Tag: love

  • Speaking of Children

    Psalm 131, Matthew 18:1–9, Matthew 19:13–15 (read online ⧉)

    As adults, many of us look at the carefree nature of many kids and wish we had that now (especially if it was taken from us). Our general society has increasingly put barriers of protection around children, while at the same time put more burdens on them. It’s rather strange when you think about it. Then the prioritization of those burdens can also be unhealthy. Teenagers are limited to a certain number of hours (and a certain number of days per week) to work and earn a wage. On the other hand, if a teenager is playing a sport, they can spend as much (and often more) time supporting a sport than earning a wage. By and large, most of those children will not play sports professionally or even collegiately, yet there is a preference for certain play versus work. This is not to say sports dedication is necessarily bad, just that there seems to be a level of hypocrisy.

    Part of that is our understanding of children and childhood. We can see some of this very tension within the . Depending on how one defines weened, a weened child was anywhere from 2 to 4 years old. However, as the child aged, we start to see an odd tension. Around the of 13, a male went through the Bar Mitzvah and females the Bat Mitzvah. We see an allusion to this in Luke 2:41–52 (though was 12). At that point, a child became responsible in regards to the Law and theoretically had attained majority status. Yet, “men” were not counted in the Old Testament until they were 20. As Judaism (and the Law, and Israelite custom) are the ancestor of Christianity, these ages are important to consider when we look at the Scriptures when children are involved, as these are the background of the writers of both New and Old Testaments.

    From a Greek , a child is anyone prior to puberty (or that what the general use of the ). While the Greek was the language used to write Matthew, Jewish tradition and thinking would still deeply affect the intent of and influence the writer.

    This is a very long way of saying, no one knows how old the child in question was, but likely it was up to 5 or 6. In other words, weened but not “there” yet insofar as being a teenager.

    When Jesus presents the child as a perspective example, it is likely that the perspective (if not the words) of Psalm 131 were in play, and would certainly fit a pre-adolescent person. The child, as defined by Psalm 131, does “…not get involved with things too great or too wondrous…” What could that mean? It could mean many things. However, if we look at (for example) the English language, some counts put its vocabulary at over 1 million words, but when the King James Bible was the estimate was 20-40 thousand. The reason this is brought up is that our language, just in words, is complicated, and only growing more so. We add words in an attempt to provide nuance. Not a particular surprise as written language does not succinctly communicate emotion, background, and overtone well.

    In other words, we are making our language seemingly “great and wondrous”, and really making a mess of it. The Great Commandments (summarized: God; love ) is simple. We make it so complicated.

    1) Do you think complicated thinking is why Jesus presented a child as an example? Do you think it might be another reason?

    2) Why does complicated thinking make it hard to the about Jesus?

    3) What do you think of the 2 versions of adult presented above? Can you think of similar examples in our society? Why do you think these differences in “adult” are trying to achieve?

  • Fearing or Embracing the End

    Joel 2:1–11, Mark 13:1–8, Mark 13:32–33 (read online ⧉)

    “We believe that the Lord Christ will come again; that we who are alive at His coming shall not precede them that are asleep in Christ Jesus; but that, if we are abiding in Him, we shall be caught up with the risen to the Lord in the air, so that we shall ever be with the Lord.” Article of 15, 2017—2021 Manual of the of the Nazarene

    With the coming of a New Year, and with any year that has a strong potential for being tumultuous, there will be plenty of people who will loudly and proudly proclaim that the end is coming. They are right. The end is coming. They are wrong, however, when declaring when.

    If Jesus Christ, the of God doesn’t know when, then why would anyone dare to suggest they do?

    It’s not a new thing. Prophets such as Joel foretold a “Day of the Lord.” Generally, while it was often interpreted as some form of judgment, it was really a foretelling that God was coming in a supernatural way, and that the way of things would be changed.

    So, why do people focus on dates? The primary pieces appear to be and control. Generally, those that focus on the impending Day of the Lord also appear to be concerned about being rule-followers and obeyers of the Law. This is definitely part of the fear that many have been taught regarding God. Those that have been trained to think far more about God as judge and punisher than about God’s grace, , and mercy.

    The other piece, control, is a little trickier, but overall, by putting a date on it, it seems to lose that “lack” of control, and maybe even some fear goes away. There is the constant desire to quantify, qualify, and define everything, even that which God says is not for humankind to know.

    There will be those, especially in this election year, that will declare the end of the world if such-and-such is (re-)elected. There are those declaring the end of the world due to environmental catastrophes, economic breakdown, or many other things. We are not called to merely react, we are called to listen to and read God’s word. We are called to be more like Christ every day. We are called to wisely act with Godly discernment.

    1) When “your” side (regardless of issues/person) is “attacked” what is your initial ? What is your follow-up response?

    2) What is something you fear? Why? How do you deal with that fear?

    3) What is something you want to control? Can you? If you can’t, how do you deal with that desire to control?

  • Drift Away

    Isaiah 49:8–13, John 4:3–14, Hebrews 2:1–4

    Has the so-called Christmas euphoria finally died down for you? If this was more of a “blue” (i.e., one of mourning, , or depression), are you relieved that you don’t feel the pressure of “keeping up” appearances?

    Christmas, as with many other occasions (weddings, baptisms, birthdays, funerals, etc.), always comes with a mixture of emotions. No single emotion could ever completely cover our experiences for Christmas. This is not to deny that it is God’s love that is the overarching ultimate emotion, but that we human beings experience more than just love.

    The conveyed in Isaiah is that God’s coming and salvation is so much more than just the immediate. This is why accepting and embracing (not necessarily enjoying) all the emotions that come with this time of year is important. For without all the emotions—especially the negative ones—the and magnificence of God’s grace misses much of the transformative .

    Isaiah’s words do lead to some , though. How are pastures possible on barren heights? How do people not starve or thirst under scorching sun? As in the case with much of the Scriptures, it can be easy to over-spiritualize the Scriptures, especially when we don’t understand them. Yet, when taken in the context with salvation and covenant, the spiritual aspects seem to be the focus, rather than our physical needs.

    It is not a great stretch, especially when we take into account ‘ words to the woman at the Well of Jacob. In fact, it is Jesus’ words that guide us to equate not being hungry and not thirsting to the spiritual gift of the Water. Never thirsting? At the well that gave water for generations of Israelites the physical has been and is being fulfilled, only the spiritual remains. We all understand that the immediate, “earthly”, “worldly”, “physical” impact us significantly. It is the spiritual that outlasts, but we often overlook or neglect it.

    The writer of Hebrews wants to make sure that people do forget or “drift away”. The imagery is that of things that were originally floating next to (or with) each other, but just sort of drifted away. In other words, the author of Hebrews is here more concerned about the incidental, accidental, careless, negligent and other “not deliberate” actions away from the faith and the Christian .

    Regardless of our emotional state or the emotional states of those around us, we are not to allow ourselves to drift away from the life- nature and our understanding of God, no matter how far the world and our emotions want to pull us away from God.

    1) What recently has “encouraged” you to drift away from God?

    2) What are areas that regularly lead you to drift away?

    3) Life can throw a lot of things at you, and many of them unpleasant (at best). How do you keep yourself focused on God, on not on other things?

  • Loved Before We Were Born

    1 John 2:15–17, 1 John 3:1–3, 1 John 4:7–12 (read online ⧉)

    Don’t the world or the things of it. That seems to be a strange statement in of John 3:16-18. On the other hand, it can make a lot of sense. There are two kinds of world, the one of , and the one of earthly /. The world to not love is the one of earthly power/weakness. This frees us to love those trapped in that world and to work to break the chains that bind them to it. The other point being made is that world of earthly power/weakness will disappear someday (and that someday comes closer moment-by-moment). The underlying question for the reader and us, is why allow ourselves to be bound to that which will disappear, rather than be tied to the one that is ?

    Of course, many of those bound to the worldly power/weakness would why anyone would want to be bound at all? This denies being bound to the world, but it also calls into question the one we bind ourselves to…God. Why would we do that? Love. God is love. We bind ourselves to those that love us, and we love them. Why not be bound to the one who loves us eternally, and whose very nature encompasses love?

    What did God do for me, it is often asked. God us before time even began. God loved us before we were born. God loves us so much, and knew us so well, that God came down to restore right because we were incapable of it. God loves us so that we can love each other.

    1) How does Godly love differ from worldly love?

    2) Can worldly love be Godly love if all love comes from God? Why or why not?

    3) If anyone loves, are they born of God? Why or why not?

  • Love Between

    John 13:31–35, John 15:12–17, Ephesians 4:25–5:2, James 3:13–4:6 (read online ⧉)

    like Jesus. That’s a pretty tall order, so it seems. Part of the problem is that we are often so focused on the big things. We become overwhelmed. There are those that think they need to die like Jesus to love like Jesus. Some people believe that they have to heal like Jesus to love like Jesus. Some people believe they have to like Jesus to love like Jesus. Some people believe they have to feed like Jesus to love like Jesus. Some people believe they have to or sound like anything but Jesus to love like Jesus. Some people believe they have the lecture or condemn or condone to love like Jesus.
    We are each guilty of some of that (unless you’re very rare).

    The reality is that love came down from Heaven as an infant boy. As the boy grew up, he . He loved his parents. He loved his brothers (an aside: do you think he always liked and liked being around his brothers?). He loved each where he was in . We have a skewed version of Jesus’ love because we only get 3 years of Jesus. Jesus didn’t love for only 3 years.

    We get so caught up in sweet baby Jesus, then awesome Messiah Jesus. We miss the in-between. That’s where love happens. It is between the highs and the lows that love becomes firmly established. When the highs and the lows happen, we have love to keep us .

    When and James talk about love and loving each other, it is really life together (the in-between) that creates the bonds of love. Barring most parental love, love doesn’t just happen. It grows. Sometimes it grows fast, sometimes it grows slow. We cannot rush love. When we rush love, it often isn’t love.

    1) Have you ever rushed “love” or a ? What happened?

    2) Why are the in-betweens almost more important than the highs and lows when it comes to love?

    3) How can you love like Jesus in-between?

  • Unmade To Become Whole

    Deuteronomy 7:7–12, Deuteronomy 8:5–6, 2 Samuel 7:11–16, Hebrews 12:3–11 (read
    online ⧉
    )

    The way Deuteronomy 7:10 is often interpreted is as “…[God]…destroys those who hate him…” However, אָבַד (“awbad”) is also translated elsewhere in the as broken or unmade. The concept of unmade or broken, so as to be re-made or “fixed”, is much more consistent in the continuing context of Deuteronomy. It is a matter of being disciplined (and discipled), not or annihilation. Why is this important?

    Disciplining (not punishing) and discipling are acts of . The intent is to remake or reform into something new. As God is doing the remaking and reform, it is into God’s own image (unmarred by ) that Israel would be shaped. However, for disciplining and discipling to be truly effective the person (or people) being reformed and reshaped must be willing and responsive. Israel, as a whole, often was neither.

    When God tells David that Solomon will be God’s , we see a foreshadowing of the adoption that we all receive through Christ. As a son, God promised that Solomon would be disciplined when he walks out of bounds. This is not God seeking to punish, but to form. This also becomes part of the Messianic lineage that is part of Jesus. Jesus a descendant of David, whose “throne” is established forever.

    When today is when we the candle representing love, why are we talking about and discipling? The world’s concept of love cannot take into account God’s intense desire to restore us to the way we were intended to be. God knows that even at our best we will still and fall. When the author of Hebrews wrote his letter, he understood this deeply. God’s love is so deep and true that he loves us just as we are. God also loves us so much that he doesn’t want us to stay as we are.

    God’s love isn’t some weak romantic love. God’s love is deep and strong. Through Christ, we see how strong and how sacrificial God’s love is. When it is God’s love that lights the candle, no amount of will quench it.

    1) Why is it important to acknowledge discipline and discipling as part of love, especially God’s love?

    2) What is discipline? What is discipling?

    3) What are your thoughts on the concept of transformative love?

  • The Rot of Forgot

    2 Chronicles 30:13-27, Nehemiah 8:7-12, Jeremiah 15:16

    The world is supposedly becoming Post-. The thought behind the term is that the “Christian Era” was when Christianity was dominant throughout the world as if Emperor Constantine’s edict of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire made Christianity instantly accessible, understandable, and pervasive.

    The sad part is there is a superficial truth to that. What did happen is that Western Europe and then by extension North America became the dominant influencers for generations. The church ignorantly (or stupidly) allowed governments to drape themselves in religious imagery and language. The rot finally came to a culmination point, and the church and the governments are dividing. Many in the church (and many politicians who derived from the people in the church) are decrying the . Yet, acknowledging the rot we collectively allowed to set in will be a good step moving forward.

    The real rot is ignorance. The church itself has allowed ignorance of its own beliefs to set it. It would avoid the questions the world asked, then stick its head into the sand, as if that would somehow fix everything.

    In 2 Chronicles, the people were ignorant of how to celebrate Passover. Think of it as forgetting how to celebrate Christmas, , , and all at once. They were afflicted as a result of their ignorance, but in the end, poured out and true was expressed.

    We are at the point that the Jews were at in the passages we read today. The passage in Nehemiah displays the ignorance of the Jews regarding their own history and religious practices. The disconnect between what they knew and the Truth caused many to mourn. Despite their ignorance, they were there in body, , soul, and mind. That is what mattered. Joy poured out of them!

    Jeremiah’s words apply not just to the passages that we read in the Old Testament, they apply to us today! Ignorance is not a good excuse! God can and will use anyone who responds. Sometimes, though, we have to where we went wrong. Then we can see where God moved us and proclaimed us his children of the inheritance. Then joy will pour out of us, too.

    1) Why are people ignorant of the underpinnings of the Christian faith? What is one thing you can do (while speaking the Truth in love) to help that?

    2) Why might an understanding of God’s grace lead to true joy?

    3) If grace leads to true joy, what can you do to extend grace to others to demonstrate God’s grace?

  • Stand On Hope

    Isaiah 26:1–6, Psalm 18:1–9, Nehemiah 6:15–16 (read online ⧉)

    What is hope? Hope is knowing deeper than deep that God has got your back. The struggle for us is that having our back doesn’t always mean avoiding or consequences.

    Isaiah’s of Jersualem is that of a city that can withstand whatever the world can throw at it. It will be occupied by a . Characteristics of this nation are righteous, , God-reliant, peaceful, , humble. These are to be the universal attributes of those who themselves God’s.

    God is the rock of hope. This hope is not bound in the world’s hopes of , things, power, or influence, but solely on God’s love, , and . As God is everlasting, God-ly hope will not fade away. The world’s hopes, along with the world itself, will pass away.

    God as rock (i.e., foundation) and walls, we can “stand on” God and are protected by God. Often the times we are truly aware of God is when it is only God’s foundation and protective walls keep us safe.

    1) Why is foundation and wall so integral to hope?

    2) What do you think of these characteristics of the nation in Isaiah’s vision?

    3) How are ways you can explain God-ly hope versus worldly hope?