If the World Hates You

It’s nice to be popular. Not necessarily on TV, everybody knows your name, reporters and bloggers digging for every skeleton in your closet popular, but just plain old popular. “Liked” by most everyone you know. Certain that there aren’t any discussions going on about you in your relational circle that you’re unaware of, or that you wouldn’t like. We don’t need cameras or news reporters at our funeral, but we would like the line to have more than three people in it.

We want people to like us, and we’re willing to do a little more than we realize to make it happen.

Their child hits our toddler square in the face with a shovel, three times, and we grumble profusely to each other when they leave the house, but say nothing to them.

We swear quietly as we clean up the neighbor’s leaves after she blows them in our yard with her riding mower, and we smile and wave.

It can take upwards of ten to fifteen minutes to finally shut down the conversation with the car salesman you were hoping to get just a few quick details out of.

And when everything in us wants to run away, we stand with feet planted firm when “that aunt” comes to give us a kiss and a hug at the family reunion.
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We make daily sacrifices on the altar of our likeability.
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We do have limits, though.

For instance… the day “that aunt” gets a sex change and still wants a hug and a kiss… I’m out.

I don’t own a Porsche, so if someone runs into my 1996 Honda Civic, its no big deal… unless it’s gonna cost me $1000 for repairs. At that point, whether or not you like it, or like me, I need to get your insurance information.

Your party animal cousin might get mad at you for not giving him the keys to his car after that wedding reception when he was not fit to drive, and it might damage the relationship for a long time.

And I suppose it’s up to you whether or not your 17 year old daughter can date a 22 year old with a swastika tattoo on his forearm, but when she brings him along to help baby-sit, I might even take a few extra minutes to find a brass menorah to chase him out the door with… like it or not.
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Our willingness to endure inconvenience to preserve our likeability finds its end when the perceived value of what we are called to sacrifice outweighs our desire to maintain the esteem our friends may afford us. Some things are important enough to risk losing relationships over. When these lines are crossed, we are willing to sacrifice the friendship if need be… based on the value we place on the thing or person we feel might be compromised by not taking the action we deem appropriate.
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In the first chapter of a book called “The Great Evangelical Recession” by John Dickerson, he lists, in detail, four nationally recognized researchers who specialize in national religious statistics. With differing credentials, differing motivations, and different research methods, the researchers agreed on the following statistic:

8% of Americans can be considered Evangelical Christians

That’s 1 in ten if you’re lucky…
or 22 million of America’s 316 million residents.

22 Million! That’s more than enough of us to fill each other’s days with great music, great books, Godly conversation, religiously charged political facebook quotes, theological debate, church services, conferences, outreaches, and prayer groups. As we stuff our days full of all the above, and work hard to raise our families in the fear and admonition of the Lord… we have slowly but certainly lost significant ground in cultural influence. Without realizing it, we have become our own separate sect of society, so self focused as a whole that we haven’t noticed the degree that our impact and relevance has diminished in our nation. Nine out of ten people do not relate to the ideals and beliefs that we hold dear. We’ve had them “shnookered” with fancy rhetoric of our supposed influential power in society, but not until the last few years have they discovered just how much they outnumber us. With this newfound information, those who have differing viewpoints than Christians are bolder than ever exercising their opposition, as Christian doctrine grows more unpopular every week.

In this culture, each awkward situation or conversation with someone who holds a differing worldview is a true litmus test that will reveal just how much we value Christ and the gospel. As we’ve settled above, when we place significant value on someone or something, we are willing to forfeit our approval and acceptance among those who disagree for the sake of the person, cause, or ideal that we value.

Are you willing to speak up for truth if it causes you to be unpopular?

If not; if you ignore your conscience when the Spirit urges you to stand for righteousness, I must regrettably inform you that your popularity has become an idol… more important to you than spreading the truth and beauty of our Holy Savior. You are more concerned with others accepting you than you are with them accepting Christ.

In Matthew 15, Jesus tells His disciples “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”

In chapter 16, He goes on to say, “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away… the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.”

Jesus is warning us again. As history repeats itself across the ages, across the ocean, and across the cultures, the Holy Spirit is reminding us that the world will despise us, and when “their time” comes, we must remember that Christ was hated by the world, and we will join Him under the burden of that afflicting cross. (If we stand with Him in the truth, that is). As children of the light, the massive darkness permeating our modern American culture will undoubtedly seek us out and attempt to shame us into silence. It’s that embarrassment you feel when you continue to assert that homosexuality is a sin. It’s the cruel, penetrating eyes that despise you for trying to put a woman in “bondage” by not allowing her to choose whether or not she will birth or kill her unborn child. It’s the “unfriending” on facebook for posting your beliefs. It’s the school system that singles out your child to stand in a “tolerance” circle in front of the class and apologize for speaking scriptural principles in the classroom. And it’s the “narrow-minded bigot” label that you anticipate receiving if you speak the words, “Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father but by Me.”

When we place the proper value on Christ and His gospel, there is no price too high to pay for the sake of His cause. There is no worldly treasure so valuable that it could compare to the greatness of knowing Him. This is the realization that the disciples had when they were martyred for preaching the gospel. This is the realization that Daniel had when he flung open his bedroom windows so that every passerby in the street could hear him breaking the law by praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His only concern was that he was popular in heaven… whatever the earthly cost. And at the height of his unpopularity, as he was shunned, ostracized, and sent to his death in a den of lions, God stepped in to not only deliver, but honor and raise up His faithful servant to lead the entire nation in prayer to the same God they had expelled just a few weeks earlier.

In the coming years it will get harder and harder to stand for truth in America. Draw near to God. Study the scriptures. Prepare yourself to be steadfast so that you do not fall away, and great will be your reward.
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Trayvon Jesus and George

Commentary regarding the Zimmerman verdict has flooded the internet and conversations nationwide.  Amidst it all, I have observed most people exercising a level of judgment regarding the case that I feel they have no right to make.  We must be honest enough to admit we don’t know all the details of the case, and we definitely don’t know exactly what happened in the moments prior to Trayvon’s death; and unfortunately, he is not here to share his testimony.  You may be angry, pleased, or indifferent with the verdict, but I’d like to approach the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the Zimmerman verdict from a Christian perspective.  When I say from a Christian perspective, I mean a “Christ-like” perspective.  So brace yourself… what I have to share is different than what mainstream christianity is saying; due to the large gap between mainstream christianity and actual “Christ-likeness”.

Here are the major details of the incident offered as briefly as possible for those who haven’t taken the time to research the case “thoroughly”.

Trayvon Martin was staying with his father’s fiancée at the gated community where George Zimmerman lived.  One evening, George was headed for groceries and noticed Trayvon walking between townhouses in the neighborhood, (not on the street or on the sidewalk, but in the grass between two houses) in the rain, with his hood up, “suspiciously.”  (In the months prior, the Twin Lakes gated community residents reported dozens of attempted break-ins, which had created an atmosphere of fear in the neighborhood.) George called a non-emergency 911 number to report the suspicious activity, watched, and followed Trayvon to track his location until the police arrived.

At some point, Trayvon was on his cell phone and told his girlfriend that a creepy a** cracker was following him.  Being frustrated with George following him, Trayvon “stared down” George, approached and circled his truck, at which point George rolled up his window to avoid a confrontation.  Trayvon then walked away from the truck and began running to lose George.  George exited his truck and pursued Trayvon until the dispatcher encouraged him not to do so… George agreed and hung up the phone, but not before saying “these a##holes always get away”.  According to testimony from both George and the friend Trayvon was on the phone with… there was a period of time during which Trayvon and George were separated, Trayvon even telling his friend that he “lost” George.  Trayvon now headed home, and George continuing to search for Trayvon’s location to notify the police, they met up again, at which time a verbal confrontation ensued, which led to a physical struggle.  George testified that Trayvon tackled and straddled him, punched him, and began banging the back of his head on the concrete sidewalk.  Several eye witnesses testify that George was indeed on the bottom during the scuffle… the back of his coat was wet, and the back of his head suffered lacerations and was bleeding when police arrived at the scene. During the fight, George reached for his gun, Trayvon saw it and tried to get the gun first. George claims that Trayvon then shouted… “you’re gonna die tonight motherf*#cker” as he reached for the gun, but George grabbed it first.  He pulled the trigger once and Trayvon died in a few minutes.

Forensics scientists who studied the gunshot wound and powder residue stated that Trayvon’s sweatshirt was approx 4-6 inches away from his body at the time of the shooting, impossible if Trayvon was on his back on the ground.  Later that night, George was diagnosed and treated for a closed fracture of his nose, 2 black eyes, lacerations to the back of his head, a minor back injury, and bruising in his upper lip and cheek before being questioned regarding the events that had just happened and passing a lie detector test. Trayvon had only two injuries… a scrape on his left ring finger, and the fatal gunshot wound.

Trayvon had been suspended from school at the time of his death, his third disciplinary suspension of the year. The first suspension was for tardiness and truancy (skipping school). The second for graffiti on school property, at which time police searched Trayvon, his bag and locker for the graffiti tools and found several pieces of women’s jewelry and a screwdriver which they classified as a burglary tool. The third suspension occurred when Trayvon was caught with an empty marijuana bag and a marijuana pipe.  The night of the incident, police discovered two items in a bag Trayvon was carrying that he had purchased from a 7-11 earlier that night, Arizona Iced Tea Co.’s Watermelon Fruit Juice and Skittles, two of the three ingredients necessary for a codeine-based recreational drug called “lean”.  Its main ingredient is prescription-strength cough syrup, containing DXM.  (DXM is an abbreviation for the active ingredient in cough-syrup, which statistics show to be an increasingly common drug abuse substance.)   In the autopsy, Trayvon’s liver showed symptoms consistent with abuse of DXM.

These details may or may not be fully and completely accurate… after all, this is the internet, right?  Do your best research and come to conclusion for yourself.

That being said, let’s approach what we know from a Christian perspective.  The incident occurred in a gated community that was dealing with recurring neighborhood disturbances at the hands of teenage thieves.  I have experienced theft by the hands of teenagers on my property.  Maybe you have too.  At one point, some drug dealing teens and twenties moved in our neighborhood, two houses up the street from us.  As homeowner’s goods began disappearing from cars and garages, you can imagine the state of mind and conversations that resulted among neighbors in our community.  In a certain sense, I have had a “Trayvon Martin” walking the streets of my neighborhood, and likely, so have you.

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Due to my Christian worldview, based on the work of the Holy Spirit within me revealing truths regarding God’s Word and His will toward all mankind, I never once imagined harming these thieves in any way.  The power of Christ and the indwelling love of God for those young men and women far outweighed my love for any material possession of mine they might steal.  Do I work hard for my paycheck? Yes. Do I have a family to take care of? Yes.  Do they have a right to steal from me? No.  Does it anger me when they do? Yes.  Do I still love them with Christian love? Yes.  I do not know if George Zimmerman considers himself a Christian, but the question George Zimmerman did not ask… and the question many Christians might not think to ask if they saw Trayvon sneaking around their community late one evening is this: “What does Christian love for this young man look like now?”

Here is where the answer may shock you.

Again, let us not forget that in living out our Christian worldview, we are called, above all, to be Christ-like.  It is possible to formulate a doctrine or worldview all our own; which is contrary to the synergy of scripture, by fitting together certain passages from God’s Word to create a set of rules and principles to operate by that make the most sense to us.  But Jesus is recorded, by Luke, as saying “if someone steals your coat, offer your shirt also.  Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.” (Luke 6:29,30)

What was the Christian response to Trayvon’s “suspicious activity”? What did Christian love look like for Trayvon that night?  Perhaps ask him if he needed a ride… or maybe George should’ve told him that if he was looking to steal some jewelry, he had a nice watch and a few bucks that he could give him instead.  The Christian response was to pray for the young man with a sincere heart, and if not at that moment, watch for a time to approach the young man with crazy grace and radical love.  The Bible tells us in Romans that God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  We celebrate this verse when we receive it for ourselves, but we do not consider that God might call us to show His great love for others by making selfless sacrifices for them, while they are yet sinners.  Like giving gifts to them, even while they may be stealing from us or our neighbors.  I wonder how Trayvon’s night would’ve ended if he came home with a few gifts from George, along with the message that God loves Him and Jesus died that he could be not only be saved, but set free from the emotional pain of his parents divorce, peer pressure, and drug addiction to live a life of joy and victory serving others?  We will never know.

Can a Christian Still Love America?

Of course we can.

However, as I’ve mulled over and over in my mind where to go from here after President Obama’s re-election… I, along with many other true believers face the increasingly complex quandary of just how to express my love for this nation.  We’ve definitely arrived at a place where we must learn to show tough love; the side of love that is always difficult to express.  I am not eager to share my thoughts at this point, but rather, motivated by a sense of responsibility.

The unscriptural, childish concept of love that many Christians have settled into is a weak, compromising, self-preserving attempt to win the hearts of a stiff-necked, sinful, American culture.  This “come as you are” type of love sounds Christ-like, but careful observance recognizes that many “go as they are” after engaging the church.  Jesus forgave the women at the well, but after saving her life, you’d better believe it made a huge impact on her when He said “Go and sin no more”.  These five words are lamentably absent from the current “gospel” message dispensed from most of America’s pulpits.

God has placed the gift of the gospel on the tongue of His sons and daughters, and we must understand that the proper articulation of the gospel is perhaps our highest calling. 1 Corinthians 1:21 says: “it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”  A famous quote states “preach the gospel at all times, when necessary, use words.”  Such an idea is not only impractical, but anti-scriptural.  In the Greek New Testament, gospel is the translation of the Greek noun euangelion– “good news,” and the verb euangelizo meaning “to announce good news.”  You can live a spotless life and do a thousand good works, but unless the good news is on your tongue while you do it… what does it accomplish for God’s Kingdom?  It would be like suggesting that our local television newscaster could “share the news at all times, and when necessary use words.”

The gospel must be communicated through words, and we must articulate it correctly or we have lost everything!

Never before has the abuse of language cost the church and our nation so much as when we lost the word love to the muddy, hazey decade of the 60s.  “Free love man!” was the cry of the day, and the church made it’s most vital mistake in decades when we attempted to “hippify” Jesus and ensure the culture that the best “free love” is found in the gospel.  As a result, the baby boomers who hung in there with God, at least enough to drag their kids to church most Sundays since then, have for the most part, lost the sense of responsibility that should come with receiving Christ as Savior.  He is Savior for many but Lord for few.  As a result, we now face a post-Christian culture in America.  More disturbing, is the nationwide trend of thought that assumes we’re just as “Christian” as we ever were, and that the increased social acceptance of certain ungodly practices actually indicates an advancement of love and understanding among “believers.”

A rarely quoted statement from Jesus reads “I did not come to bring peace, but to bring a sword.”   Of course, the sword He speaks of is a metaphor for ideological conflict and He is not advocating physical violence.  Let’s look at the statement in context:

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on Earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.”

Yes, Jesus did say that there are those who are not worthy to follow Him.  How politically incorrect is that!  Friends, make no mistake, we’ve arrived in a day and time that the very words of our Lord Jesus, God in the flesh, are considered by many to be politically incorrect, divisive, arrogant, closed-minded, intolerant bigotry.  That leaves you and I with an important decision.  Will we be faithful to share the gospel as it is presented in scripture, in it’s entirety, at the cost of our own “reputation” with the culture?  Will we be faithful when it costs us friends?  When it may set even our own family members against us?

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The task ahead of us as a church is daunting.  We must be loving… by presenting truths that our culture considers hate speech.  We must be loving…  in ways that people perceive to be arrogant and manipulative.   We must share a gospel that becomes more and more offensive to the ears of both the unsaved, and “religious” Americans, each passing day.  Can we still love America as she continues to lose the morality that once adorned her?  We can and we must.  But loving America looks very different these days then it did even a decade ago.  It’s looking more and more like the love expressed by our Savior Lamb, when he humbly and firmly retained His true identity and firm convictions through the sufferings of His crucifixion.

Jesus said “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.”

Our love for America, expressed through holiness and faithfulness to the true gospel, will be the very reason we receive hatred from many, in return.  But we can rejoice, knowing that such persecution is proof that we are in the very path which Jesus Himself has trod.

We must love America by preaching the truth, no matter the cost… lest the cost to love America, and preach the truth, increases.

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Personality is not Permanent

If you have not yet read the book “Personality Plus” by Florence Littauer; you have, by now, certainly heard of the 4 personality profiles she refers to in the book as a basis for learning how to relate and interact with others: choleric, melancholy, sanguine, and phlegmatic.  In hearing these words in the conversation of many, from CEOs to pastors, and especially among members of Generation Y, I’ve experienced a steady, subtle agitation when approached with the concept.  Upon further study, and with no desire to judge Florence or any other psychologist, (Christian or otherwise) I would like to humbly present my case against the use of psychometrics (psychological measurement of knowledge, attitudes, and personality through instruments such as questionnaires, tests, and personality assessments) to label men and women as a certain “personality type.”

Let’s start at the beginning, which is most likely much earlier than you might’ve expected.  Sometime around 400 BC, the Greek physician Hippocrates developed a medical theory from an ancient medical concept called Humorism.  Tracing it’s origins to ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia, humorism is a now discredited theory of the makeup and workings of the human body adopted and held by most Greek, Roman, and European physicians until the advent of modern medical research in the nineteenth century.  The theory held that the human body was filled with four substances, called four humors, which are in perfect balance when a person is healthy.  When a person suffered from a surplus or imbalance of one fluid, then his or her physical health and personality would be affected.

The four humors were:

Black bile, Yellow bile, Blood, and Phlegm

This ancient belief in “humors” has now, through the use of modern science and medicine become quite “humorous”. (sorry couldn’t resist)  Just take a look at these two definitions of phlegm in the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Phlegm: ________________________________________________

1. thick, sticky, stringy mucus secreted by the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, as during a cold or other respiratory infection.

2. one of the four humors of ancient and medieval physiology, thought to cause sluggishness, apathy, and evenness of temper.

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We now know that the body responds to infection or sickness with God-given “healing mechanisms” that produce more fluid(s) to help remove sickness.  At times, fluids can also decrease as a result of sickness or disease.  Humorism incorrectly stated that an excess or lack of these fluids preceded disease or sickness, and personality traits!

Around 200 AD, enter: Claudius Galenus, a prominent Roman physician and philosopher, who’s understanding of anatomy and medicine was largely influenced by the theory of humorism as advanced by Hippocrates.  “Galen” as he is now known, was the first to develop “temperamental categories” or “psychological types”.  He named them sanguine, melancholic, choleric, and phlegmatic.

Early 1900’s, enter: Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist who was the originator of Analytical Psychology. Analytical psychology was a method rooted in Galen’s theories which studied unconscious forces and motivations underlying individuals behavior, to employ the unconscious mind as the source of healing and development in the individual.  Jung published his theories in his 1921 book “Psychological Types.”

1962, enter:  Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, original developers of the personality assessment test: “The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator” (MBTI).  The test, first published in 1962, was a questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. These preferences were taken from the theories proposed by Carl Jung.  If you’ve taken a personality assessment test, it was most likely the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator questionnaire.

Meet CPP Inc.

CPP, Inc. is the leading publisher and provider of products and services for individual and organizational psychological development.  CPP published the definitive reference source for the MBTI titled “The Manual”.  As the MBTI exam began to gain ground in our culture, some employers began to use the assessment when hiring new employees, hoping it might be a predictor of which potential employees might be best suited for the job.  The use of the MBTI as a predictor of job success has not been supported in studies, and its use for the purpose is now expressly discouraged in “The Manual”.  Many academic psychologists have criticized the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instrument, claiming that it “lacks convincing validity data”, and studies have shown the statistical validity and reliability to be low.

The MBTI Manual also states that the assessment test is “designed to implement a theory”, the theory of personality types.

Theory: _______________________________________________

a: a hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or investigation

b: an unproved assumption

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Now that I’ve puked up all the information… let’s get to the point.

I believe it’s crystal clear that the “personality type theory” is rooted in ancient, inaccurate, medical and psychological beliefs systems.  However… it is undeniable that a person’s personality can be measured through assessment tests like the MBTI (or simple observation and discernment for that matter).  While we may be able to observe and measure a person’s personality traits through these tests, my argument is against labeling a person as a certain personality.  Labeling a person can give the impression that their personality is fixed.  If we falsely believe that personality tests are scientifically proven and objective, many will believe the results emphatically, and believe there current personality is permanent.

Personality is defined as “the visible aspect of one’s character as it impresses others”, or “the sum total of the physical, mental, emotional, and social characteristics of an individual”.

Either of these definitions make it very clear that our personality is merely the outward expression of our inward man.  At best, measuring our personality and taking the results to God in prayer could provide insight into what areas of our life we may need to grow spiritually.  Here is just one of many scriptures calling us to greater character and newness of mind as we strive to become like Christ.  From Ephesians:

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 “If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”   ____________________

Carl Jung actually stated that personality traits are akin to “right-handedness” or “left-handedness”.  Meaning, if you’re born right handed, through practice and continued use, you can become proficient in using your left hand.  Personality can, and does change.  As a matter of fact, studies show that between 39% and 76% of those tested fall into different personality types upon retesting some weeks or years later.   For the sake of the length of this post I will not go into examples of positive and negative aspects of the different personalities.  I will challenge you to take what you know of your personality, (whether or not you have been “labeled”), and measure it against the revealed character of Christ that we see in His Word.

Take the test if you’d like.  Maybe even once a year.  But watch yourself closely and guard against using the results as an excuse to settle into a mode of living and relating to others that may be less than what Christ has clearly called us to as His followers.  As His followers, we must remember that the world is watching us, and in every situation we must give them Christ.  If Christ in any given situation stretches outside the bounds of what I believe my personality has to offer, I must go to the prayer closet and receive an infilling of the Holy Spirit and power to become more like Him in every way.

Lord may it be so in my life.

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The Blogger Who Jesus Loves

Just days before His death, Jesus and His disciples arrived in Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem.  As usual, Jesus chose the home of one considered “the least of these” to stop to eat and rest. That is, the home of Simon, a leper.  It was there that a precious follower of His broke her alabaster box of oil and anointed Him for His self-announced burial.  Then, on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus to ask Him where He would like to eat the Passover meal.

Jesus must have been an exciting mentor…

He tells Peter and John, “go into the city, and there you shall meet a man with a pitcher of water, follow him, and wherever he goes, say to the owner of that house, The Master saith, “Where is your guest room?” and he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared, there make ready for us.” (mark 14)

Sure enough, later that evening, the twelve anxiously awaited Jesus in this homeowners candle-lit upper chamber, probably hoping they followed the right water pot.  And in walks Jesus, with His head down.  Though they had noticed a steady decline in His demeanor over the past few weeks, the solemn tone and manner of Jesus this night immediately produced a heavy atmosphere which caused the men to stop all chatter as their smiles slowly gave way to concern.   As they ate, Jesus spoke of His broken body and His shed blood, causing the disciples to imagine the worst.  And as they most certainly wanted to take advantage of what little time they had with Jesus to show love and honor to Him, it was Jesus who first bowed the knee, disrobed, and began to wash the visibly shaken disciples dirty feet.

Scripture beautifully captures what the disciples surely felt to their core at this moment:  “When Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father; having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them unto the end.”

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The Apostle John was perhaps the most comfortable during this first “foot-washing ceremony.”  It was he who called himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” regularly.  He labeled himself this way five times in the book of John, never once identifying himself by name, but only as the “beloved disciple” of Jesus.  We can safely assume he spoke often of the love Jesus had for him, working diligently to rest and reside in the safety of such powerful love.  John knew that Jesus loved Him and he quietly pondered and reveled in the fact regularly.  His strength lied in his understanding of the depth with which Jesus loved him.

Perhaps answering Jesus prediction of his thrice denial… Peter seems to show where his strength lies as he boldly promises that his willpower can and will withstand any necessary suffering to prove his love for Jesus. All four gospels record the account…

“Though all men shall be offended because of you, yet will I never be offended…Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.” -peter

“Lord I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and into death.”  -peter

“Lord… I will lay down my life for thy sake.”  -peter

“Although all shall be offended, yet will not I…  but he spoke more vehemently… If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any way.”  -peter

 While Peter wept bitterly in hiding, John was the only disciple who was with Jesus during His crucifixion. Speaking from the cross, Jesus committed His mother to John’s care.  I can only imagine the immeasurable comfort Christ received from Johns presence that day.   He is the only Disciple that did not run away or hide from authorities when the times of persecution from the Roman oppressers and the Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees were rumbling towards them. He was loyal to our Lord, and was the only disciple that lived a long life and died a natural death.

In the typical, paradoxical way of the Kingdom, we once again land on our heads with the revelation that scripture gives regarding the source of our strength in service for Christ.  Our ability to please God is proportionate to our awareness, appreciation, and receiving of His great love for us. Stirring ourselves up to serve Him proves useless, planning our response in times of pressure is vain, and working to strengthen our will toward pleasing God is futile.

Growing in the knowledge and experience of His magnificent love for us is the key to victorious Christian living.  It drew John to the blood splattered base of the cross.  It alone will bind us to Christ’s side as the world despises both He and us.  It alone will bind us to Christ’s side when we soar with Him in cloudless skies on that great day.

“This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin.” 1 John 4:10

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Love’s Requirements

Love is not always soft.  Unfortunately, the abuse of language in our culture has led to this common misconception.  Love takes many forms as it consistently seeks only good for it’s recipient.  It is often expressed tenderly, yet some of the greatest expressions of love have required difficult decisions of uncompromising sternness.   I believe it was Dr. James Dobson who either coined the phrase “Tough Love” or cashed in on it with one of his many bestselling books. 

As I have come to wear the “blogger” label quite comfortably these days… I must admit I had my reservations titling this site “loveleaven” or anything with the word love in it for obvious reasons.  As I mentioned above, there is a misconception about love in our culture, which has caused many, (men especially) to feel uncomfortable simply saying the words “I love you”, let alone having a discussion, reading, or writing about it.  Nonetheless, I realized, through prayer and by the motivation of the Holy Spirit, that this is all the more reason to boldly express what I believe to be the underlying steady theme of the entirety of scripture… God is love, and growing to become like Him will both require and produce a walk of love both toward Him and our fellow man.  This maturity in love includes the understanding of the necessity of love’s requirements.

Love’s requirements?

These seemingly contradictory terms would most certainly be viewed as an oxymoron by many; yet they undoubtedly go hand in hand.  As the working definition of love in our culture has shifted over into an area of feeling and emotion void of responsibility, suggesting that love has requirements is a “bubble-bursting” statement to say the least.  In fact, the idea will surely be rejected by many.

As we look into scripture for our basis, let’s begin with a red-letter sentence.  “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (john 14:15)  Jesus reiterates this statement in verses 21, 23, and 24 saying “he that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” And “if a man love me, he will keep my words.”  Of course, the implications of such a statement are overwhelming, especially coming from the lips of Jesus.  Can He really mean it?  There must be hidden revelation here, something that a little translation can help us with, give us a little slack maybe…

 If there is any slack, we know for certain that we cannot walk in total obedience to the law, yet it is clear that a pattern of living according to Christ’s commands is required.  Mistakes will occur and we will fall short… but what is the standard of our life?  In the practical, day-to-day, living, breathing “book of our life”, what is written on it’s pages regularly?  If it is not holiness (expressed by loving others), then we do not love Him.

The apostle John apparently picked up this same notion as he walked with Jesus for three years.  He states: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.”  (1 John 5:2,3) He also says: “And this is love, that we walk after His commandments” (2 John 1:6).

The belief that love is expressed in emotion and language only is surely a damning heresy.  For by it, many have dishonored the name of Christ in action, relying on stirred emotion and empty words to display their so called “love” for Him.  These occasional references of love for God, however often or sincere they may be, are a lifeless shell without obedience in action to bring them to life.   After lifting His voice against the Pharisees to call them “hypocrites!”, Jesus expresses His frustration with them by saying “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, saying: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, they worship me in vain.”

The church has gotten pretty good at expressing our love for God through word and song, and I believe we’ve also come a long way in allowing the expression of emotion toward Him amongst the congregation and in our worship services.  For this I am thankful.  But I strongly sense that the Holy Spirit is awakening the church again to the awareness that obeying His commandments is the greatest expression of Love to Him.   Out of the abundance of an obedient heart, the mouth will then speak the praises of God, and our emotions can flow freely in worshipful adoration to Him.  The lesser is included in the greater.  Learning to walk according to Christ’s commandments will produce a zeal inside us that overflows in emotional, verbal expression of praise to Him.  We must be aware, however, that emotional, verbal expression of praise to Him can also be achieved by those who are not walking in obedience to His commandments.  Before we get too discouraged, let us be reminded that obeying the law and honoring God’s commands is not what it once was…

“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8