His Great Lovers are His Great Preachers

-


Scripture:

1John 4:7   Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.  9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.  10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.  12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Observation:

The revelation of God’s nature came in the incarnation of his son, Jesus Christ. The birth of the Savior exposed God’s love in a way in which humanity had never before understood love. That the Creator would empty himself and become a vulnerable human in an effort to reach out to his creation is almost incomprehensible. His desire is for us to know him and in knowing him to experience his nature — holy love.

Augustine reminds us, “Love is from God, as have declared those whom he has made not only his great lovers but also his great preachers.” (On the Gift of Perseverance 21.56) It is in experiencing the deep love of the Christ-child that we are united with him. We become lovers of God and this cannot be contained. That love must overflow to others. It is that overflow which becomes our sermon. True preaching can only come from the overabundance of knowing and loving God.

Application:

I’ve been asked on numerous occasions to help people know how to share Christ with others. I’m grateful for this desire on the part of people but at the same time it seems as if this Scripture may be telling us that the secret to sharing the good news about Christ with others is a more intimate relationship with Christ, himself.

I’m afraid that far too often we have been trapped by “religion” which has kept us from “relationship.” First and foremost we are called into a deep relationship with that babe that was born so long ago in Bethlehem. His birth signaled a new era when we were to be welcomed in and adopted as members of the family — God’s family.

Just as families around the world are celebrating Christmas this day and enjoying the warmth and fellowship of sharing together, so our heavenly Father gathers us into his fellowship. He lavishes his gift of love on us and as it naturally spills over it reaches out to others. If it’s not naturally spilling out of you, maybe you need to get closer to him and relax in his love today. Only his great lovers will be his great preachers.

Prayer:

Lord,  thank you for your great love which spills out on us today.  Amen.


If you would like to read more "Reflecting the Image"  click on the image to take you to the NPH bookstore.The book is also available in Kindle format on Amazon.com.



http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/nph/itempage.jsp?itemId=9780834135277

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more