WONDERS OF THE SPIRITUAL REALM IN WHICH CHRISTIANS RESIDE AND ABIDE
As surely as there are Wonders of the Natural World, there are Wonders of the Spiritual Realm in which Christians reside and abide!
To wonder about the existence of “this or that”, or to wonder why “this or that” occurs, has been - for some of us - a normal part of life’s learning experience.
Do you ever wonder why for example when a preacher says, “in closing”, he doesn’t . . . a speaker who needs no introduction gets one anyway . . . a mom who punishes a child for lying will instruct the same child, “Just say I’m not home”?
Some things in this world cause us to pause, in awe, at the wonder of it – the Grand Canyon . . . the moon and the stars . . . sunrise . . . sunset . . . that first kiss . . . wedding bliss . . . a newborn baby’s cry . . . the surprise of waking up and breathing fresh air after a long night of discontent.
All these wonders notwithstanding, there is a wonder that, for me, is indeed “the wonder of it all” – simply put by Bev Shea in one of his most endearing songs:
“There’s the wonder of sunset at evening, the wonder as sunrise I see; but the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul is the wonder that God loves me.
“O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me. O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me.”
Q: Why would God, the Creator, love me, a sinner? Because He made me? Well, yes, but there’s more to it than that. He made me on purpose for a purpose - mutual fellowship forever! However,
As humans are prone to do, Adam and Eve messed up, rebelled, alienated “themselves” from God their Maker who, fortunate for them (and us), loved them (us).
God chose, not to retaliate by casting this disobedient twosome off the face of the earth but, to discipline them by banning them from the serenity of Paradise, yet not forever. When the time came, God cast those whom he loved a “lifeline” so they could be saved and start over- on His terms. Thus,
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten (one and only) Son, that whosoever truly believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved”.
God’s terms for being saved, and for starting over, are well documented: Repent (repentance toward God) . . . Reckon Jesus to be the Christ, Son of God, accepting Him as Savior and acknowledging Him as Lord . . . Receive God’s gift of eternal life.
Yes, the wonder of it all! God so loved that He sent His one and only Son, who so loved that He paid the penalty for sins, so that all who repent of their sins, reckon God’s Son to be Savior and Lord, receive God’s gift of eternal life.
So, the second wonder of our spiritual realm is that God’s Son (who became the substitute sacrifice for our sins) loved us just as His Father loved Him!
Folks, I can understand that the Father loved His Son. That’s only natural!
But, it’s breath-taking that God’s Son loved me as the Father loved Him . . . the Son tells me to love others as He loved me . . . the Son promises fullness of joy to those who “act out” His kind of love in all their relationships – John 15:9-17 . . .
Just to think that God loves me . . . Jesus loves me . . . Jesus would think of me as someone who could love others as God loved Him and as He loved me . . . Jesus promises fullness of joy to those who “act out” His and the Father’s love, makes me wonder what kind of “love” He’s talking about.
Love is a complex word. It’s a word we use, overuse, abuse in so many ways that we have almost lost the real meaning of it. We say we love almost everything and everybody we have anything to do with . . . and sometimes we end up looking for love in all the wrong places.
The challenge of this discourse by Jesus is to discern what He meant when He talked about love with respect to all the relationships that exist between God the Father, God the Son, we the children of God - and others.
Certainly, He’s not talking about engaging in universal romantic relationships . . . establishing personal friendships with everybody we meet . . . endorsing every behavior and lifestyle known to man, as is the case with nominal, casual Christians . . . agnostics and atheists - those who embrace “tolerance extremism” . . .
Here Jesus is talking about love for “one another”, “each other”, an obvious reference to our fellowship of believers. We “agape” each other in the sense that we care deeply - to the extent that we do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, where it needs to be done, for as long as it needs to be done - relative to supplying, providing, meeting the needs of brothers and sisters in Christ.
Never, however, ought we forget about a Christian’s duty to be concerned, and to care about “other sheep” that are “not of this fold” --- lost sheep that need to be found . . . prodigals that need to come home . . . enemies that need to be converted. Agape cares enough about them to pray for them and witness to them without becoming one of them.
Christians are not to “go to bed” with the enemy – moral, political, cultural or religious. If the enemy cannot be converted, move on to the savable. Jesus did not command us to romantically or brotherly (sisterly) get involved with people of the world who would stamp out our Christian Faith, destroy Christian Churches, or kill Christ’s followers. He commanded us to agape them!
Notice the promotion Jesus grants to those who obey His command to love one another? He elevates them to a new status - that of friends – His companions in whom He resides . . . confides . . . abides, and over whom He presides. Friends enjoy a mutual relationship of confiding and abiding. Then they graduate to that higher status - friends forever. Forever Friends!
Notice the state of being which agape love imparts. Agape each other as a way of life, relate to Jesus as a friend, and you find yourself - no matter what the circumstances might be - as contented as a cow chewing its cud.
You may not smile all the time, or laugh a lot, but nonetheless you have within you an indescribable state of being that Jesus likened to the joy that is His - meaning the joy that He the Son of God experienced as He faced death.
Remember that, as our Lord neared the Cross, He spoke of the joy that was set before Him. The joy that was set before Him? How could this be – a quiet confidence and contentment, a satisfying sense of exhilaration and excitement, that mystical state of being at peace with God and with oneself, yet facing death on a cross!
Set before Him was the final victory over sin and death. . . fulfillment of His purpose for coming into the world . . . His reign at the right hand of God – a reign that shall know no end! Deep inside of the victorious Christ was unspeakable joy, undeniable joy, unending joy!
Set before you, set before me, is our final war with whatever . . . victory that overcomes the world . . . God our Father’s welcome Home. Deep inside of that victorious Christian life which we are living is unspeakable joy, undeniable joy, unending joy! And,
For the joy that is set before us, we go on, day by day - residing in, confiding in, abiding in Jesus Christ who says to us, in effect, “Abide in me, and I in thee, and you will see what a glorious outcome there will be.” Amen.
