.......................................................................Often I will get an email (sometimes with illuminating Jesus/God pictures) which enlist me to prove my love for Jesus or God, something such as: “This is the simplest test .. . . if you Love God, and are not ashamed of all the marvelous things he has done for you, send this to ten people and the person who sent it to you!” If I were to respond it would be, yes, I’ll show my love through the humanity God created in me to serve my fellowman, as Jesus has called in Matthew 25: 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Thus, proving our love for God becomes more challenging; to love God requires actual deeds, work, time, material goods, money, and earnest compassion in sharing all that we have with all of God’s creation family --- not just merely the words “I love God.”
Jesus gives us a direct, unmitigated call that is tough to live by. While I’m not a literal interpreter of Bible scriptures, I know the Bible can provide sufficient instructive moral direction for my life. In such scriptures as Matthew 25, whether taken literally or just seriously as I do, Jesus’ unforgiving words convict us when we do not follow His command: Matthew 25: 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Truly a Jesus salvation moment!) Since “That’s the word of God” that we would respond in Sunday service, “Thanks be to God,” the test of our love for God is found in our response to this scripture and is straightforward the “simplest test,” and for most of us certainly the “the biggest test.” Therefore, how much we love God, just maybe, is commensurate to how fully we respond to Jesus’ call.
As we Christ-Center our lives to bring life to these scriptures, let us think in terms of the universality of God’s creation family, all 6.602 billion of humankind. In Jesus’ answer to the young lawyer: “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ Luke 10: 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” My question would be: Is it possible to love God by just merely reciting the words "I Love God," without first loving our neighbor as our self, which requires actual deeds, work, time, material goods, money, and earnest compassion in sharing all that we have with all of God’s creation family? No. As the world's once distant places come closer to us through instant communication and timely travel, the imperative of loving our neighbor expands our opportunity to love God. It's our choice: be it the onerous that God puts on us or, within our capacity, the joy of fulfilling God's call to love our neighbor as our self, it is Jesus calling.
Have a very Merry Christmas! And remember Christmas Never Ends.
Jesus gives us a direct, unmitigated call that is tough to live by. While I’m not a literal interpreter of Bible scriptures, I know the Bible can provide sufficient instructive moral direction for my life. In such scriptures as Matthew 25, whether taken literally or just seriously as I do, Jesus’ unforgiving words convict us when we do not follow His command: Matthew 25: 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Truly a Jesus salvation moment!) Since “That’s the word of God” that we would respond in Sunday service, “Thanks be to God,” the test of our love for God is found in our response to this scripture and is straightforward the “simplest test,” and for most of us certainly the “the biggest test.” Therefore, how much we love God, just maybe, is commensurate to how fully we respond to Jesus’ call.
As we Christ-Center our lives to bring life to these scriptures, let us think in terms of the universality of God’s creation family, all 6.602 billion of humankind. In Jesus’ answer to the young lawyer: “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ Luke 10: 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” My question would be: Is it possible to love God by just merely reciting the words "I Love God," without first loving our neighbor as our self, which requires actual deeds, work, time, material goods, money, and earnest compassion in sharing all that we have with all of God’s creation family? No. As the world's once distant places come closer to us through instant communication and timely travel, the imperative of loving our neighbor expands our opportunity to love God. It's our choice: be it the onerous that God puts on us or, within our capacity, the joy of fulfilling God's call to love our neighbor as our self, it is Jesus calling.
Have a very Merry Christmas! And remember Christmas Never Ends.
