"By this shall men know that you are my disciples...." The telltale sign of the Christian is his love. What the world needs is more Christian love according to the philosopher Bertrand Russell who was an atheist. Jesus mentioning the agape love of the brethren that the world will see as a witness to the genuine believer. NB: It doesn't say we shall be known by our success, possessions, education, culture, talents, etc., but by our love alone. Prosperity theology seems to think that we need to cash in our spiritual lottery ticket and just name it and claim it on our way to our dreams. I recall the spiritual song, "Once you've experienced it, you want to pass it on [the love of God]."
We want to make converts to Christ, not to our opinions. It doesn't say that we want to pass on our school of theology or favorite doctrines and make converts to our private way of thinking, but to reach out it sacrificial love to the world in the name of Christ as his ambassadors.
He that loves knows God, for God is love according to 1 John. If we do not know love, then we do not know God; for God is love. There is nothing wrong with a person that has learned to love with the love of Christ in his life, even if he doesn't have a firm grasp on doctrine; as long as his heart is in the right place, that is of paramount importance. Right belief (orthodoxy) is vital, but not at the expense of right conduct or behavior (orthopraxy). The faith we have is the faith we show, not the faith we talk about. 1 John 3:17 says that if we say we love God and behold our brother in need and have no compassion, we cannot say that the love of God dwells in us. The Christian should see needs and not have to be shown or made to see them. It is an honor to be able to come to the aid of a fellow believer in his time of need.
When we say that God is love, we are not saying that love is God. Love is the only attribute that shows God's personal relationship with us and that God is a personal God. It must be expressed and manifested; God did demonstrate it sacrificially by sending his Son. God defines love and the more we apprehend love the more we understand God's nature.
God is light and God is Spirit according to Scripture also, but these do not relate personally to us. Everything God does is defined in love, God doesn't know how to be unloving, but it doesn't just say God loves, but God is love--the personification of his nature. It is not so much an attribute as what God really is if we care to know him. God's love is unconditional and infinite (to know the love of Christ!). God's love cannot be measured nor compared and God had to send His Son to demonstrate it. Soli Deo Gloria!
Some so-called students of the Bible are content to be doctrinally correct or to be "right" all the time, rather than develop a relationship with the living God. God is not so concerned that all our doctrine be impeccably correct as that our heart be right. God looks on the heart (Prov. 21:1-2). The pharisees impressed the Jews but not Jesus who saw them as not practicing what they preached. I am not throwing in the towel on theology or giving up doctrinally, but putting it in its place. To ignore doctrine is not an option, but only spiritual suicide. There is a place for teachers and theologians in the body of Christ. But we all can't be one of these.
ReplyDeleteRemember, "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies (1 Cor. 8:2). We need biblical savvy in the body, but not at the expense of being lukewarm, which is odious in Christ's eyes. It is valuable in order to be utilized by God to be clued in and know the theological scoop and I might say I know my way around the block doctrinally. But we must never get a Bible club mentality and think we've cornered the market on truth because no single teacher has a monopoly on truth--Jesus is the Truth. Ignorance is not bliss and we are judged by our attitudes toward truth not necessarily how much we know, but what we have the opportunity to know. Jesus said, "I desire compassion and not sacrifice [he's not looking for religion]." In other words, we much have a teachable spirit, no matter how much we know we must never stop learning and think we have "arrived" (Phil. 3:13-15).
ReplyDeleteTheologian Karl Barth was asked what the most profound thought he discovered in his studies: "Jesus loves me!" Do we let Jesus love others through us? We are the hands, arms, feet and hands that he must use: melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Jesus in me loves even my enemies and that is impossible without God's aid through the Holy Spirit.
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