09/18/2024
What Kind of Love Do You Have For God?
In Sunday’s message about Job, I talked about how important relationship is when it comes to getting answers to our questions about God. The question that Job is really being tested on is this: can he love God for who God is—or does he only love God for what God can do for him?
It got me thinking about the various kinds of love.
1. There is the love we offer because I get something positive in return. This is a relatively selfish and transactional kind of love.
2. There is the love I offer because I enjoy our time together; because you are funny, interesting, insightful. I am even pleased when good things happen to you—especially when I am part of those good things or when those good things make you more generous or affectionate toward me. This is slightly better, at least the one I love matters a little more, even it is still a bit self-serving.
3. And finally, there is the love I have for you simply because of who you are. I love you because are my child, you are my spouse, my parent, my church, my country. This is the kind of love of which God is worthy. This is the kind of all-encompassing love that God brought us into this world to share and enjoy with Him.
At one point, Job’s wife tells him to curse God and die. His friends tell him to just admit that you’re a sinner and God is just in punishing you. But Job has too much integrity and too much faithfulness to do either. In the end, Job sticks with God, learning first hand what it means to be loved for who he is and what it means to love God for who God is. In that sense, it is a book that ends more or less happily ever after.
Archived Posts
The Power of Presence
This last Sunday I had so much more to share than time to share it. The last Emotional Management Technique was to stay present in the process. Just as Jesus stayed with the woman who was judged and found guilty by the angry crowd, we stay by our children and our friends, especially when they need us the most. Here a couple of examples...
What’s In A Benediction?
Last Sunday I used one of my favorite benedictions.
It was inspired by a saying from about ten years ago:
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
There are several powerful and evocative artworks that depict the scene from Mark 9:14–29, where Jesus heals a boy possessed by an unclean spirit... Some of the following have internet links, the others are worth googling. Enjoy!
The Gift of Ourselves As A Gift of Love
The more the giving of myself costs me something, the greater the power of the gift. You know I love quotes, so after a little research, let me share a few of my favorites on this very subject:
The Loss of a Great Christian Leader
The death today of Pope Francis was particularly poignant, falling as it did on the day after Easter. As Protestant Christians we have a once removed interest in the leader of the Roman Catholic church. Yet the pope is the authoritative leader of 1.4 billion women and men around the world. It is worth our time to pause and consider what kind of man and what kind of legacy Pope Francis left behind.
Everything You Wanted To Know About Judas Iscariot
(Drawn from online sources)
Jesus Hears A Who
Few people know that Horton Hears A Who comes from the 25th Chapter of Matthew.