 twice. The first time through substitute "God" for "love". Consider how this is true in your life. See if this isn't the way God acts toward you. After that read the text a second time substituting your name in place of "love". How revealing is that? Those places where the definition doesn't fit, reveal where you are absorbing God's love, but not reflecting it. What may be causing this is found in 1 Corinthians 13:11, where we read, "...when I became a man, I put away childish things."

All of the childish things can be summed up in what is selfish. Acting for our own gratification. Living in the brightness of God's love, but not passing it on to others. That's a mistake. Scripture tells us; "...because as He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). It's the love of God in us that makes us shine in the world.

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:9-10).

Pastor Chuck

More on Faith and Reason

I want to visit this topic once again. This is not, I'm sure, the last time however. I've been reading two seemingly unrelated pieces of literature; The Brothers Karamazov and the works attributed to Gregory Thaumaturgus, a third century Bishop at Neo Caesarea. Although one is fiction and the other non-fiction, they both have philosophical underpinnings.

Novels having foundations in philosophy are common. What the author has to say, about any topic, will come out in the story. What I find disturbing is that Gregory relied heavily upon Greek philosophy to teach what he considered the truth of Scripture. He often gave philosophy the preeminent position against Scripture.

Here is where the necessity for being separate from the world, and its wisdom, is very important. Because it is vital to know from where the direction for our lives comes from. We may not be students of Greek philosophy, but we may be students of the world's wisdom, nonetheless.

I'm of the opinion that we can use the world's wisdom as a way of illustrating Scripture, but by no means use it to interrupt it. Scripture always trumps the world's wisdom.

Humans like to be recognized for their ideas (don't we!). When a problem or question comes up it feels good to be the one with the solution or answer. That's natural, but the problem comes when we give answers to the "unseen" issues of life from human wisdom and not scripture. Human's wisdom will inevitably lead us astray.

These unseen issues are matters of salvation, who we are and how we are made, our conscience, life in the age to come, questions about God, and such things.

Institutions of higher learning tend to excite our power of reason against Scripture. The movie industry tends to excite our emotions against God's truth. Television personalities tend to excite our practicalities against what God has said. These are the things we should be aware of. The new ideas are not always the best ideas.

Scripture tells us that the wisdom of men is foolishness to God in comparison (1 Corinthians 1:20-25). All the new ideas that can be reasoned from man's intellect are empty compared to what God has revealed. In fact we are told that we don't need another source for life and godliness but the scriptures. "As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" So for me there is no need to look elsewhere.

As for my reading. It is for entertainment and understanding. Not that I agree with all that I read, but I do gain knowledge of how and why others come to their conclusions. So I'd encourage you to read. Not just the fiction, but what Christian non-fiction authors have to say. As you read their works don't take everything as the gospel truth (myself included). Try to gain an understanding of their wisdom (philosophy) and if it is fully grounded on Scripture.

This is what Paul says: "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

Pastor Chuck