Know God, Know Love
“…This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for
us. And we ought to lay down our lives
for our brothers.” 1
John 3:16
I’m sorry to be the
bearer of bad news, but it seems the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous has
experienced another relational casualty compounding the ranks of the “Celebrity
Couple Has-Beens.” Or as the great
theologian Freddie Mercury once said, “Another one bites the dust.” Yes, the Captain and Tennille are caput. After having 39 years of wedded bliss, they
have dissolved their marital ties. For those who don’t know them, just think of
an older version of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez…who also called it quits not
long ago after 39 (or so) days. Hopefully, your Valentine’s Day will better
than theirs!
You see, famous or
not, God created relationships, and He has the patent on them for both those
that are in a marriage and those who one day aspire to it. It says so right in the book of Genesis and
continues throughout the Bible. The
problem is, we somehow continue to believe that we can throw His instructions
aside and make it work how we want, rather than how He wants. Much like an ignored driver’s manual, our
relationships end up functioning best on something less than all cylinders and,
at worst, experience a total breakdown midway through the trip.
Much like the tango, a God-centered relationship requires
two people that will commit themselves to following and honoring the
Lord…nothing less. Basically, the success of a
relationship is predicated on understanding that God’s love is about molding
our lives to Him and not trying to mold His to ours. When that happens, all of our relationships
will take care of themselves.
In his book, Man In The Mirror, Patrick Morley
describes a condition known as Cultural Christianity that hits at the heart of
our relationships with God and others. He writes, “Cultural Christianity means to
pursue the God we want instead of the God who is. It is the tendency to be shallow in our
understanding of God, wanting Him to be more of a gentle grandfather type who
spoils us and lets us have our own way.
It is sensing a need for God, but on our own terms. It is wanting the God we have underlined in
our Bibles without wanting the rest of Him, too. It is God relative instead of God
absolute. Cultural Christianity is
Christianity made impotent. It is
Christianity with little or no impact on the values and beliefs of our
society. When the secular life view is
merged with the Christian life view, neither one survives. Cultural Christianity requires God to grant
us personal peace and affluence to prove He loves us. It is God love, but not God holy. Actually, God loves us so much that He will
cleanse the Cultural Christianity from our lives, like a silversmith purifies
silver by burning off the dross.”
Ultimately, when we
are ready to be purified, we will be ready to love. Or as the lesser known John 3:16
(or 1 John 3:16)
says, “This is how we know what love is:
Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.
And, we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” Once we know God that way, His love will
follow. Would someone please pass that
on to Brad and Angelina…or anyone else for that matter?
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1)
Where do you easily find compromise in your
walk with Christ?
2)
Ask the Lord what He wants to purify in you,
so that you can walk purely with others.
Consider reading the word today:
Copyright 2014 - Terry Risser
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