Everything Points to Love

Readings for today: Romans 13-16

I spend a lot of my days talking to people who are exploring what it means to follow Christ. They ask a lot of great questions. They wrestle with significant doubts. They are honest about their fears. One of the most common questions I get has to do with the Christian’s relationship with the law. The law of God is complicated. There’s much about it that feels foreign, mainly because it was written originally to a people living in the ancient near east. There’s much about it that has changed over time especially as it relates to the civil and ceremonial sections of the law. And then there is the moral dimension that remains consistent and eternal. It’s not always easy to tease out. It’s not always easy to understand. It’s not always easy to grasp. As a result, the most important part is often lost and that is love. The end of the law is love. The purpose of the law is to protect love and foster love. The goal of the law is the creation of an alternative society marked by love.

Listen to how the Apostle Paul puts it, “Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.” (‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭MSG‬‬) Love others as you love yourself. This is the summary of the law of God. This is why the law of God exists. This is what the law of God is seeking to encourage and foster in the hearts of those who are faithful. The law of God sets healthy boundaries around the lives of believers. Those who commit to following the law with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength do not earn God’s favor. They don’t work their way to heaven. No, they become the kind of people God created them to be all along. They become healthy and whole and kind and generous and selfless and patient. Most of all, they embody love. Love of God. Love of others. Love of neighbors. Love even of their enemies.

Everything points to love. All 613 laws in the Old Testament seek to foster an environment where love flourishes. Every law Jesus Himself affirms when He reinterprets Torah in the Sermon on the Mount is directed towards love. The Greatest Commandment is all about love and the Second Great Commandment proclaims the same. All of it love. All of it from God. Because God is love. At the end of the day, the true test of any Christian is how we love. Love God. Love others. Love ourselves. Following God’s law is the way to the deepest and most fulfilling love imaginable.

Readings for tomorrow: Acts 20:4-23:35

Trusting God

Readings for today: Romans 9-12

One of the biggest questions one has to grapple with in reading the Bible has to do with the nature and character of God.  Is He a God who can be trusted? Is He a good God? A righteous God? A holy God? If one concludes the answer to these questions is “Yes”, then these narratives begin to make sense. If one concludes the answer to these questions is “No” or “Not sure”, then these narratives get messy and really difficult to understand. Why does God allow Noah to curse his grandson for something his father did? Why does God seem to overlook Abraham’s lying? Why does God turn Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt simply for a glance backwards and yet seemingly does nothing to Lot’s daughters when they rape their father to get pregnant? How could God allow Hagar and Ishmael to be treated so terribly by Sarah? And what are we to make of the conflict between Esau and Jacob which began before they were even born? 

These are all honest, real questions that should be raised by any reflective, thoughtful, engaged Christians. They press us to the primary question which has undergirded our entire journey through the Bible this year...Will we let God be God? Can we agree His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts? Can we agree that in standing outside of time and space, He has a perspective we can never grasp? Can we agree that God is infinite in wisdom and understanding? Omniscient and omnipotent? Again, will we let God be God? Will we trust His sovereign decision to choose Israel and not the other nations? Will we trust His sovereign plan to use Israel for the sake of the other nations? Will we trust His sovereign decision to use this particular family, the family of Abraham, with all of its baggage and dysfunction?  

This is essentially what the Apostle Paul says we should do in our reading from Romans today. “Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, “Why did you shape me like this?” Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans?” (Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭MSG‬‬) Now, does this mean we can’t ask our questions?  Is Paul trying to shame us all into silence? I don’t think so. He simply calls us to place our faith in the character and nature of God. He calls us to faith rather than doubt when it comes to the goodness and faithfulness of God. He calls us to believe God has a plan, even when we don’t understand it. 

All of this is running in the background when Paul writes his letter to the Roman Christians. Essentially, he argues that when we let God be God, everything else falls into place. We can look back into the Old Testament and see the guidance of God as He leads the servant of Abraham miraculously to Rebekah. We see the hand of God as Abraham settles his estate and dies peacefully among his people. His funeral attended by his two boys, Ishmael and Isaac, who reunite to bury their father in what must have been a tender scene. We see both Ishmael and Isaac receive the blessing of God as their families grow. We see God heal Rebekah’s barren womb in what will become a pattern throughout the Old Testament. We witness the sovereign choice of God to elect Jacob to carry on the promise even though Esau is the firstborn. We see Esau confirm that decision as he despises his birthright, selling it to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Finally, we see God renew His covenant with Isaac, almost immediately followed by Isaac’s repetition of the same mistakes his father had made. Time and again we are reminded that unless God acts to preserve His promise, we are doomed. The human race is just too dysfunctional. Too prone to evil. To easily seduced by sin.

This should challenge us as well as comfort us. God calls us into relationship with Himself because He wants to use us as His instruments to fill the earth with His glory. And this demands something of us. Actually, it demands everything from us! At the same time, the successful completion of God’s plan doesn’t depend on human effort. Again, I love what Paul says in Romans 9:16, “Compassion doesn’t originate in our bleeding hearts or moral sweat, but in God’s mercy.” (Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭16 ‭MSG‬‬) Thankfully, God is moving ahead of us, always with His plan in mind. And as we link arms with Him, align our will with His will, the Kingdom of God comes on earth as it is in heaven.

Readings for tomorrow: Romans 13-16

Expanding our View

Readings for today: Romans 5-8

My view of life can be so narrow at times. I am limited by my lack of understanding. Limited by my lack of experience. Limited by my finite abilities. Limited by my emotions. Limited by the sin that so easily trips me up. All of these things and more conspire to narrow my field of vision. Foreclose on options I otherwise might consider. Shot down possibilities I might otherwise take advantage of. Close doors I might otherwise walk through. I’ve seen it happen in my life. I’ve seen it happen in the lives of those I love and serve as a pastor.

Recently, I was talking with a friend who is locked in conflict with their spouse. Neither of them can see the forest for the trees. Both of them are locked into a particular point of view. Their field of vision has narrowed to the point where their “way” is the only “way” they can see. It may end up destroying their marriage. I was talking to another friend who is frustrated with a colleague at work. They are wrestling with all kinds of emotions. They are battling their fears and anxieties and assumptions. When they let these things get the upper hand, they start to feel like the situation is hopeless. They start to believe the lie that there’s no way forward. Their vision begins to narrow unnecessarily and options they might otherwise consider no longer seem to be in play. It’s amazing how often we fall into this trap as human beings. It’s part of our sinful, broken condition and it impacts us all.

This is why I love what Paul shares in Romans 5 today. Listen to how the Message version translates it, “By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.” (Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭MSG‬‬) I love the language of “wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory.” All kinds of images flash through my mind when I read these words. Summitting a 14’er here in Colorado and being able to see for miles. Standing on the Great Plains and seeing the wheat fields stretch out before me in every direction. Looking out the window of a plane and being able to see entire cities come into view. This is the difference between God’s view and my view. His view is unlimited, mine is limited. His view is infinite, mine is finite. His view is unobstructed, mine is obstructed by all kinds of tension and stress and anxiety and fear and sinful desires that I struggle with almost every day.

Friends, God wants to give us His eyes to see. His ears to hear. His heart to understand all that is going on in the world around us. He wants to expand our view, not only of our own lives, but the lives of those we love and live among and work alongside. He wants us to live in the wide open spaces of grace rather than the cramped spaces of sin. He wants us to live in freedom rather than in slavery. He wants us to see all the possibilities and all the opportunities He has prepared for us. He has promised to do more than we can ever ask or imagine! All He asks is that we let go of our hopes and dreams - which are small and petty by comparison - and turn our lives over to Him.

Readings for tomorrow: Romans 9-12

True Faith

Readings for today: Acts 20:1-3, Romans 1-4

What is true faith? What does it mean to believe? Many point to the definition out of Hebrews 11:1,“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That’s a good one for sure. In recent years, I’ve come to rely on one that comes from Romans 4:20-22, “No unbelief made Abraham waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” That part in the italics is always what gets me. Am I fully convinced God is able to do what He’s promised in Jesus Christ? In other words, am I fully convinced the sacrifice of Christ is enough to save sinners like me? Am I fully convinced Jesus’ blood is enough to cover all my sins? Am I fully convinced there is nothing left for me to do? Nothing left for me to achieve? Nothing left for me to earn? Am I fully convinced it is by God’s grace alone that I am saved? Am I fully convinced of these things? What Christians historically have called the truths of the gospel?

Paul was convinced the gospel was literally the power of God. Powerful enough to save Jew and Gentile alike. Powerful enough to hold them together when everything in the world threatened to tear them apart. Powerful enough to bring the dead back to life. Powerful enough to bring light to dark places. Powerful enough to break the chains of sin that enslave us. Powerful enough to destroy the works of the devil. Like Abraham before him, Paul was fully convinced God was able to do what He had promised and this is why his faith is counted to him as righteousness. It wasn’t because Paul knew more Scripture than anyone else. It wasn’t because Paul planted more churches than anyone else. It wasn’t because Paul suffered more than anyone else. This isn’t what constituted the ground of Paul’s faith. No, Paul believed God. Paul trusted God. Paul never wavered when it came to God’s promises. He knew God would always deliver which is what made it easy for him to place his life in God’s hands.

What about you? Do you trust in the promises of God? Are you fully convinced God is able to do what He’s promised? Do you believe God will do what He says He will do? Provide like He says He will provide? Protect like He says He will protect? Redeem like He says He will redeem? Love like He says He will love? Bless like He says He will bless? Forgive like He says He will forgive? God makes so many promises throughout the Bible and He’s made good on every single one. God’s delivered on His promises over and over again throughout history. In fact, one might even argue the Bible is a written record of God’s faithfulness throughout the generations.

Readings for tomorrow: Romans 5-8