Tag Archives: encourages

How much does love cost?

 

Greatest Of These — Hillsong UNITED

 

How much did it cost God or what was the price He paid in order to invite us into fellowship with Him? When Jesus left heaven and came to earth, He disadvantaged Himself – that is love. In Jesus we see God’s love. He disadvantaged Himself so that I could enter into the fellowship of a triune God.

 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”. – John 13:34-35  ESV

I ran across a children’s lesson on love, fellowship and how that fits into a disciple’s life. It is simple and straight to the point.

 

D- Devoted to Christ: A disciple doesn’t walk away from their brothers and sisters. They love no matter what.

I- Involved: A disciple of Christ cares about other disciples. He or she gets involved in the good things that are happening around them.

S-Spirit: The Holy Spirit lives in all disciples. He keeps us full of peace!

C-Christ-centred:  No matter what, Jesus is the centre of everything a disciple does.

I-Invites others to meet Jesus. A true disciple of Jesus invites others to meet Jesus.

P-Prays for other disciples. That’s love, through and through!

L-Loves at all times. Even when it is hard to do so, a disciple loves other disciples at all times. Love covers sins!

E-Encourages other disciples. If I follow Jesus, I must be an encourager!

 

When I take the verse above in context, it would seem that Jesus was telling His disciples something important about His leaving them. For up until that point, everyone knew they were disciples because they were with Jesus, following Him. Since Jesus was leaving there had to be a new identification marker. It came out as a new commandment – love each other.

There is the first and greatest commandment to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Then there is the second commandment to love my neighbour as myself. Why do I need another commandment?

It seems so simple and obvious, why is it so compelling and extraordinarily challenging? I think it is the twist that Jesus added – “just as I have loved you.” 

God is love. The Father offered His only Son, a Son He loved beyond words to see Him broken, rejected and killed. Jesus pain would be His pain. Jesus, God in the flesh, is the embodiment of love. The Spirit would be poured out on the earth in mostly silent and invisible ways. He would offer to lead and guide, never exalting Himself, and always pointing to the Son. Mostly, those outpourings would be ignored or denied. He finds Himself quenched and grieved. Yet He willing pays the price so that anyone might enter into their fellowship.

What a price to pay to say to me – I love you!

 

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Weakness

 

Fill me with Thy gracious Spirit

 

One thing I bring daily to Jesus is my weakness. I lean on Him every day in simple faith. Weakness is a burden, they can become my chains. Carrying them alone means another day of failing. What a release when I turn them over to Jesus and let Him carry me and my burdens – He finds a way to take that weakness that I offer Him and turns it into a strength. The secret must be that He does not remove the weakness necessarily, but He will give His own power so that I may be strong. This strength I can find when I seek to be that humble, trusting disciple. 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9  ESV

I think of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane – thinking about the cup of suffering – and the Father confirming that everything was going as planned. I have been in many situations where I have asked the plan to change, to have the weakness removed, to have a miraculous provision. In my heart, I knew that the prayer was not what the Father had in mind for me.

Paul saw weakness not as a liability, but rather as a way of being totally surrendered to the Lord.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:10  ESV

And as Psalm 78 encourages me, I give ear to my Father, with submission and reverence, silent and earnest, so that I might capture the instructions given and to move forward properly understanding what He has asked of me.  

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth! – Psalm 78:1  ESV

Psalm 78 also brings me back to the ultimate parent/child relationship that expresses the power of investing in “weakness” and what that looks like. It is an expression of discipleship.

We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.

So that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God. – Psalm 78:4,7-8  ESV

I need to see faith, I need to see that those who follow God will set their hope in Him. I want to make sure that no one forgets God’s work of redemption – that includes the stories in the Old Testament. This is fundamental to my faith and that is why it needs to be the same for others. These stories of weakness, given to God, make me a stronger person as I follow Him.

 

 

 

 

 

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