Love God, love the world

This week’s blog is dedicated to the second half of the discussion regarding our key scripture on love and breaking it down into a deeper and more meaningful understanding.  Last week we looked at the aspects of “loving God with our heart, mind, and soul”, and how that relates to “loving our neighbor as ourselves”, and how these things relate to the “whole law”.  This week we will be looking at how we approach the “prophets” as being every bit as critical in our ability to “love God” and “love our neighbor as we love ourselves”.

I am going to bring a few things forward from the last few blogs.  From two weeks ago:

There are so many tripping hazards and so many ways where we can go astray.  These are tough discussions, but at the end of the day we must ask ourselves….what is my true motivation?  Where is my heart in what I am saying and what I am doing?  Am I being selfish or am I being selfless?  Am I being of this world or am I being led by the Spirit?  Are my actions standing witness to a patient, kind, loving, righteous, and Holy God?  Do I truly trust God with my life?  And, do I truly trust God with the lives of others?  Am I leading them to God or back to myself?  Am I offering them healing or expecting it from them?  Am I meeting them where they are?  Am I accepting them for who they are?  Am I allowing myself to become fully invested in their hurts, pains, trials, and tribulations?  Am I willing to go before God in their behalf and ask God for their forgiveness?  Am I willing to see the world through their eyes?  Am I willing to see how far they have come and stop judging them based on how far I think they need to go?  Am I willing to die for them?  To take on their sins?  To bear their cross?  Am I willing to see what Christ sees, feel what Christ feels, and offer myself as if I were Him?  This is what it is to love.  This is what it is to shine God’s face on a hurting and desolate world while leading them back to our father.  This is what it takes to experience God and be delivered into all that He desires for us.

Let’s take a moment to pray for God to open our hearts to the words we just read and to prepare our hearts for seeing the truth of the following questions:

1. Without going back and re-reading, were there any questions regarding what it is to love that spoke conviction into your heart?
2. After going back and re-reading with an intention of not allowing your mind to skip across those things that it is not willing to see, did God reveal any areas that your mind is attempting to avoid?
3. Are you willing to pray that God will help you to trust that in loving others in these ways He will help you be more free, at more peace, and experience more joy than you are currently experiencing?

And, from last week:

We took our key verse and investigated what it is to “Love God with all our heart, mind, and soul”.  We found that someone who loves God will choose to:

• See Him as trustworthy, loving, honest, and of good character.
• Consider Him as a friend, a companion, and someone worthy of following.
• Seek time with Him, read His word, listen to His Spirit, and long for His counsel.
• Understand that His interactions in their life are in their best interest.
• Believe that His purposes are righteous.
• Make His purposes their purposes.
• Be willing to do anything necessary to help Him fulfill His purposes in and through them.
• Do all of these things from the heart, not out of a sense of commitment, obligation, sacrifice, duty, responsibility, requirement, or any other legalistic perspective.

We came to realize that if we truly love God we will do these things and live this kind of life.  The truth is that if we do not do this we truly do not love ourselves because we will choose to live in a way that is contrary to our design, in disregard of our purpose, and as such will ultimately choose bondage over freedom.   If we do not love ourselves enough to choose what is best for us there is simply no way to love our neighbor as anything we do, as kind as it may be, will only lead them into the same pit of self-destruction in which we dwell.

As a final preparation for today’s blog let’s ask God to open our hearts one more time:

1. Are there portions of loving God that are challenging to you?
2. Do you find yourself “loving God” because He commands it, expects it, and deserves it?  Or do you do it in total belief like unto a friend?
3. Have you found that you really appreciate the things that God does for you more than you really LOVE HIM?
4. Are you willing to pray that God will help you to love Him in such a way to let Him bring about all that He desires for you?

This week we are going to look into the connection between the Prophets and our ability to live out this love relationship with God.  I pray that you will be moved into a deeper relationship with Him and that your life will be changed in a mighty and powerful way.

'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment.  "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'  "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

Remember a few blogs ago when I talked about how a virus works on a cell kind of like a mosquito bite?  I said a virus “pokes” a cell with a virion.  The virion is very small when it is introduced into the healthy cell.  It then uses the reproductive properties of the healthy cell to spread itself throughout the body and make the entire body sick.  I then pointed out that as teachers we need to take this very seriously because one little lie embedded into a really healthy thing can lead to a spiritual pandemic.  The reality is that God and Satan have been doing battle for 6,000 years and we are in the midst of that battle.  The “word” is the story of that battle.  The prophets are our key to understanding what God is doing and why.

It is really easy to see when blatant evil is attempting to portray itself as God and lead people into things that are blatantly evil.  But oh how hard it is to see when evil has just inserted itself oh so subtlety into the teachings of God’s people.  To love God we must accept that this is what has happened in the past, this is what will continue to happen in the future, and to trust that God has everything under control.  If we are able to accept this and love God even though we might not like it we are free to see and understand why it is all an important part of what He will ultimately bring about.

The reality is, we might not have control over how God’s plan of salvation comes into play for the cumulative magnitude but we do have control over how we respond and what we allow Him to do in and through us.  I believe a huge part of faith is accepting that God’s plan for the world is exactly what is best for the world, that it is righteous, and that as much as there are aspects I don’t like, I certainly don’t have the arrogance to say that any part of history or the future would be better off changed.  Loving God’s way requires that we take this attitude about His plan and generally apply it at every level.  We must apply it to the world we live in today, the government we live under, the society we live in, the church we attend, the people God has put in our lives, our families, and ourselves.  Coming to this point is one of the biggest challenges in extending His love.  We must come to realize that God will bring salvation when the timing is right, it is not in our power, it is not in our control, and it is not our responsibility.  We must understand that throughout the generations different rolls are being played out, different lessons are being learned, and different aspects of His plan are unfolding.  We have no more power in changing this than those who lived 3,500 years ago, or those who lived 2,000 years ago.  For whatever reason it was not in God’s plan for the Jewish people to lead the world to God prior to the first coming of the Messiah.  And, for whatever reason it was not in God’s plan for them to see Christ as the Messiah.  For whatever reason, what has gone on since and what will happen in the future are all critical aspects of what is “best” for us, it is what we need, it is what will take place, and it is what will ultimately lead the greatest number of souls back to Him.

Today we each have a choice to make.  Do we love God enough to let Him show us His plan?  Do we love Him enough to let Him reveal to us why every generation must be humbled?  Do we love Him enough to let Him show us the truth of what it is to love Him, to choose Him, and to be His bride?

The truth is, if we are not able to seek this truth we are condemned to being as ineffective as those that have come before us and just as guilty for what we are passing down to future generations.  We must come to realize that no one link in the chain is any more responsible than the link that came before or the link that comes after.  Ultimately, we will find ourselves as responsible for the death and despair that comes on God’s Day of Judgment as the generations that are alive just prior to its coming.

The truth is, we are either working for Him or we are working against Him.  It really is that simple.  So, how does this change how I “love others and myself”?

Let’s take a moment and ask God to open our hearts, minds, and souls to a few questions.

1. In looking at how you react to what is going on in society can you see where God is using it to teach you something about faith?
2. In looking at what is happening in the political scene can you ask God to show you what point He is trying to make to the Church?
3. Can you look at how you react to the current state of the Church and let God show you how it fits perfectly into what He is bringing about for the future?
4. Are there aspects of history that make you question if God really knows what He is doing?  If what He is doing is really “best”?
5. Are there aspects of your past that make you question if God is really bringing about what is best for you?  That He really loves you?
6. Are there things happening around you that make you question God’s plan?  His authority over all things?  His love?
7. Are there things about His plan for the future that you don’t want to talk about?  Don’t think you need to experience?  Don’t think will benefit you?  Don’t think represent the nature of a kind and loving God?
8. Are you willing to look at how you respond to these questions, consider how your response has kept you from experiencing a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him?  And how a deeper and more meaningful relationship is critical in allowing Him to work in and through you?

[Jhn 15:15 NASB] 15 "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

What the prophets tell us is that God’s plan of salvation for every man, woman, child, and humanity in general is progressing at God’s pace.  It is a plan that takes into consideration the hearts of all people, throughout all time, and that understands what we can’t possibly comprehend.  It is a plan that requires that the individual and the nations come to knowledge on a “need to know basis”.  The most important aspect of this is that the “need” is based on what He is doing, not what we want Him to do.  Accepting this reality within our minds is faith.  Embracing the liberty of it in our hearts frees us to let go of all the circumstances that are beyond our control.  Letting it sink soul deep changes everything about how we go about loving others as we simply live in harmony with our God, love others as He loves us, and trust Him with everything else.

One other aspect of what we learn from the prophets is the sovereign authority of God.  Over and over we read in the prophets that He is doing what He is doing for the purpose of leading us back to Him.  Leading us back to Him requires that we accept His way of coming to Him.  One of our greatest flesh centered challenges is letting go of doing things “our way”.  It is so easy for us to argue that “God wouldn’t only pave one road to Himself”.  Part of this journey is accepting that it is our flesh centered concept of what is and is not fair that leads us to this conclusion.  This attitude becomes the foundation of our entire existence as we either see what God is asking of us as unfair or understanding that what God is asking of us is beyond our understanding and that in time He will reveal to us the profit in bending our knee to what we just can’t seem to reconcile.

When we start owning that what is happening in our families, in our churches, in our communities, in our country, and in our world is the direct result of our attachment to the fleshly things of this world, our own ideas, and our own “religion”, we can start seeing these things that we don’t like as God loving us back to Him.  This is the view point that is necessary to be “joyous in all things”, to “love our enemies”, and to “love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength”. 

Let’s just take a moment and ask God to hold a really big mirror up in front of us.  Better yet, let’s picture ourselves sitting in a movie theater.  Up on the screen is a replay of the last year of our own life.  Not only do we see our actions, but the film picks up on our very thought life.  Let’s take a moment and ask God to help us see ourselves as He sees us, and to help us be honest with ourselves as we answer these next questions.

1. What has God put you through that you were not joyous in?  Did you use this as an excuse to be less than loving to others?
2. Have you had anyone that you saw as an “enemy” in the heat of the moment?  Were you able to love them like God does?
3. Are there things going on in your life, or that you see in the future that you are blaming for your lack of peace, joy, or sense of well-being?  Do you use these things as an excuse for not being loving, kind, compassionate, soft spoken, or tender hearted?
4. Are there people who you are talking about, fighting with, or thinking harshly toward because you see them as different, challenging, or a threat in some way?  How do you justify your lack of empathy, compassion, acceptance, or willingness to die for them?
5. Can you see that your spiritual journey requires that you be subjected to these things and these people?  Do you understand that God will continue to subject you to these things and these people until you are capable of being joyous in those circumstances and loving those very people as He does?
6. Can you see where your resistance to accepting the reality of the last question is based on an attitude of “being a good enough Christian”, or “not needing any more refinement”?

When we take on these attitudes it is impossible to show a hurting and lost world the face of God.  Instead our faces are full of self-righteous considerations, frustration, dissatisfaction, fear, worry, distraction, and a never ending list of other emotions that keep us from being 100% fully invested in the hurting and lost of this world.  The reality is we are every bit as hurt and every bit as lost.  Our frustrations are based on our connections to the things of this world and it is the very nature of those circumstances that God is trying to use to make us aware of how badly astray we have gone.

Do we really believe that we have fully matured in this relationship to the point of God consummating the marriage and making us His bride?  Do we really believe we are fully prepared to stand by His side, to be His wife, and to serve Him flawlessly throughout the millennial reign?  Simply put, if we are not willing to be “His bride” while we are here now, why would we think we have been properly prepared for how He will use us in the future?

The truth is, if we truly “love ourselves” we will let God make us, mold us, and transform us.  We will embrace what it is to be His bride.  We will let Him use His word, the experiences of life, relationships, and the voice of the Spirit.  We begin this journey by allowing Him to meet us where we are, by trusting Him when He takes us by the hand, and by following His Spirit as it leads us to the spiritual freedom of being one with Him.  This is the journey of allowing God to love us as He teaches us how to truly love others.  Through this process He convinces us to choose loving others over any other pursuits.  This is how He prepares us to lead others back to Him so that He may do for them as He has done for us.  This is what it is to be “His bride”.

In summary, truly loving God must include all aspects of the following:

• Accepting Him as a sovereign authority of truth, holiness, righteousness, and love,
• Accepting His way of revealing His nature & character to the world as righteous,
• Accepting that the timing of the unfolding of wisdom and understanding is as it must be,
• Accepting His way of revealing His nature & character to us as love,
• Accepting everything that occurs in our lives as necessary for our freedom,
• Accepting that His plan for us is good and as we grow He will use us to benefit others,
• Accepting that allowing Him to use us to benefit others is the process of His bringing us into oneness with Himself.

Because we have bent our knee to all of the above we will lead others back to Him, and

Leading others back to Him includes their being led by example toward accepting His authority, His nature, His character, and His plan for bringing each of us into oneness with Him as love.  This is what it will take for them to do the same, to allow us to lead them back to Him in such a way that they can accept what they have seen us live out.

I know this is hard.  I too see many wonderful things being done by well intending Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, other religions and those claiming no religion all together.  I agree that these wonderful things are being done with heart felt compassion for their fellow human, with good intentions of leading them to something greater than themselves.  I see incredible miracles happening every day, and amazing healings occurring in the lives of people and nations.  At the same time, I understand that there is something missing.  I see one leading to love nature and neglecting holiness, another leading to holiness and neglecting love nature.  I see where one leads to the sovereign authority of doing it God’s way while missing out on bending the knee to His character.  Yet another accepts His character and neglects the ability to meet people where they are and patiently wait for God to bring about what He will bring about.  It is our greatest desire to love others, to lead them to peace, joy, and a greater sense of well-being.  Our greatest desire is to do God’s work and lead others back to Him.  It is what we want for our selves, our loved ones, and for all of mankind.  In the end our love falls short as we lead others into the same traps we have allowed ourselves to be led into. This is the human experience, this is our humility.

As a final prayer let’s go before God on our knees.  Dear heavenly father, please show us our humility, show us where we are failing you, failing ourselves, and failing those we love.  Please help us to understand where we have allowed ourselves to be led astray and how we are leading others down the same path.  God please show us where our pride, selfishness, and fear of letting go has left us hopelessly in bondage divorced from you, captive to the ways of this world.  Dear God help us to open our eyes, open our ears, and open our hearts.  Help us to see, help us to hear, and help us to give you our hearts and to trust you with all aspects of our being.  Help us to follow you, to look like you, to live like you, and to love like you.  Dear God help us to be one with you so that we may do your work, being fully filled by you as we allow you to work in and through us.  Help us to choose life dear God.  Help us to embrace all that it is to be yours.  Amen.