Human Relationships..The Context for Loving God

  Sunday 5AM 

  No sooner had I swung around and put my feet on the floor, while still sitting on the edge of the bed, that the thought occurred to me. "Is it possible to have a deep love relationship with GOD while avoiding deep relationships with others?" Love must have a context in which to function, flow and flourish. Although I may believe otherwise and I might hope that it isn't true, it is. I long for a deeper relationship with GOD, which has to be based on love, because God is love, the problem is I am not good at maintaining and working at deep relationships with others. It is problem because GOD is a being in relationship. God, the Father; God, the Son; and God, the Spirit, equal status within the three Persons of the Trinity. GOD reveals Himself, Father, Son & Holy Spirit, as a being in perfect relationship and perfect union, and it is from this perfect union that perfect loves functions, flows and flourishes.

"A" - A deep loving relationship with GOD.

"B" - Deep loving relationships with others.

  Is it possible that "A" is the results of "B"? Is "B" the context in which "A" is made experiential to me? When I search my thoughts for a scriptural basis to support the "A/B" questions I could not help but think of the exchange between the Lord and the Apostle Peter. Concerning love and relationship Jesus says to Peter:  "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?", "Simon, son of John, do you love me?", "Simon, son of John, do you love me? In each case the LORD, who, remember is GOD Incarnate, follows His question with an answer that has to do with Peter's relationships with others. To Peter's "Yes, Lord." Christ replies, "Feed My lambs.", "Shepherd My sheep.", "Feed My sheep.". It makes it pretty clear doesn't it!

  Jesus relationship TO us can be understood in a number of ways: He is our Maker, our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Righteousness, and more. But as regards His relationship WITH us, that forms the foundation of ours with others, the Bible says He (GOD Incarnate - Jesus) humbled himself, took on flesh and blood, and came to serve us. As regards relationship GOD came down to us, to get under us, to save us, to restore us to the pre-fall relationship and status humanity and GOD shared together. And, what was that relationship shared between divinity and humanity? Human beings were created beings, in a loving, serving, relationship with GOD, the Father; God the Son; and GOD the Holy Spirit. This is the context I believe Jesus was talking to Peter about when he challenged Peter's thinking about loving GOD. In its most radical and authentic context, to love GOD is to love others for this is what GOD does. No one can  experience deep and satisfying love outside the experiences, both good and bad, found and formed in relationship. One of the great tragedies that demonstrates this is divorce. Divorce severes the cords of marriage that bind a man and woman, allowing to form a union where each is equal to the other, so that together in this deep, united, serving relationship, they can discover the mysteries of love (which GOD has embedded in marriage). Love will never function, flow and flourish without the safety of an unbreakable, "for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, til death to us part", relationship, the kind of relationship and commitment GOD has entered into with humanity. This is one of the things that separates Christianity from every other faith expression in the world. For example, in the original and fundamental teaching of Islam, love for "God" is expressed by jihad, killing of "infidels", the domination of its followers, and the unashamed, blatant cruelty of women. Christianity on the other hand invites us into a relationship with the One Who loves us and from within that relationship calls to us to go and love others in the same way, even our enemies. We see this modeled by the life of Jesus (GOD Incarnate) and hear it taught by His words. Who other than a being in perfect relationship and perfect love could ever look down from the cross where His enemies just finished nailing Him, and pray; "Father, forgive them because they do not understand what they are doing." Jesus came to establish and initiate a new kingdom on earth, one based on the union of two realities, loving God and loving others (even our enemies). "A" cannot exist without "B", and "B" is impossible to maintain without "A". 

  With this in mind what then is the right role of those who claim to be followers of Christ? What then is the right role of the church? The answer to both is the same, differing only in scale and scope. Is it not to enter into relationship with others in order to serve them? Isn't this our best expression of love for GOD?

Peter, do you love me more than these...Feed My sheep."

   

Obama's 2nd Term

They say that he won't last
To serve a second term.
They said the same of FDR
But how'd he run for third.

For by his third he'd greased the palms
And lined the pockets of,
Mayors, bosses, congressmen,
Senators and govs.

The courts that use to keep on eye
On justice in the land,
Was packed with those who all agreed
FDR was the right man

A million here, a million there
Placed just at the right time,
Would buy the votes for a third term
Of the hungry and the blind.

Gary Little, a taxpayer who is developing more and more of a taste for tea.
August 30th, 2010

"Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread..."

In one of her books about union with GOD through prayer, Madam Guyon wrote: "We must live in prayer, just as we must live in love." It has taken me much longer than it should have, but I think I finally get it. I know I have either heard "it" or read "it" in one form or another, looked at "it" from this multiple angles more times than I care to think about, but here is the reality - "I" can't! That's it, the "it" I am referring to. Deep in my heart I long to love better, to love well, even to love all, including my enemies, but "I" can't.

There is a great sense of relief and peace that comes when we finally embrace the truth. That thing we've pursued, or been told we need to achieve, even when good, can be a ball and chain fastened around our hearts if it is something we simply can not do. While a never give-up attitude has its' place, and is even encouraged in scripture ( asking, seeking, knocking, ), the reality is that true authentic Christian virtues can never be produce in us, by us, and one of these virtues is authentic love. Oh sure, we can love to a degree, everyone can, but Christ-like love, one that allows us to truly love our enemies; to remain humble and quiet in the face of severe opposition and personal attack; that truly makes us salt and light, this kind, this depth, comes only from God. But here is the difference in my thinking. I am now convinced that the love I need, the love I desire to love with, is not deposited in my heart in vast measures that I live off for weeks or months or years before running out. Did not our Lord pray, "And give us this day our daily bread..."? This is not a prayer to cover just our physical needs because quoting the Old Testament Jesus reminded His listeners, "Man shall not live by bread alone..."  If I am going to love in the way God wanst me to, in the way the Spirit within me wants me to, in the way I long to, I must learn to surrender to the reality that "I" can't. I have to go to GOD, and go daily, if not moment by moment, for the love I need to love with.

Ahhhh, what a relief to confess that "I" can't, that "I" never could, that "I" was never even asked to. The love I need comes to me from GOD, through Christ and when I find I don't have the love I need in any given situation all I need to do is call on the One Who has what I need.

Lord, today I ask You to pour into my heart the things I need for this day, so I can be salt and light in the places I go. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Peace, Reality or Ruse

"I will listen to what the LORD will say; surely the LORD will declare peace to His people, His godly ones, and not let them go back to their foolish ways." Psalm 85:8


I wonder how far off from the right definition of peace my definition is. When I think of peace I think mainly of quietness and the lack of troubles, more a state of mind. However, when I look at the Biblical definition I can't help notice that peace, true peace, encompasses much more than just a current state of mind. The Biblical definition of peace, in this case the Hebrew word "salom", is more a gift imparted than a condition achieved. Biblical peace is a gift from God that actually comes with His presence, while the peace I am accustomed to is a temporary achievement, reached only by effort. I can have a sense of peace, in an odd kind of way, after I have just sweated my brains out on a steamy, summer afternoon, mowing the yard. When I am finished I can sit back and see well groomed grass, with wheel tracks and impressions left by the mower all lined up just the way I like them. I can then sit on my deck with a cold drink and enjoy a kind of peace. However, this peace is like the ice cubes in my glass - temporary. Temporary because I know in a few more days I am going to have to go through this whole lawn worshipping ritual again. The peace of God though, the salom referred to in this verse, covers the entire spectrum of our human expereince. God's peace simply is not limited to a state of mind, if it were it would have to get in line and compete with all other offers of temporary peace in this world. But God's peace is in a class by itself since it alone is an eternal and provided peace, peace from an outside source (GOD), not an internal one (me).

"Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible" provides the following words to help us, in the west, get a better grib on what the original Hebrew word for peace, salom, means. "peace", "safety", "prospersity", "well-being", "wholeness", also peace can have a focus of security, safety which can bring feelings of security, well-being and contenment.

It was not by accident that the writer of this Psalm connected peace to what God says. "I will listen to what the LORD will say; surely the LORD will declare peace to His people." Notice there is a direct connection between listening to what God says and walking the peace God provides. It is by His words that He declares peace (salom) to His godly ones. Neither is it coincidential that the Bible reveals Jesus as God's Word made flesh, or that one of Jesus' kingly titles is: The Prince of Peace, or that the day Christ was born, God Incarnate, that the shepherds heard the angels giving this announcement; "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to all people He favors." Luke 2:14. Clearly the peace the angels spoke of was not a thing achieved, but the gift bestowed, something from the heavenly's and not of the earth. How then does the gift of salom come to us? By God's favor. And how do we receive this favor? It comes when we embrace The Prince of Peace, the Word of God made flesh. Now I'll granted you that learning to walk in the peace provided may be another issue, but learning to walk does not negate the God-given gift of walking.
The Bible tells us: "YOU (GOD)will keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependant on YOU (GOD), for it is trusting You." Ish 26:3. This perfect peace is actually the joining together of two words to drive the point home - perfect peace is salom, salom. The peace provided by God is one that only He has, so it can only come from Him, and it is peace that He has provided already to anyone who will embrace it. The Prince of Peace, the Word of God made flesh, Jesus Christ, stands ready to be received by anyone, in any condition.     

At this point I can't hep but think of the time when the disciples of Christ found themselves rowing for their lives in the middle of a storm that appears to be like nothing they had faced before. The only thing more bizarre than this sudden and furocious storm was the fact the Jesus was sleeping through the whole thing. The disciples were throwing up while their Master was laying down. They were battling horrific, life-threatening elements, while Jesus was curled up on a canvas bag counting happy little, leaping lambs. How is it possible to have that level of peace in the midst of that level of storm? When they finally roused Him, and accused Him of not caring about them, He stood up, stretched, challenged them about their level of trust in Him, then turned to the storm and told it to shut-up and lay down, which it promptly did. He then went back to bed, leaving some very seasoned fishermen standing there, eyes and mouths wide open, ankle deep in sea water, soaked to the bone, blinkless and speechless.

Is such peace possible? Is there such a peace that passes our understanding, our capacities to reason through, that leapfrogs right over our minds, settling deep in our hearts? Well...is there? What if this peace, the peace of God is not a what but a Who, not a thing, but a Person? This is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions or belief systems, where the rubber meets the road. Through His Son, God promised and provided everything we need simply because He loves us, simply through child-like faith. All other faith systems hold out only concepts of what they promise since they are powerless to deliver the reality of what they preach. You can't deliver what you don't have. Incarnation based religions make you pay and pay, earn and earn, until finally, maybe, some day, in some other life, you get what is held out - NOT! Where is the peace in that? Other systems tell us we are just part of the cosmos, and will some day die and become part of the cosmos, the Great Consciousness, again, again - NOT! We live, we die and that's all there is. In this faith model our lives have no meaning or purpose, and life without either can't provide the peace we were built for and that our hearts yearn for. There are yet other belief systems that are no more than power hungry regimes, masquerading as faith based religions. These worldview in reality are nothing more, but nothing less, than cruel demon-driven hordes, bent on killing and conquering, while advancing a devilish agenda of world domination through intimidation, and when convenient to the cause - death.  Contrast all these against the promise of the peace of God, as millions of people who accept God's offer and place their lives in the care of Jesus Christ, daily experience its reality.

God loves us, and He alone He has both the reality of His promises and the power to deliver the reality of the words He has spoken. "For God so loved the world He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life."  John 3:16  "He who has the Son has life, He who does not have the Son, does not have life."  I John 5:12

Jesus said "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves."  Matthew 11:28-29

Who Shall Deliver Me?

Too strange to hear,
Too bizarre to embrace,
Too true to reject.

There is a me within this body of death,
This miracle cursed,
This house of clay condemned.

A me that craves liberty,
Crying out for freedom:
Who will deliver the me within me
From this body of death?

"Thanks be to God,
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord."

Gary Little
August 15th, 2010

Fellowship in the Middle of the Mess

Dear Anonymous:
In response to your question I will say this. In his letter to the church in the city of Corinth, the Apostle Paul wrote: "God is faithful; by Him you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.". The word "fellowship" is the Greek word "koinonia" that means the close association between persons, sharing what is common. So, through the things we have in common God called us into a close association with His Son. The question then follows, what is it we have in common, that we both share so this close association, this fellowship, can exist? The scripture makes pretty clear that God is the One who initiated the call into this fellowship so you have to draw the conclusion that God knows there are things we share in common with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Let's look briefly at a couple to see if it helps.

1.  Flesh and blood.
2.  Rejection.
3.  Death
4.  God Dependence  

1) Flesh and blood. The Bible tells us that Jesus took part in our humanity. He became one of us in that He was born of a woman like we are. As a human-being our Lord had to contend with all the issues we have to. If he didn't eat He became hungry. He got thirsty after a long walk in the hot sun. When He was physically spent at the end of the day He, like you and me, had to find a place to lay down and get some sleep. He probably even lost a fingernail or two while learning to use a hammer in the wood shop. When he was whipped and beaten he bled, and the pain he suffered when he was nailed to the cross was excruciating ( the word that actually comes from the word referring to a crucifixion). So, here is one area where Christ Jesus our Lord shares something in common with us. We have fellowship in flesh and blood.

2) Rejection. I know I don't have to go into much detail here. Jesus absolutely knows what it feels like to be rejected when he did the right thing. In those times when we have either done the right thing or at least tried, we can take real comfort in knowing that our Lord recalls exactly what rejection feels like.

3)  Death. It may not make sense right now while we are fairly healthy, but in the future, when we know we are facing our last days, our finally moments and breathes, we will find inexpressible comfort knowing that our Lord is not standing before the Father lost for words to intercede with. God has given us a Savior Who went through the experience of physical death.

4) God Dependence. Even though the Bible teaches that Jesus was fully God and fully man, the One in Whom God placed all His glory without limitation, Jesus was God dependant like no one had ever been or as been since. Remember when Satan came to test Jesus? What was the Lord's reply while the Devil was tempting Him to use His God-given powers to turn stones to bread to eat? "But He answered , "It is written, 'Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "  (Matt 4:4).

So here are four obvious areas where we easily find commonality with Jesus the Son God has given to us, and since we have these things in common we can be confident in the fellowship ("koinonia") that God has called us into.

Next time I think it might be helpful to look at where this fellowship takes place, since we risk serious disillusionment with Christianity if we don't address, and get right, where this fellowship. Sorry for the long way around to your question but I thought it was important to get the "how" nailed down, before we went on to the where.

Transformation, "and we shall all be changed..."

Today it occurred to me that the life of the butterfly has a claim on the that of the caterpillar. The irresistible transformation of a caterpillar is so powerful and complete that the form that emerges bears no resemblance to what it was when it begin to spin its own tomb. In other words, what went in looks nothing and acts nothing like what will come out. To the uninformed that caterpillar is the final form. Those who don't know better have no idea that the caterpillar is the larva of the butterfly, and that it will soon be changed into what it was originally created and designed to be. So it is with the Christian, the one who places his life into the hands of Christ . The Apostle Paul wrote, "Listen! I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will be changed...and we will be changed." (1 Cor 15:51-52). In another place he wrote, "We all.. are bring transformed into the same image from glory to glory." (2Cor 3:18). Doubtless this refers to that day when the Lord Jesus returns and we are instantly changed into the perfect forms we will have for eternity, but I wonder, are there not times of radical transformation for us now? Using more transformational language, the Apostle Paul wrote, "If any man is in Christ he IS a new creation..." See the word "is"? Is means now. It is a word that speaks of the present. Clearly the future form of the butterfly has a claim upon the present form of the caterpillar, and the time will come when what was spoke of in the future will be referred to in the present. When Jesus said, "Behold, I make all things new.", he was not assigning "all things" into a future time. There is much that the Lord made new in the past that we now look at as in the present. There is much He is making new right now. However for those being tranformed now, being prepared for use in His Kingdom both now and in the future, there are times when in order to be transformed, we, like the caterpillar must cooperate to bring about the changes that will transform us. The very life of Christ that has been placed within us by God has a claim upon what we are now, and that claim can move upon us irresistibly and powerfully so we can become what we long deep down to be. It may be oversimplfying to describe it this way, but at the risk of sounding dramatic I will say this. There are times when looking at ourselves, as we are right now, that all we can see is a bristley thing crawling along the ground, but, I guarantee you that when God sees us in our present form He sees the finished, final, fully transformed product. One day we will emerge from these dark, confining cacoons into the clear light of day to discover that Christ's life within has done for us what we could never do for ourselves, and that even the tightly woven tomb we hated so have been transformed from a place of death to one the environment that allow my transformation to take place. The very thing that protected me while I was in one state allowing God's original transformative work to be completed will be shredded and discarded forever. We are being changed, and we shall be changed, and what God will have transformed us into will be exceedingly, abundantly, above anything we could have ever hoped or asked for. I can hear Father now. "Yep, there's Gary. He is exactly as I knew he would be!"    

Perfect Love With Perfect Understanding

It may not be anything we can ever get a good hold on until we have raised some children, but if we are ever to love well we must love "with understanding". Though we long to give and receive perfect love none of us is capable. With the fall of mankind, when sin entered our core our the hearts were separated from the divine and perfect heart of God, and we've struggled ever since to give and to receive love though we hunger for it more than any other thing. Face it, at best our love is flawed. We want to love better, be more compassionate, be more patient, forgive with ease without hanging on to some small part of unforgiveness (in case we need it to defend ourselves later) but, we feel and have proven incapable of loving perfectly. Because of this we have to love with the understanding that just as we are incapable of loving perfectly so is every one in every relationship we have ever been, or will ever be, in. Perhaps no where is this reality seen so easily as in the parent and child relationship. As parents we want to love well and we hope to be loved well in return. As children we love our parents but at times wonder why they can seem unfulfilled by the level of love we feel capable of giving back. So we see these two tensions present in the love between parents and children. If we are to be or become healthy persons, if we are to walk in Biblical love, then our love must be like God's love is toward us...love with understanding. However, if we are to find the capacity to love with understanding we have to return to the Source that doesn't strain to give or receive love, and that Source is the divine and perfect heart of God. It is there we find not a flawed love with a limited understanding, but perfect love with perfect understanding. Our Heavenly Father understands that because of sin we are incapable of loving perfectly, but that does not stop Him from loving us perfectly. God realizes that because we have fallen from the perfect condition He created us in we struggle to love & understand others just as they struggle to be love and be understood themselves. Our Father in heaven knows our weakness but He also knows our deepest yearnings. He knows perfectly well that we long to love better and understand more deeply. When we begin to move into the heart of God and find there a perfect heart that understand us thoroughly, we find that the hard ground of our own hearts is plowed up during our times with Him, and that we come out softer. God, with infinite love and total understanding has draw us closer to Himself and in the process has given us loves' capacities. Praise God. He enlarges us. How thankful we should be that God does not require of us what we are not able to producd in and of ourselves, but instead produces in us what He requires. Next time you find yourself lacking the love and understanding you need, take heart and go to God. He supplies us with everything we can ever need in His Son, Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul writing to the church in Colossae, makes this observation in chapter two, and verse ten. "We are complete in Him..." Amen! I lack nothing for there is nothing I can ever need that God can not pour into my life.

Believing What God Says

So, is God's Word, the Bible, believable? I think one of the hardest things to do is to believe and act on what God has said about something when the facts on the ground as we perceive them, and our feelings, indicate almost the exact opposite. But, if I can not (or will not) take God at His word, then I am forced to ask if I really have any basis for faith in the God of the Bible and in anything at all the Bible speaks to. If I am to believe that the scriptures are truly inspired by God and therefore form the basis of truth, there must be something in nature, in history and indeed in my own experiences that affirm what the Bible says. In other words, the Bible must accurately reflect things as they have been and as they are in order for us to have a firm foundation for faith to believe what will be. If the Bible accurately reflects the condition of the human heart when we face our own hearts in naked, absolute honesty; when it clearly describes our deepest inner yearnings, and if our own experiences confirm what the Bible teaches; if what the Bible describes as the plight of humanity is affirmed by thousands of years of history, then it is reasonable to believe the scriptures, especially when every other philosophy and belief system have fallen and are falling so terribly short of delivering on their promises and or have failed or are failing to present an accurate picture of the human condition. If we say we believe God and His word, if the holy scriptures actually pinpoint our own condition, then we must, at some point make a conscious decision to believe and act on the Word of God when everything around us, including friends and feelings, would appear to confirm that it makes no logical sense to have faith in, or take a stand on what the Bible says. Do you believe that the Bible is God's Word aand that it accurately describes the human condition?