You may remember last week that I quoted the following:
According to the Gospel of John, this gift of Jesus is offered because God so loved the world. The little adverb “so” demonstrates the depth and breadth of that love. All four Gospel writers attempt to look at the gift from various angles, thus providing a rich and textured masterpiece of Jesus.
It is necessary to develop this thought further. There are actually 3 directions of love presented in John’s gospel: God’s love for Jesus, Jesus’ love for God, and God’s love for humanity. All of this is portrayed with the ultimate hope that there will be humanity’s love for God!
In order for God to demonstrate the depth and nature of his gifted love to humanity, he sends Jesus into the world as the incarnation of that love. This tells us at least two deeply embedded concepts in divine love: a desire to connect with creation, and a need to demonstrate the gift of love in concrete actions. Consequently, this has profound ramifications for every child of God today.
To begin with, if I truly love others, then I will have a deep desire to connect with the lives of others. Their struggles, obstacles, pain, anguish and joy become part of my life too. I feel what others feel. This takes a certain amount of maturity to want to step out of self and experience life with others on their terms. I have to empty myself, relinquish self, and surrender self to God’s divine plan in order to do this. It is not easy.
Also, if I truly love others, then I will engage in concrete actions to demonstrate such love. This may mean giving them my jacket. It may mean taking them to the restaurant for a meal. It may mean giving an hour of my time to sit and listen to their story. It may mean sacrificing an afternoon and helping someone repair their roof. Love enacted and demonstrated takes a million different forms!
As Jesus incarnated God’s love, may we also be love in the flesh!
“God gave a person, then a proclamation, and then a people. This is the historical and theological order” (page xvii). Ferguson, Everett. 1996. The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.The quote above from Ferguson’s book provides what I call “The Concentric Core of the Church.” His comment about the historical and theological order of what God gave is vital. Additionally, his reference to God being the Giver of them is significant as well. God’s ultimate gift to humanity is the person of Jesus as the incarnation of his love.
According to the Gospel of John, this gift of Jesus is offered because God so loved the world. The little adverb “so” demonstrates the depth and breadth of that love. All four Gospel writers attempt to look at the gift from various angles, thus providing a rich and textured masterpiece of Jesus.
It is necessary to develop this thought further. There are actually 3 directions of love presented in John’s gospel: God’s love for Jesus, Jesus’ love for God, and God’s love for humanity. All of this is portrayed with the ultimate hope that there will be humanity’s love for God!
In order for God to demonstrate the depth and nature of his gifted love to humanity, he sends Jesus into the world as the incarnation of that love. This tells us at least two deeply embedded concepts in divine love: a desire to connect with creation, and a need to demonstrate the gift of love in concrete actions. Consequently, this has profound ramifications for every child of God today.
To begin with, if I truly love others, then I will have a deep desire to connect with the lives of others. Their struggles, obstacles, pain, anguish and joy become part of my life too. I feel what others feel. This takes a certain amount of maturity to want to step out of self and experience life with others on their terms. I have to empty myself, relinquish self, and surrender self to God’s divine plan in order to do this. It is not easy.
Also, if I truly love others, then I will engage in concrete actions to demonstrate such love. This may mean giving them my jacket. It may mean taking them to the restaurant for a meal. It may mean giving an hour of my time to sit and listen to their story. It may mean sacrificing an afternoon and helping someone repair their roof. Love enacted and demonstrated takes a million different forms!
As Jesus incarnated God’s love, may we also be love in the flesh!
In Christian love, Curtis
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