“If we love one another”--for Nursing Home Service

Meditation on 1 John 4 for Renvilla Chapel

July 27, 2014

       Three children came forward for my children’s message this morning at Ebenezer—two little boys and a girl. And I asked them, “Who does Jesus love?” Well, the little girl answered first, “Everybody!” So then the other two said the same thing, “Everybody!” But what I was hoping they would say was Jesus Loves Me! We went through the words of the familiar song, “Jesus Loves Me,” so that they would be reminded of this very important message—that “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so!” I wanted to make sure they knew just how much God loves them personally! He doesn’t just love the world; he loves each one of us and knows us well.

     Then I told them that the Bible also tells us that because God loves us so much, we ought to love one another. That if we do not love other people, then we don’t really love God. I thought it was so important, that I said it twice—that if we don’t love other people, we don’t really love God.

     Then, I asked them how we could show other people how we loved them. They struggled a bit with that, but finally one said, “I could help my mom.” And the older boy said, “I play with my brother.”

     “How about giving someone a hug? I asked. “Do you give your mom a hug?” And they said, “yes.” But I could tell they hadn’t really thought too much about how they could show someone that they love them.

***  

      We find numerous times in 1 John the command to love our brothers and sisters in the faith. In 1 John 4:20, we read that those who hate their brothers and sisters whom they have seen are liars if they say that they love God, whom they have not seen! Jesus said something similar. He summed up God’s commands with love God and neighbor. But brotherly love is the particular emphasis in 1 John and the gospel of John 13:34, when Christ gave His disciples His “new” command to love one another as he has loved them so that everyone will know that they are His disciples—by their love.

      In 1 John 4:7 and 16, we find the very familiar passage that God IS love. 1 John is the only place in the Bible where we find this language. John means that God is the originator of love; love is a divine character trait. We cannot look at human love to know what love is; we are called to be imitators of God’s love. In 1 John 4:10, like 1 John 3:16’s “we know love by this,” John is again defining love by describing what it does! It isn’t a feeling! And it isn’t weak or wimpy; it has the courage to suffer and the power to conquer sin and death. “In this is love,” says 1 John 4:10, “not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

     God’s love is gracious and merciful. We don’t deserve His love, but He chooses to love us anyway. His love is what gives us boldness on the day of judgment, says 1 John 17-18, for “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment.”

     And we are told “to love one another” repeatedly in 1 John. In 1 John 4:17, we learn that “If we love one another,” then God’s love has been perfected or completed among us. “If we love one another”—meaning we have a choice! We can decide against loving one another. And we can also choose not to love God.

    God, who has chosen to love human beings while we were still sinners, sending Jesus to die for us, patiently and passionately waits for us to love Him and one another in return!

***

    I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the kids had never heard that if we love God, we should love one another. And that if we don’t love people, then we are not really loving God. We are certainly not being obedient to him. I think that may come as a surprise to some adults, too, who may go to church and say they love God, but then they don’t like some people—because frankly, some people may be hard to love or even like!

    But we can’t say that we all don’t know Christ’s greatest commandment—to love God and neighbor—or that we don’t know the new command that Jesus gives to his disciples—that they love one another so that the world will know they belong to Him by their love. And we can’t say that the command to love God and neighbor and love one another is just for Christ’s first 12 disciples. It’s for us, too!

    After the children told me some of the ways they could share their love with other people, I shared my love with them through a note that I had written for each of them. I handed them a paper with a heart on it that says, “Jesus loves you and I do, too! Love Pastor Karen.” Then I gave them another piece of paper with 6 little hearts on it and told them they could color them and write messages on them and give them to 6 people in their lives that they love. I couldn’t wait, I said, to hear who they had given the hearts to!

    Oh, and don’t forget to also tell them that Jesus loves them, I said. Because if you love someone, then you will tell them about Jesus and His love.

    Friends, people will come to know Jesus because of the witness of our faith and because our love for people that shows the world we are Christ’s disciples. For God’s love is made perfect, is completed, among us—if we love one another.

Will you pray with me?

Holy One, God who is love, thank you for your Word that leads us into the path of righteousness and keeps us from falling into error and sin. Thank you for Jesus, God come to us in human flesh, sent to show us the way to you—and to be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Lord we pray for those who are still walking in darkness, who are suffering because they don’t know the truth of your love. Help us to be a witness to Jesus Christ and love one another, even those who may be hard to love—to show the world we are His disciples, by our love. In Christ we pray. Amen.

“If we love one another”

You can view the video of this sermon at this link:
https://vimeo.com/101959710

Meditation on I John 4

July 27, 2014

***

     She told me her name was Barb. While I played old hymns on the piano in the fellowship hall at Christ United Presbyterian Church, she sang in her accented English. She had come for a free noon meal through Esther’s Kitchen, hosted by the Marshall church.

     Barb played guitar and harmonica, she said, as a couple more people came into the room. Some were senior citizens, but a young couple with an 18 month old baby named Abigail also came, and some men with tattoos in their 20s, 30s or 40s. I told Barb I wished she had her guitar and her harmonica with her so she could cover up my mistakes. She laughed and said she would be too nervous. But she sang, her fingers following the words in the hymnal on the keyboard. When we got to Jesus Loves Me, Abi Gasca joined us at the piano, and she sang, too.

    It was hot and humid, and I was sweating as I played in the unairconditioned basement! But I couldn’t complain about the heat because I wasn’t working in the kitchen—not like Julie, Carol, Alice, Lenae, Dawn, Bekka and Kate. Steam rose up from the meat frying and the cream sauce bubbling in a big pot on the stove. The biscuits were already out of the oven and waiting on the counter with bowls of blueberries and a stack of dinner plates. But there were smiles on the workers’ faces. Kind words exchanged. The love of Jesus was in that place!

    And then it was time for lunch. The kids ran back and forth, waiting on our “guests”—Michelle, Rachel, A.J., Abi and Bekka. They cheerfully brought out glasses of lemonade and milk, cups of coffee and plates heaped with biscuits and creamed beef and gravy.

    Some of the guests knew each other and called out greetings as they arrived. Barb sat with a woman who requested a to-go box for her husband who was sick. Seconds and to-go boxes are encouraged. The idea is to feed as many hungry people as possible—and to use up all the donated food. I moved from table to table, asking people if they needed anything, and if they had enough to eat. I sat with a lady named Gail, who told me about her daughter, and her grandson, whom she would be bringing to a free concert in the park that night. Gail usually came with a neighbor, but he didn’t answer the door to his apartment when she knocked. So today she was alone.

     When I greeted two men at one table, they said they didn’t get seconds and were denied to-go boxes at the Esther’s Kitchen supper the night before, while others were allowed to take as much food as they wanted. They rolled their eyes and looked disgusted. Their tone was gruff as they spoke to Adrian, who organized all the meals and volunteers for the program. She responded with gentleness. She apologized, explaining that she wasn’t there the night before. The group that was serving may not have known the procedure. She was at a funeral for a family member, she said, and I knew it was the second funeral for a family member in a week! The men continued to complain, without expressing their regrets for her loss. And I went off to serve other people before my joy in serving slipped away.

    Later on, thinking about how hard the volunteers worked without complaining, I felt happy to be able to serve alongside such compassionate people. But I couldn’t forget the rudeness of the two men and wonder why?  I just didn’t understand how they could be mean to people who only wanted to help them and show the love of Jesus by their kindness and generosity.

***  

       At Esther’s Kitchen, Adrian and volunteers from area churches are being obedient to the instruction in 1 John 3 that those who have the “world’s goods” must not refuse to help a brother or sister in need. And they are obeying the command we find repeatedly in 1 John—that those who love God must love their brothers and sisters. In 1 John 4:20, we read that those who hate their brothers and sisters whom they have seen are liars if they say that they love God, whom they have not seen! Jesus said something similar. He summed up God’s commands with love God and neighbor. But brotherly love is the particular emphasis in 1 John and the gospel of John 13:34, when Christ gave His disciples His “new” command to love one another as he has loved them so that everyone will know that they are His disciples—by their love.

      In 1 John 4:7 and 16, we find the very familiar passage that God IS love. 1 John is the only place in the Bible where we find this language. John means that God is the originator of love; love is a divine character trait. We cannot look at human love to know what love is; we are called to be imitators of God’s love. In 1 John 4:10, like 1 John 3:16’s “we know love by this,” John is again defining love by describing what it does! It isn’t a feeling! And it isn’t weak or wimpy; it has the courage to suffer and the power to conquer sin and death. “In this is love,” says 1 John 4:10, “not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

     God’s love is gracious and merciful. We don’t deserve His love, but He chooses to love us anyway. His love is what gives us boldness on the day of judgment, says 1 John 17-18, for “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment.”

     We are told “to love one another” at least 4 times in 1 John—in 3:11, and 4:7, 11 and 12. But then John says in 1 John 4:17, If we love one another, then God’s love has been perfected or completed among us. “If we love one another”—meaning we have a choice! We can decide against loving one another. And we can also choose not to love God.

    God, who has chosen to love human beings while we were still sinners, sending Jesus to die for us, patiently and passionately waits for us to love Him and one another in return!

      Chapter 4 begins with John’s warning to test the spirits. John, like the apostle Paul, is well aware of the presence of evil in this world that can lead believers away from the truth and into sin. For both John and Paul, the spiritual test is linked to correct belief and confession. Paul in I Cor. 12:1-3 says, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” John, in 1 John 4:2 and 3, says, “By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.” For the “antichrists” have been trying to lead John’s flock astray by preaching that Jesus wasn’t really a human being; therefore he could not have died and his blood couldn’t be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. John also warns us in this chapter that those who are not from God will hate us and not listen to us. “Whoever knows God,” John says in 4:6, “listens to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

***

      All are welcome at Esther’s Kitchen; there is no requirement to be a member of a church or even a believer. The ministry, therefore, reaches out with the love of Christ to some people still walking in darkness.

     Knowing this helps me to understand the attitude of a few of the men. Their rudeness makes sense when seen through John’s spiritual test. They weren’t just rude to Adrian; they were rejecting Christ who lives in her!

    Friends, some people won’t like us because they don’t like Jesus! They won’t listen to us. They won’t want to hear the truth!

    But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep on reaching out to people who might be unkind--and pray for their hearts to change. Just the fact that these men have come to a church for a meal is a good sign that God is drawing them nearer to Himself.

    People will come to know Jesus because of our love that shows the world we are Christ’s disciples. For God’s love is made perfect, is completed, among us—if we love one another.

Will you pray with me?

Holy One, God who is love, thank you for your Word that leads us into the path of righteousness and keeps us from falling into error and sin. Thank you for Jesus, God come to us in human flesh, sent to show us the way to you—and to be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Thank you for Adrian and the volunteers with Esther’s Kitchen, including our group from Ebenezer, who are living out the truth of the gospel – and loving and caring for people because you have loved us SO much! And Lord we pray for those who are still walking in darkness, who are suffering because they don’t know the truth of your love. Help us to be a witness to Jesus Christ—to show the world we are Christians by our love. We ask that your Spirit would move in their hearts and change their lives—that they would come to know Jesus as their Savior and seek to follow after Him. In Christ we pray. Amen.

“We are God’s children now”

Here's the video link to this sermon:
https://vimeo.com/101333455

Meditation on 1 John 3

July 20, 2014

***

     I have been neglectful of my flower garden this year! Usually, by now, I am enjoying the fruits of my labor—seeing the beauty of the blossoms and the lush green growth, if I have been weeding and watering faithfully.  Well, this year, I have been busy doing other things and I allowed the weeds to grow so high that you can barely see some of the flowers beneath them!

      Feeling frustrated about my flower beds and annoyed with myself for not doing more sooner, I sprayed with Round up this week—and not just around the edges of the beds, but inside them where the weeds grow amidst the black-eyed Susans, pink and white coneflowers, hasta, lamb’s ear, daylilies, bleeding heart, and blanket flowers.

       And guess what happened? Yep. The Round up came in contact with some of the perennials, and I may have lost a few of my good plants. And only some of the weeds died. Some don’t seem to be affected by the weed killer at all!

      Matthew, in our gospel reading today, seems well acquainted with the problem of weeds! Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a field planted with good seed that becomes weed-infested. The Master tells his slaves, “An enemy has done this.” But when they offer to gather the weeds for him, the Master says, “No.” The wheat may be uprooted with the weeds! Let the wheat and weeds grow together until the harvest, he says. At the harvest, the reapers will collect, bundle, and burn the weeds, and the wheat will be gathered into the Master’s barn.

    As I read this and consider my gardening experiences, I think about the wheat fighting to live and grow amidst the weeds, competing for food, water, space, air, and sunlight. When the Master allows the weeds to grow and thrive, the wheat may be forced to struggle for its very survival!

    This is how it is with persecution in the Kingdom of God that begins here on earth. When we seek to be like Jesus, when we follow after Him, we are beautiful plants in His garden, but not yet mature and in full bloom. The Spirit is nourishing us and working in us to transform us into Christ’s likeness. We aren’t what we used to be, and we aren’t yet what we shall be—when we see Him face to face.

      And while we are being nourished and cared for by the Spirit, we are also struggling in a world that would rather we were not living here at all! We sometimes feel as if we are fighting to survive! Our “enemy” is not a human being; he is the devil. And the accuser does truly hate us, just as he hated Jesus, who came to save us from our sins and bring us back to God. But those who trust in Jesus as their Lord are His “beloved.” We are God’s children now!

***

 

     I John chapter 3 begins, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” And this is the message of this chapter—that we can have confidence in what we are because of what God has already done for us through His Son. Salvation is God’s gracious gift; it cannot be earned through good works! But the confidence we have in Jesus Christ should lead us to be more faithful and obedient to God.

     The question for us today is the same one John posed to his flock. Are we more faithful and obedient because of what God has done—or do we take our salvation for granted? Do other people know we are Christians by our love?

      Living in a world that rewards selfishness and other forms of sin, we struggle with temptation. And yet we are not discouraged. We anticipate with hope and joy the revelation of what we shall be.

    The author of 1 John, perhaps an aging disciple of Christ, writes to his churches around 100 A.D. He urges them not to listen to the false teachers attempting to lead them astray. Rather, they should live “in Christ,” focused on Him and following in His loving ways. These “antichrists,” as John calls them in chapter 2, want to exclude others from the kingdom; they do not believe that Jesus is the “atoning sacrifice for … the sins of the whole world.” They also deny Christ’s humanity and are teaching that it doesn’t matter if they sin!

     John comes down hard on the “antichrists,” whoever they are, who have caused conflict and strife in the community. Some people have left the church; those who remain are hurting and confused. After reassuring his flock to whom they belong—“we are God’s children now,” John contrasts believers with unbelievers, whom he calls “children of the devil.” Then, beginning at verse 4, the word “sin” (amartia) or a form of it appears 10 times in 5 verses! Sin is important to John! But he sends out some mixed messages with his discussion. He says, “Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he (Christ) was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil.” Then John adds in verse 9, “those who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them.” What’s more, they “cannot sin!”

      My first thought as I am reading this is what does he mean that believers “do not” and “cannot sin?” This comes after he declares in 1:8 that everybody sins and if we say we don’t, we are lying to ourselves! Then in 2:1, he says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

     Scholars have different ideas about what John means in his discussion of sin. Most agree that John is not saying that some people can be “super-Christians, living a Christian life of a higher quality than is possible for other believers.” [1] Some believe that John speaks of “willful and deliberate sin… as opposed to … involuntary sins and errors...” [2] committed against God. Another theory is that John, with present tense verbs, doesn’t mean that Christians “cannot sin”; he means that true Christians cannot continue in sin. [3]

      But John isn’t the only one who gives mixed messages about sin and the Christian life. So does Paul. The apostle admits to his own struggle with sin in Romans 7:16-19 and speaks of his relief in 2 Cor. 12:9 at Christ’s revelation, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect through weakness.” Then, in Romans 6:12-15, Paul teaches that temptation is inevitable, but Christians, with the Spirit dwelling inside them, can and should choose NOT to sin. “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”

       The sin John points out is the churches’ failure to obey Christ’s command to love one another. John, in his only OT reference in 1 John, warns them not to be “like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother” because of jealousy. He echoes the teaching of Christ in Matthew 5:21 and 22—that murder begins in the heart. He says in 1 John 3:15, “All who hate a brother or sister are murderers.” He gives the supreme example of Jesus Christ to teach us what love is in verse 16, “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.”

     But before we conclude that John is calling everyone in the church to die, let us read on. John clarifies how love is shown in verses 17 and 18 through simple, practical acts of generosity and kindness. He says, “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”

     John sounds much like James, who wrote his epistle perhaps half a century before I John. James says in 1:11, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” And in James 2:15 and 16, we read, “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?”

     By loving in “truth and action,” we demonstrate to the world that we belong to Christ. And we reassure “our hearts before him, whenever our hearts condemn us,” says 1 John 3:19. For just as it is in our nature to sin, it comes naturally for us to struggle with self-doubt and wonder, “Are we truly ‘God’s children’ now?”

***

    Friends, we mustn’t be fearful or discouraged by the weeds that live amid the wheat in this world. With news reports of hatred, war and oppression raging on around the globe, it is not hard to believe that the devil still has power and the desire to destroy. But let us be comforted by God’s Word, knowing that the Master is still in control and has a plan. He knows who is “wheat” and who is “weed.” When God’s Kingdom comes to fruition, the weeds will be no more!

     Let us demonstrate God’s love through our acts of generosity and kindness to people in need—placing the needs of others before our own. This is what John means when he says, “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.”  

    And though we still struggle with sin and self-doubt, God’s Word assures us that His grace is sufficient for our sins! Be encouraged that although His Spirit isn’t finished with us, we are already God’s “beloved,” like beautiful plants growing in His garden, not yet mature and in full bloom. Let us be joyful in what we are—as we are God’s children now! Let us look toward the future longing for what we shall be—like Him!—when we see Christ face to face!

Let us pray.

     

 Holy Lord, Loving Master, thank you for creating us for love—because you loved us and wanted our love and companionship in return. Thank you that you call us your children! That we are your beloved! By your Spirit, shape us into what you plan for us to be, what has not yet been revealed to us. Stir us to joy as we anticipate our lives when your Kingdom comes to fruition and we become like you as we see you face to face. Forgive us for our many sins and doubts. Help us to live righteously, abiding in Christ and walking in his loving ways. Keep us from continuing in sin. And we pray that light will come to the dark places of this world. We ask that your peace and love would spread until there is no more evil, war, fear, poverty, and oppression in this world. Lead us to be instruments of your peace and love. In Christ we pray. Amen.

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     [1] I. Howard Marshall, The Epistles of John, 178.

     [2] Marshall, 178.

      [3] Marshall, 180.