The Family of God

“And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” says the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:18)

The Bible is full of incredible promises, revealing God’s mercy and love. Some are generally appealing; some speak especially to certain individuals. All of them hold eternal value. Many of them are too often overlooked. Take this one, for example: “I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me.” Christians love to use terms centered on the theme of family- brother in Christ, family of God, our heavenly Father- but how often do we stop to think of what such titles entail? Think of the time one spends with a brother or sister, or of the joy shared at a family reunion. Think of the tenderness and love shown by a father to his beloved child, and think of how we as children respond to our parents. Do we really love our fellow Christians as brothers and sisters? Do we interact with each other as with our earthly family? And above all, are we trying to please our Father and continually pursuing a deeper relationship with Him?

The devaluation of the family unit in our 21st century culture is an undeniable and disheartening trend. However, it was not unpredictable. There are many contributing factors to this decline, but I believe it can be summed up very shortly. The 20th century was a time of rapidly rising living standards for the majority of the North American and European population. As living standards rise, so does complacency; people are no longer driven to religion to look for answers. They feel they are self-dependent and don’t need the help of any higher power. Thus, the growth rate of the Protestant church has slowed, and even those within the church have become (in general, not as a rule) less dependent on God and eager to follow Him than they once were. Obviously, there are still many earnest, honest Christians in our culture, but a significant number of church-goers do not fall into this category, which is why I hesitate to peg numbers to Christian trends. With the decrease in “hard-core” Christianity and its morality, not to mention the increase in evolutionist propaganda, invariably there comes a wide-spread lack of concern for maintaining the traditional family unit. Of course we will lose understanding of and respect for God’s design for the family (Genesis 2:24) when we lose our understanding of and respect for God Himself!

It seems hard to speak of “the family of God” when so many among us have never had the blessing of a stable family as it was originally designed. Hopefully most of us have at least seen a functional family, so we can have some understanding of what God has intended for us.

How then shall we act, as part of this grand, worldwide family of believers? Yes, we ought to treat each other with love, but the root of love is God. If our relationship with our Father is not right, neither will be our relationships with our brothers and sisters. Let’s look at some of the requirements that go hand in hand with the promise we started out with.

“Come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean, and I will welcome you.” (6:17)

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (7:1)

It seems that having a truly fulfilling relationship with God hinges partially on how pure we keep ourselves. This makes sense, doesn’t it? It is not possible to realize our potential in Christ if we are not willing to purify ourselves for His purposes. We are not honouring God at all by spending our five minutes in prayer in the morning and then entirely disregarding His plan for us the rest of the day. We can’t claim to not know what He wants us to do- if we put any effort into studying His Word, there’s no escaping His directions. Why do we not follow Him with our lives? Jesus knows. He told His disciples in Matthew 26:41, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” We simply are not capable of maintaining godly standards on our own. We need His help. We must appeal to our Father for mercy and guidance- as well as the strength to do what’s right. Jesus, in the same verse, said, “Keep watching and praying that you may not fall into temptation.” Watching implies keeping a diligent eye on the world around us, looking for the traps Satan lays. Praying means fellowshipping with the Lord, tuning our hearts to His will, and earnestly doing our best to put Him first. Following these two steps is not as simple as it sounds; it requires effort and determination, as well as a fully surrendered heart. If we have any trace of selfish desire left in us, we must give it up, or it will not fail to impede us on our walk with Christ.

I would ask that as you read Psalm 51:10, you consider the life of its author- David.  This was a man who was, by most standards, extremely pure and righteous; in fact, God called him a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).  And yet, David was not perfect.  He wrote Psalm 51 after his great sin with Bathsheba.  None of us are perfect, nor can we expect to be on this earth; but nevertheless, perfection should be our goal.  With such a high standard, we will never become satisfied with where we are, but will always strive to move forward.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Pleasing in His Sight

"Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.  We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.  Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight."  1 John 3:19-22

I really love this letter.  John writes in such an endearing, encouraging fashion, referring repeatedly to the addressees (his brethren in Christ) as "little children" or "beloved."  Perhaps being called a "little child" by John the Apostle is not so appealing to you, but do remember that these words were inspired by the Holy Spirit; think of this as God's way of reminding us that we are indeed His beloved children.

In this passage, John is once again prodding us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.  He makes a very clear case in verse 17, where he asks, "Whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?"  What a prick to the conscience!  How many times have we failed to make small sacrifices- whether it be money, time, or simply attitude- for the sake of others?  I, for one, have often tried to ignore a request that I know will cost me in some way.  John is pleading with us to put aside our selfishness and let God's love shine through, for this is what unifies us as Christians (Colossians 3:14).

Aside from being generous with what we have, how are we to show love?  If we flip the page for a moment to 2 John verse 6, we find an answer: "And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments."  Many of us, upon hearing the word "commandments," automatically think of the Ten Commandments.  Let's look at those for a moment (Exodus 20, if you'd like to review them).  As I see it, we can divide them into two sections: the first four are about our relationship with God; the last six, our relationships with others. Honour your father and your mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, and do not covet.  Obviously, there are many more rules about how to treat people than these, but the fact that six of the Ten Commandments are written concerning our relationships with others is quite significant.

One of our most important witnesses as Christians is the way we interact with people on a day-to-day basis.  If we let our selfish desires take priority over the love God wants to fill us with, there is no witness.  In fact, we are hypocrites; for we stand in church Sunday mornings singing about love, and then, upon leaving, take up the bitterness and jealousy and anger and selfishness that we hung on the coat rack a few hours prior.  This is not what we, as Christians, are called to; a life lived in love on Sunday mornings is empty and futile compared to the life Christ has planned for us if we abide in His perfect love.

John goes on to explain one of the rewards for living such a lifestyle.  "We will know by this [our love for others] that we are of the truth."  As humans, we are prone to fear and doubt. Fear of what people will think of us, fear of what God will say to us when our time comes, doubt about what are true motives are and whether we are truly saved.  We are promised, however, that a life lived for God and for others will bring assurance of our salvation, for only by God's power can we become such loving friends to the brethren.

A common theme in today's popular culture is "follow your heart."  Well, I've got some news for you, and it comes straight from verse 20: "God is greater than our heart and knows all things."  The idea of following one's heart is very romantic and appealing, but when you stop to think about it, what is your heart following?  Typically, what this entails is a pursual of your own desires.  I have yet to find a passage in the Bible that instructs us to pursue our deep yearnings- perhaps a lifetime goal, perhaps a relationship, perhaps a career.  Rather, we are asked to sacrifice these all to God and ask Him to put His desires in our heart.  I pray I never follow my heart until it is completely in tune with God's heart, and my longings echo His.  And very simply, what is God's will? For us to be filled with His love both for our fellow Christians and for the unsaved.  When this love takes over, all our own desires fade into the background and we begin to pursue the well-being of others, rather than ourselves.

John closes this passage with some strong encouragement.  This is what he tells us: "If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God."  Each one of us is inconveniently provided with a conscience.  For those who choose a life of sin, this conscience is slowly dulled and silenced, until they can sin freely with very little guilt.  But for those of us who yearn to follow God with a sincere heart, and who are dedicated to studying His word and spending time in prayer, our conscience- in this verse, our heart- is constantly sharpened by the Holy Spirit.  We are continually being molded into God's image, and our ability to separate right from wrong grows ever stronger.  If we listen to that conscience and always follow God's prodding through it, there comes a point when we can come to God in prayer without being ashamed of the way we are living or the little things we mess up every day.  What an awesome feeling that must be!  Imagine, coming before the Lord and being able to say, "God, I followed Your plan for me today. What have you got next?"  We are also told that whatever we ask we receive from Him because we follow His commandments.  Note that at this point, your desires are God's, so you're obviously not going to ask for a Ferrari.  When we pray earnestly for God's will to be done, and are willing to be used by Him to that end, we will surely see prayers answered.

What a high goal to aim for!  Loving is not an easy thing to do; there are many who, by our standards, do not deserve our love.  But bear this in mind: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  What kind of love does it take for the holy God of the universe to give His life as the price for our sins?  When somebody is your life is proving very difficult to show love to, think of them as a sinner just like yourself- somebody who Jesus saw as valuable enough to die for- and then reconsider whether or not you are able to love them. God will give you strength.  May we become such Spirit-filled children of God; may we "keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight."  It won't be easy, but this is what we are called to.  We have a responsibility to pursue God's love.  So let's get down to business.

Brotherly Love

A week ago today, I posted my first entry on this blog; in celebration of that fact, I intend to write another post.  Obviously, these will be somewhat infrequent- my life is not lacking in the “things to do” department.  Hopefully, I will be able to write as I feel led.
Recently in my devotions, I have been reading towards the end of the New Testament, zoning in particularly on the letters of Peter and John.  One thing that stood out clearly in my mind as I studied this section of Scripture was the theme of showing love to those around us.  Here are some key verses from a few of these books:
-1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”
-2 Peter 1:5-7 “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in moral excellence, knowledge, and in knowledge, self-control, and in self-control, perseverance, and in perseverance, godliness, and in godliness, brotherly kindness, and in brotherly kindness, love.”
-1 John 3:11 “For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”
-3 John 5 “Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially strangers.”
Of course, 1 Corinthians 13 is an excellent chapter to read on this topic, but it focuses more on the characteristics of love, while these passages encourage us to love one another.
Every person naturally feels like the center of their own world.  Consistently showing love to family, friends, and strangers is not something that comes easily to a lot of us.  God has blessed some with a more loving attitude than others, but every Christian is capable of showing love.  After all, who is the one who created love?  He is the same God with whom we have a personal relationship.  My Lord is able to fill each of His children with a love that we cannot contain.  Specifically, Peter and John instruct us to love our sisters and brothers in Christ, but we are also encouraged to honour all people (1 Peter 2:17), including strangers (3 John 5).  Here are a few things that help me remember that I ought to love others:
1.    God is love.  If we are to be imitators of Christ (3 John 11), we cannot ignore the most significant aspect of His character- His love.  If I am His child, how can I not be filled with His love?  (1 John 4:20)
2.    God loves us.  “We love, because He first loved us.”  (1 John 4:19)   I think of it this way: if God could love a sinner such as me, then it shouldn’t be a problem for me to love the sinners around me.  God created each and every person with a unique character, and He sees the potential in every one of us.
3.    Love is a witness.  In this world, the tendency is to climb ladders and to look out for only yourself, not caring who gets hurt along the way.  God’s commandment to love one another is in stark contrast to today’s culture, and if we live our lives in His love, we will be brilliant witnesses to the dark world around us.
4.    Love is for our own good.  To put it very simply, I will quote from 1 John 2:25.  “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.”
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  Peter and John saw a need for the church to grow in love.  That need is still there today.  As Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians, we can be gifted, impressive individuals, but if we do not have love, we are nothing.  My prayer today is that there would be a renewing within the church of our love for one another.  I believe if that happens, we will see many amazing acts of God, because when we love, we open the door for Him to work in our lives.

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.