March 15, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor… follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children, and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 4.25a, 5.1-2)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD

There is a simplicity in Paul’s word here to the Ephesians “…walk in the way [the mindset] of love, just as Christ loved us….” Paul deepens that simplicity with the clearest example of “walking in love” that can ever be told: “…who gave Himself up for us as a [the most] fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” That sacrifice, as all who are believers in God’s love through Jesus who is the Christ, was for our salvation. There is no other sacrifice that can take its place. Even our own sacrifice of time, energy, effort, resource and life cannot match the effect and impact of what Jesus did and what God through Jesus did for us! We cannot save ourselves. We can accept the salvation which is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. He is the Lord and Savior of the entire world; in actuality, of the entire creation. It is the loving obedience to God His Father which perfects creation and restores it to its original purpose. God did not just make things. He wasn’t bored. He wasn’t challenged. He was urged by the very nature and essence of authentic love to be creative. We have this creative urge in us as well. It is part of the divine nature, the Holy Spirit, which is breathed in us even before we were formed in the womb. In that mystic sweet communion, by whatever motivation the result is the same, life is conceived and the Spirit of God is invested in life and life-giving. [For those who have read the earlier reflections here and on my Facebook page responding to the quotes and queries concerning the unforgiveable sin: blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, you will see literally and figuratively how “deep” the impact of blaspheming the Holy Spirit goes. It does not stop the Holy Spirit from existing just because we say “I don’t believe.” The Holy Spirit is eternal as part of the Godhead of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But, to deny the place and work of the Holy Spirit in creation and in our own lives is to separate us from thinking that God is sovereign. Yes, the Word declares “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” This means, and let’s continue to consider this, that God’s love includes both blessing and cursing, forgiveness and judgment, redemption and condemnation. If we ever wanted to consider the nth degree of “tough love,” then consider this spectrum of God’s love as the template for our own thoughts and actions!]

Here we can hear the deeper impact of Jesus’ “a new commandment I give to you: love one another as I have loved you. By this they will all know that you are My disciples.” Have I not suggested and reflected up the first call to “love one another” as meeting the effectual and affectual needs of those within the fellowship of the community of faith in Jesus as the Christ. It is a part of our own witness and testimony to having faith in Jesus as the Christ, that we see others before ourselves. As the outside world looks in, they will see the integrity of our faith and our commitment to Jesus’ love in “loving one another.” They will be moved by it and convinced by it to consider being a member of that community as well. But, then the witness is exponentially declared when those within the circle see the need outside of the circle and move to meet the full ramifications of “loving one another” as if they were inside the circle of faith, too. How? Jesus said, “No greater love is there than this: that one (as did The One) would lay down his/her life for the sake of another.” It isn’t just about saving them from a natural disaster even to the point of giving one’s life to save their lives so they can continue to live in this world on earth. It is about seeing beyond life and death in this world and imagining the full spectrum of God’s love to grasp live and death in the world yet to come. The world yet to come? Yes, I am speaking of “heaven and hell.” We must remember that Jesus died for the sins of the world, the whole world and no one was left out of His decision to love God and us in this way. There was, is and will never be “so great a love as this.” It is upon us to share the depth and meaning and purpose of so great a love as that so others may see it for themselves and seek it to become a truth in their life, too. To become, as Paul so eloquently stated, “…dearly loved children.” Time to put off falsehood and self-serving and speak the truth in authentic love.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit spoke us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.