Love Aflame, Luke 24:13-35
Introduction
Charles Spurgeon once wrote of the difficult but satisfying calling of Christians.
Commenting on Hosea 6:1-3, where we are admonished to return to the Lord for the binding up of our wounds, that we may ultimately live in His presence, the prince of preachers spoke these beautiful and true words:
“Artificial piety, like flowers in wax, droops not in the hour of drought, but the fair lily of true grace hangs its head if the rain of heaven be denied. True faith, like fire, has its attendant smoke of unbelief, but presumption like a painted flame is all brightness. Like ships at sea, true Christian have their storms, but mere professors of the faith, like pictured galleys on the canvas, ride on an unruffled ocean. Life has its changes, but death abides the same. Life has muscle, sinew, brain, spirit, and these vary in physical condition; but the petrified limbs of death lie still until the worm has devoured the carcass. Life weeps as well as smiles, but the ghastly grin of death does not relax with anxiety or fear. As no weather can give ague to marble, as no variation of temperature can bring fever to iron, so to some men the events of life, the temptations of prosperity, or the trials of adversity bring little change. Yet it would be better to ebb and flow forever like the sea than to rot in endless stagnation of false peace. Better to be hunted by the hounds of hell, and so driven to the shelter of the cross, than to dwell at ease and be fattening for the devil’s shambles.”
Transition
What Spurgeon is saying is that in God’s economy often salvation is born of great sorrow; our own greatest gift may be a gift whose beauty is born not of peace but of pain; the treasures of this life are not false comfort, peace yielded only of inactivity, but of the beauty of the Cross, even if we were driven to it by pain.
So it is with the great treasure that is the work of Jesus Christ at the Cross! So it is with most beautiful treasure that we can behold in this life; Jesus Himself, who, when considered alongside even the most dazzling jewel in this life, shimmers like the sun in comparison to a dimly lit and fading candle…
Beloved, today we consider the resurrection of our savior, Jesus the Christ.
As I enter the text, my aim will be to shed light not primarily on the fact of the resurrection, though perhaps we will touch on this, but on the result of the resurrection. We will do this by considering what the fact of the resurrection did to two men walking along the road, on the way to Emmaus.
Exposition
Today’s text is a favorite passage of my own. In fact, I have a painting in my office of the scene of Jesus walking with these two men and talking with them. I love this passage because it speaks of the reality of the burning presence of Christ.
In His presence the fire of truth burns away untruth. The fire of love burns away hatred, discouragement, doubt, and fear. No man or woman can for long be near the embers of the burning heart of Christ without being affected or consumed!
Here this statement, for it contains a wealth of biblical truth. No man or woman can be near the love of God without being affected or consumed. The love of God burns so brightly that it purifies those things which are consistent with it or burns away like chaff those things which are inconsistent with it.
Does God love those who are eternally lost to His love? Yes, but the fire of His love burns so brightly, so intensely, so immediately, so fervently, that which will not come under its dominion, that which will not be brought into purity by it, is consumed; burned away; ultimately as though it never was.
Does God love those who are brought eternally into His saving grace by Christ, those who receive the treasure of Christ by faith? Yes! The closer we get to the flames of His love, the more pure we become; the more holy we are made.
Let us consider the text. Let us consider the words of the men with Jesus.
What did the men say after having encountered Jesus? Did they say, “Did not we long to affirm a creedal statement while He was with us? Did not we desire to hold a committee meeting as He spoke? Did not our hearts fill a desire to shine a pew with our backsides as we walked with Jesus?” Is this what they said?
While doctrine matters, its ultimate goal is to lead us to the Cross.
While Church structure is important, its only purpose is to facilitate the edification of the saints and the propagation of the Gospel. It is not a means and end unto itself.
While Church attendance is terribly important for spiritual growth, the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ holds the great potential of setting our hearts aflame with the love of God so that rather than check boxes of religious obligation, we will love because we have been loved; live out of the abundance of the life which we have received in Christ Jesus.
In John 10:10 Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (ESV)
When the love of God breaks into the darkness of the sinner’s heart, it has only one recourse; to bring the dead to life; to set aflame the embers which once were cold as ice; lifeless; now awakened from slumber by grace!
When our hearts are set aflame by the love of God we have only one recourse; that is if we wish for the flame to grow. Why is it that some, upon initially receiving the love of God seem steadily to grow in their devotion, their passion for the things of God, while others, stagnate or even grow cold?
What is the difference between the man or woman who has a growing Christian character and the one who does not? Only a fool or a blind man cannot or will not see that not every believer responds in like fashion to the love of Christ.
Indeed, the variation in our response begs the question as to the very nature of the faith which we have or have not received.
He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?'
But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’ (Matthew 13:24-30 ESV)
Consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:22-27 where, concerning the consummation of this age, He says, “On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." (ESV)
Which one are you? Are you he or she who upon receiving the word of truth embraces it; casts aside the cares of this life, the ambitions of this world, the fruitless works of religious activity, trying to please God, and recognizes the overwhelming beauty and intrinsic worth and value of Christ alone.
Not that we obtain or understand Him perfectly and not that our perfect understanding is necessary. Only that being captured by His perfect love, we set aside all else as supreme in our life, for the supremacy of His love for us.
Or, are we like the weeds, the tares, sown in among the wheat? In all outward appearance they look like wheat, they seem to be wheat; indeed, the farmer thinks that He has a far greater crop that he actually does.
What is the difference? For some it is the matter of actually have received Christ by faith. How many are those who have placed their trust in religion, not Christ?
Believe in God and place your trust in His Son; that’s it – for salvation. “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” Later in the same chapter Jesus says, “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:1; 6 ESV)
Having believed in the Son, having received the love of the Father, having been indwelt, become the very temple of the Holy Spirit, the Triune God of eternity having reconciled you unto Himself and delivered us from death to life…
Fan the flames of the love of God which has taken up residence in your souls! Feed it, like a pyromaniac feeds a fire with the kerosene of the word of God; the dry flammables of fellowship with fellow believers; the parched timbers of abandonment to the overwhelming grace of God!
Does the inner fire burn deep inside of you? Has the love of God so consumed you that the fire burns, unquenchably? I am not talking here about emotional embers, though there is warmth in knowing His love deeply.
I am talking about the lasting eternal presence of the Holy Spirit. I am talking about abandonment to providence. I’m talking about being in love with Christ; letting go of this life and all of its trappings and obtaining only that which has obtained us; the grace of almighty God, which fuels us for this and eternity.
Conclusion
There was something different about Arlington Cemetery on November 26, 1963. The Washington, D.C. burial ground was poignantly illuminated by the “eternal flame” of President John Kennedy’s grave.
The past three days had been surreal for most Americans. No matter what side of the political aisle you sat on, the unbelievability of this assassination attached itself to you. A solemn funeral procession, a composed yet grief-stricken wife, and a saluting three-year-old brought tears to the hardest of human exteriors. And finally, the “eternal flame” would remind us always—of a “difficult day to forget” in November of ‘63.
Obviously, this “eternal flame” must be regularly fueled to continue burning. And at some point, in the temporary scenario for this planet, it will be extinguished forever. Unlike that flame, if you personally know the eternal God, you can say with the Psalmist: “You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning” (Psalm 18:28).
God cannot only fuel your inner fire during this life, but also insure that it will burn brightly throughout eternity. Praise God!
Communion
In today’s Scripture reading, Christ became known to them in the breaking of the bread. Today, He is here, making Himself known to us in the breaking of the bread. He is present, by faith alone, according to grace alone.
That which we could not do for ourselves, He did for us. We could not bring our cold hearts back to life, so He sacrificed His holy life, so that we might live!
We were estranged; by his wounds we are reconciled. We were sick, grieved in our souls because of sin; He clothed Himself in iniquity, clothing us in righteousness, according only to grace.
The embers of God’s love burn so brightly, so intensely, that none can remain unaffected by it. Today, I invite you to partake of the bread of life, the body of Christ broken for reconciliation, the wine of forgiveness, the blood of forgiveness.
If you are wounded, come find healing in His wounds. If you are broken, come find reconciliation in His suffering. If you are alone, come; finding refuge and comfort in His love for you. If you are angry, find peace in His mercy!
If this world has hardened your heart, if it is cold; come to Christ that He alone might set your heart aflame by the love of God, which knows no boundaries of human construction, which knows no limits of worldly concern.
Accomplished poet and writer, Luci Shaw wrote, “But because he was once emptied I am each day refilled; My spirit-arteries pulse with the vital red of love; Poured out, it is his life that now pumps through my own heart’s core. He bled, and died, and I have been transfused.”
We worship Him not primarily because He bled and died. We are able not primarily because of a rugged cross, but because of a vacant tomb. He is alive today! He is raised! Why do you seek Him here, He is alive! He reigns victorious!
He has conquered sin and death and reconciled us into the Father! I invite you this morning not to receive sorrow in the blood He spilled for you and for me. I invite you to receive newness of life; love aflame! Amen.
