As Christmas Day approaches, and we prepare to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ, we have every reason to rejoice in the fact that we are loved. We should never be unsure of this. Something happened, over 2,000 years ago, that showed mankind just how much God loved it. This Jesus, who has always existed, came to earth as a man, as a baby in fact, and lived among the sin and brokenness of the world. He not only endured it for our sake, He overcame it, remaining perfect and holy and dying the death that would restore His children to Himself forever. There has never been a more outrageous act in the history of the human race. There has never existed someone who loved another like God loves His children.
Although I personally believe that our lives are complete when we are worshiping, loving and following this God on a daily basis, this time of year is specifically set for us to meditate on and celebrate the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ. And though we have heard this story time and time again, how Mary conceived as a virgin and gave birth to Jesus in a manger, it is the most remarkable story we will ever hear. The beautiful humility of God is expressed in the most outrageous way. And I can only imagine what He was like as a baby. Did He seem and act like an ordinary baby? Or was He different, full of joy and light, His smile illuminating an entire room, and proving to be anointed from day one? Jesus was surely the most influential and powerful baby of His time. Magi traveled long distances to see and worship Him, and a King ordered all the boys under two years old in Bethlehem to be murdered in fear of Him. This person was and always will be the most important person who ever lived. And His sole reason for walking this earth, for being born to a virgin in a manger, was out of love and desire for His people.... for you.
There is an abnormal challenge this time of year to keep our focus stayed on this perfect baby who loved and loves the people of this world more than anything in the universe. There is an added pressure of buying the perfect gifts for others, of making our homes look festive and beautiful, and preparing meals that will be better than the year before. Somehow the Reason we celebrate gets lost. Jesus falls to the wayside when He should be the center of the party. The most joyous and fulfilling gatherings I've ever been part are when Jesus was the center anyways. Let's challenge ourselves to be mindful of the perfect baby who was born solely because He loves us and wants to be near to us. Let's challenge ourselves to let Jesus know how thankful we are for Him and how we believe that the best parties are when He's present and glorified. Let's remember that without Him, we would not be able to enjoy any of these holiday festivities anyways, for "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17).
Merry Christmas! And enjoy the company of Jesus this Holiday Season!
For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Princes of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
What is God's greatest concern?
I've come to a place in my faith where I am craving the rawness of God and who He is. I do not want fluff and I do not want other people's perceptions of who He is or what He wants. I want the truth. Who is God and what is His greatest concern?
Before delving into this, I think we should ponder another question: Does God in fact want to be known? If He didn't, there would be no point to discussing the prior. This could be a whole other blog post in itself, so for the sake of time and space, let's go ahead and say "yes", He does want us to know Him. I think the greatest support to that claim is Jesus, who undoubtedly walked this earth and claimed to be the Son of God. In John 14, Philip, one of His disciples, says to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." I believe that He was craving what I have recently craved, and desperately wanted to see and know God. Jesus replies, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." He goes on to explain that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. In other words, whoever Jesus is, whatever Jesus's concern is, is the Father's as well. So, since He was sent by God into this world, I will dare to conclude that God does in fact want to be known by people.
Let's go back to the very beginning, now that we know God does want us to know Him. Who is God and what is His greatest concern? Is He an angry, distant God who created and then abandoned when humans started screwing up? Is He up in Heaven looking down upon creation, waiting to punish or bless depending on human action? Is He too big, majestic or invisible to even make a difference in people's lives here on Earth?
I'll tell you what I think, and how I believe God has been leading me in the past few months.
God's greatest concern is people. They are His heart. I would say that God is none of the above descriptions. The simple fact that He sent His One and Only Son to live among mankind and then saved them from their sins and then sent His Holy Spirit to live in them means that He is anything but absent or lackadaisical. He is completely committed to the people that He created. In 1 John 16, it says, "God is love." Take a moment to let that settle into your spirit. It does not say that God loves, it says that He is love. I am going to use the common sense that the Good Lord gave me and suppose that because God is love, He created out of a place of love. We often feel like we fall in and out of love with people, or that we love them more or better some days. I believe that is deeply rooted in our brokenness and inability to love perfectly on our own. But God is perfect. He is love.
I think it is good of us to also remember that God has choices just as we do; He is a God who acts. He spoke creation into being; He knitted us together in our mother's womb; He sent His Son and Holy Spirit so that we could be with Him now and forever, if we so choose. That was and is His good pleasure. And I don't think the God of the universe would do anything unless it was His will to do so. This also makes me think that God considers us pretty amazing and important. I do not and will not believe that the God who is love created something that He does not love and is not highly committed to.
I want to now look at Jesus, since He said that He and the Father are one, and looking at His life and actions is a great indicator to what God is like. Let's look at Matthew 15:29-31:
Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
It's clear that God wants to heal His people. It would be neat to know just how many people Jesus healed while He walked this earth. As John says in the last verse of his gospel, "If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written". By looking at the gospels, Jesus used most of His time on Earth to pray, teach and heal His people, both physically and spiritually. That is what God decided to do while He was on this earth, because that is who He is. He is love. And I believe that above all things, He loves and is concerned with the people He created.
To close, here is one of the most powerful prayers that Paul, a great follower of Christ, prays in the Bible for the Church in Ephesians. He says, "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
May we grasp His love as well. May we realize that He is love, and that we are His greatest concern. And may that love set us free!
Before delving into this, I think we should ponder another question: Does God in fact want to be known? If He didn't, there would be no point to discussing the prior. This could be a whole other blog post in itself, so for the sake of time and space, let's go ahead and say "yes", He does want us to know Him. I think the greatest support to that claim is Jesus, who undoubtedly walked this earth and claimed to be the Son of God. In John 14, Philip, one of His disciples, says to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." I believe that He was craving what I have recently craved, and desperately wanted to see and know God. Jesus replies, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." He goes on to explain that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. In other words, whoever Jesus is, whatever Jesus's concern is, is the Father's as well. So, since He was sent by God into this world, I will dare to conclude that God does in fact want to be known by people.
Let's go back to the very beginning, now that we know God does want us to know Him. Who is God and what is His greatest concern? Is He an angry, distant God who created and then abandoned when humans started screwing up? Is He up in Heaven looking down upon creation, waiting to punish or bless depending on human action? Is He too big, majestic or invisible to even make a difference in people's lives here on Earth?
I'll tell you what I think, and how I believe God has been leading me in the past few months.
God's greatest concern is people. They are His heart. I would say that God is none of the above descriptions. The simple fact that He sent His One and Only Son to live among mankind and then saved them from their sins and then sent His Holy Spirit to live in them means that He is anything but absent or lackadaisical. He is completely committed to the people that He created. In 1 John 16, it says, "God is love." Take a moment to let that settle into your spirit. It does not say that God loves, it says that He is love. I am going to use the common sense that the Good Lord gave me and suppose that because God is love, He created out of a place of love. We often feel like we fall in and out of love with people, or that we love them more or better some days. I believe that is deeply rooted in our brokenness and inability to love perfectly on our own. But God is perfect. He is love.
I think it is good of us to also remember that God has choices just as we do; He is a God who acts. He spoke creation into being; He knitted us together in our mother's womb; He sent His Son and Holy Spirit so that we could be with Him now and forever, if we so choose. That was and is His good pleasure. And I don't think the God of the universe would do anything unless it was His will to do so. This also makes me think that God considers us pretty amazing and important. I do not and will not believe that the God who is love created something that He does not love and is not highly committed to.
I want to now look at Jesus, since He said that He and the Father are one, and looking at His life and actions is a great indicator to what God is like. Let's look at Matthew 15:29-31:
Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
It's clear that God wants to heal His people. It would be neat to know just how many people Jesus healed while He walked this earth. As John says in the last verse of his gospel, "If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written". By looking at the gospels, Jesus used most of His time on Earth to pray, teach and heal His people, both physically and spiritually. That is what God decided to do while He was on this earth, because that is who He is. He is love. And I believe that above all things, He loves and is concerned with the people He created.
To close, here is one of the most powerful prayers that Paul, a great follower of Christ, prays in the Bible for the Church in Ephesians. He says, "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
May we grasp His love as well. May we realize that He is love, and that we are His greatest concern. And may that love set us free!
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