the words of Jesus

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AS I HAVE LOVED YOU

(John 13:34) Anew command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Jesus made it clear that his disciples should love one another.  Did you ever wonder in the day-to-day interactions among fellow Christians, what it means to love one another?  Then I realized that Jesus told us the answer.  He said, “As I have loved you.”  So, I looked into how Jesus loved his disciples.

I found many examples of Jesus’ displays of love toward his disciples.  He taught them and drew them close to himself.  He corrected them, but never condemned them.  He prayed for them, fed them, and encouraged them.  He protected them and made their lives purposeful.  All these things are expressions of his love for them.  I could go on, but I think the most telling example might be what is recorded in John 13.

(John 13:3-5) Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Jesus, who had all things under his power, took on the lowly place of a servant and washed his disciples’ feet.  The washing of feet was a part of their culture because they walked on dusty streets in sandals.  It was a great kindness to the recipient, but it was a lowly place to be the one washing.

Jesus was teaching a great lesson for us all.  To his disciple it was also an expression of love.  Jesus’ actions said to us that to love one another means that we should not count ourselves above serving one another. As I thought about this, I concluded that to love one another requires us to be humble.  From the other perspective, I asked myself, can a prideful person be loving to others? Well, I’ll leave you with these thoughts.

However, the truth stands before us because Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

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ALONE WITH GOD

(Mark 1:32-37) That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.  The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.  He also drove out many demons, but he would not let them speak because they knew who he was.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.  Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

Jesus ministered all day; and then in the evening, the whole town showed up requiring more from him.  He must have been exhausted.  How did he refresh?  Well, he probably laid down and went to sleep, but before daybreak he got up and went to find a place of solitude to meet with his Father in prayer.

I always knew about my need for sleep.  In my youth, I thought I could skate by with little sleep, but it frequently caught up with me.  The need for prayer and time with the Lord wasn’t so obvious. It took a while before I recognized this need.  Over the years, the awareness of my need for prayer and time with the Lord has greatly increased.  

It is often hard to find time to refresh, yet even Jesus needed sleep and a time of prayer.  I know from experience that skipping sleep and prayer might seem to be the way to get things done.  I found out that without sleep and time with the Lord my effectiveness was seriously hindered.   When I was teaching, I found myself shortchanging my student because I needed sleep.  I also found myself grouchy and unloving.  I needed sleep; but most of all, I needed time alone with the Father to refresh my soul.

You may be living a hectic life.  Jesus did.  How do we refresh to be able to handle the next day?  Jesus showed us the way.  Sleep helps to refresh the physical body; the soul is refreshed when we spend time alone with our God.

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IS LIFE MEANINGLESS?

(Ecclesiastes 12:13) Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.

(Matthew 22:37-40) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.    

In The Book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon called all that he saw and experienced in this life meaningless, a chasing after the wind.  As I read through the book of Ecclesiastes, I can see his point.  Yet, the most compelling part of Ecclesiastes is the conclusion, “fear God and keep his commandments.”

Fearing God can be more broadly explained as showing reverence and respect for the one who created us and by receiving the love he displayed by dying to save us.  Appropriate fear then would be to recognize that God has complete ownership, power and control over the entire universe.  He is worthy of our humble praise and worship.

Jesus summed up what it means to keep God’s commandments, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  …Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Learning to love God has been an ongoing experience for me.  I grew closer to God as I recognized how he guided my life.  I have experienced his blessing and his discipline.  All his kindness and love for me drew me ever closer to him.  There was a time when I wasn’t sure I could say I love God, but that has changed.  Now, I can express my abiding love for him.

It would be quite easy to write a book about loving your neighbor as yourself.  First, you need to explore whether you indeed love yourself.  I don’t think you can love your neighbor if you don’t love yourself.  Loving yourself involves the natural self-preservation that is a part of our makeup, but learning to appreciate and accept the person God has made us to be brings about an inner confidence that leads to loving who we are.  Then, we can share ourselves with others.

So how do you transfer self-love to your neighbor?  I find that giving my time and talents to help my neighbors is a way of loving them.  It is the kind of love that Jesus gives to us.  I think that loving our neighbors actually helps us to love ourselves.  It’s seated in that wonderful feeling when you know you have blessed your neighbor.

Is life meaningless?  It is not meaningless if we are in a loving relationship with our creator, loving who God has created us to be, and sharing all that we are with our neighbors.  This results in a meaningful life.

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BODY SOUL AND SPIRIT

(Matthew 10:28) Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

(Hebrews 4:12) For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

We are made up of these three parts, a body, a soul, and a spirit.  Our first scripture from Matthew points out that here in the physical world only our body can be killed,but in the spiritual world we can lose our souls in hell, and God alone has power over our souls.

 I think that these words from Jesus are given to help us understand the difference in the temporal world verses the eternal world.  Think of it.  The short time we spend here compared to the never ending of eternity.  God has placed the choose of what will happen to our souls in our hands.  Jesus’ words expose the reality of Just living our lives here and forgetting the eternity to come.  Placing all our hopes in these few years here on earth can lead to our eternal demise. 

Our body is confined to the physical world.  Our soul and spirit live on after our body dies. The second scripture from Hebrews uses the word “even” with the idea of dividing soul and spirit.  I surmise that soul and spirit are closely connected because they would be difficult to separate.  From this point on I don’t have much understanding about the difference between soul and spirit.  I do know that the soul contains the essence of who we are, and Jesus died to save our souls from hell.  As to our spirit, the Bible refers to the spirit of man but doesn’t seem to give details.  

What will it be like in eternity and what we will be like when we get there? Leaving the body and still existing, this is a great mystery.  God loves us.  All we need to do is to put our body, soul and spirit in his hands.

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OTHER AWARENESS

(Philippians 2:3-5) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

In my last post, I talked about knowing God through exploring what Jesus said and did while he was here among us in the flesh.  I also mentioned that drawing close to God requires a humble position to truly comprehend what Jesus taught us about God.  Today let’s talk about self-awareness compared with other awareness.

Adam and Eve, after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, were both shocked to find themselves naked.  The shock came from self-awareness.  Until that moment they were obviously not aware of their nakedness. Their disobedience to God brought about the sinful nature that we all have inherited.  Part of this sinful nature has caused us to become self-aware as opposed the other awareness God intended for us.  When the Apostle Paul tells us to value others above ourselves, he is asking us to counter the effects of our sinful nature.

Paul continues in this passage of Scripture to point out that Jesus, being equal with God, gave up his position in heaven to come as a servant.  (Philippians 2:8) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!  Jesus provided us with the ultimate example of other awareness.

Since it is part of our sinful nature, it seems natural for us to focus life on ourselves.  The idea of putting others ahead of ourselves might seem next to impossible, but Jesus has led the way.  He set the example.

Valuing others ahead of myself has always been a struggle.  I don’t expect it to suddenly become easy. My desire is there, but the flesh is weak.  I’m glad that I never have to struggle alone.  Jesus is always with me.

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UNDERSTANDING GOD

(John 14:6&7) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Throughout my studies in the book of Genesis I have been looking to understand God and how he relates to his creation. I have gained some insight and improved my understanding of God.  I have come to the realization that Jesus clearly made God known to us when he walked among us.  He displayed the Father’s love and compassion toward us and his desire to redeem us.  He didn’t come to judge us but to teach us how we should live.

I don’t believe it is possible to come to a complete understanding of God, but the one truth I have come to be sure of is that he draws close to the humble and resists the proud.  This is an attribute of God that Jesus clearly demonstrated.  He spent most of his time with the common people, and he chastised the proud rulers of his day. 

To know God distinctly requires a humble place before him.  This demonstrates our understanding that he is God, and we are not.  These words from the prophet Micah seem to provide a clear statement for our understanding of God, (Micah 6:8) “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” 

Reading the Gospels to see what Jesus did while he was here among us provides insightful understanding of God.  The key to grasping these insights is, “to walk humble with your God.”

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JESUS’ INVITATION

(Matthew 11:28-30) Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

 This is one of my favorite scriptures, but like all the sayings of Jesus, I find that fully understanding and experiencing what he says can take a lifetime.  I’ve learned that his invitation, “come to me,” doesn’t mean drop by when you’re not busy.  It means come and stay forever.  When I take his yoke upon me, it is a permanent fitting.  I find that learning from Jesus is indeed a lifetime pursuit.  The very words that impact me today, may have a whole new meaning at a later time.  There is always something deeper for the Holy Spirit to reveal.

When Jesus says he is “gentle and humble in heart”, he is telling me that his teachings are not meant to place a heavy burden on me.  They are leading me to a place of rest for my soul.  He assures me by saying his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.

I say that this is one of my favorite scriptures, yet be assured, I have wrestled with it throughout my walk with Jesus. At one point, I remember saying to Jesus that his yoke was not easy, and his burden was not light.  I’m very grateful that he is always patient with me.  I now find his words consoling.  It’s not that I’m required to do something on my own; I’m supposed to relax and receive from him direction, encouragement, and help.  Jesus loves me, and he desires to lead me toward a full and peaceful life.

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THE ROCK

(Matthew 7:24-27) “Therefore who ever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.  And great was its fall.”

On the central coast of California, there is a place where large outcroppings of rock face off against the mighty waves of the Pacific Ocean. I have a favorite place there where one of these outcroppings is accessible from the beach.  To reach this rock formation, I climb down to the beach from a small parking lot, jump across a small inlet stream, and then ascend to the top.  As I move around to face the waves, there is a perfect seat etched into the rock.  There I sit, surrounded by awesome power, completely protected by my rock fortress.   This provides space for a spiritual experience every time I visit there.

Only a rock can afford this kind of experience.  Sand is easily washed away providing no protection from the waves.  Jesus’ analogy comparing the rock and sand is quite succinct.  Listening to Jesus’ words and doing them provides us with a firm foundation upon which we can build our lives.  Choosing to not live according to Jesus’ words leaves us with no solid foundation.

Our scripture from Matthew chapter 7 comes from the end of Jesus’ “sermon on the mount”.  So, Jesus is saying that all the words he spoke, as recorded in Matthew chapters five through seven, are given to us that we might have a firm foundation on which to build our lives.  If we read the words and do them, we’re on solid ground – built on the Rock.

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HARMONY

(Genesis 1:31) God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.  And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.

Everything in God’s creation was very good.  All of creation was in harmony.  Harmony denotes a flowing togetherness that is continually in sync like a well-practiced choir.  Though the various members sing different notes, they mesh together to produce a beautiful melody.  If one person hits a wrong note, a trained hear will catch it. But what happens if everybody in the choir refuses to follow the sheet music and sings whatever note they want.  Harmony is gone and only noise and chaos persist.  It kind of sounds like our current world.

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, all of creation was in harmony.  Man and woman were in harmony with each other and themselves.  They were in harmony with the multitude of animals and creatures God had created as well as with the earth itself.

I believe you would agree that the harmony that once existed has been greatly distorted. 

Jesus taught us to consider others more highly than ourselves, along with many other teachings that would help us promote harmony. Even we who have received the seal of his Holy Spirit find it impossible to maintain harmony.  Jesus came because we are incapable of restoring harmony on our own.    Restoring harmony to all of creation can only be done by our creator.  He’s working on it.  Jesus’ death and resurrection accomplished the most important step. He opened the door for us to be in harmony with our God.

Jesus is coming again, and he will restore harmony to all creation.  The Bible tells us that this will include the ushering in of a new heaven and earth.  God has made it so we can choose to be a part of this new harmonious world by confessing Jesus as Lord and receiving the forgiveness for which he gave his life.

I can’t even comprehend what this new harmonious world will be like, but I really want to be a part of it.

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THE PRICE OF PEACE

(John 14:27) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

(Philippians 4:6&7) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Peace comes with a price.  The first thing we will need to give up is pride.  The pride of self-reliance does not produce peace.  It produces stress. When difficulties come, there is no one to help, and we realize we are on our own.  Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  To find peace, we must give up our pride and admit we need Jesus.

Secondly, we must forgive.  Holding on to our right to be offended means we are the ones suffering.  Unforgiveness feeds on its self and weighs us down.  Letting go and forgiving sets us free and allows us be at peace.

Jesus holds the key to peace, and his word tells us how to find it.  Here are a few example

Do not worry; trust God for everything you need and in every situation.

            Forgive as you have been forgiven.

            Do not judge each other, but love one another.

            Love your enemies, and pray for them.

            Don’t concern yourself with treasures on earth.

            You should humble yourself and Pray.

The peace Jesus gives us does not rely on our circumstances.  His peace is founded in our reliance on him, no matter what our circumstances might be.  I guess we can conclude that when we have totally given ourselves to him, we’ll be able to continually experience the peace he gives us. 

I’m still working on completely giving myself to Jesus, but I am often able to find his peace.  How are you doing?