One in Christ
One day we will all awaken to the reality that we are one in Christ. We are all children of God, given the very breath in our lungs, life in our bodies, and spirit in our souls from the God who made us all.
“Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always...the land you are crossing the Jordan to take...is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end...faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul...Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many...See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods"
Deuteronomy 11:1-5, 7-9, 11-16, 18-28
What does it mean to you to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength? What does it mean to God? One of the true principles of love is that it is a voluntary choice. Love cannot be forced or compelled or it is not truly love. Do you ever think about the fact that God does not make you do anything? The relationship He desires with us is that of family.
Within a family, a parent can make a child do some thing, but not love doing it. God does not desire want us to operate out of begrudged obedience or fear. He wants us to choose to love fully and freely. Are you doing any of your service for the Lord or spiritual disciplines out of obligation?
God sets before us a blessing or a curse. He offers a gold medal and warns of a German shepherd. The gold medal is the prize of new life in Christ. New life connected to community. Peace unexplainable as God provides for all we need and gives purpose to our life. The benefits of the blessings of God are countless. He also warns that you can choose to walk the road of disobedience or rebellion, but you should know it leads to destruction. It is life where you live like you are running from a German shepherd. What have you chosen? What will you choose? How will you use your story and God's truth to help someone else? Victory in Christ is never meant to be lived alone.
“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord.”
Psalms 14:1-2, 4
Just because someone says something does not mean it is true. We live in a world where many opinions and much information is shared. David says there will be some people who say there is no God. There are many people who actively pursue evil and intentionally harm others. What is our natural response to such people? Do we not label them, judge them, and avoid them?
Is that what God calls us to do? In the passage above, did God say love me with all your heart and make sure to judge as many people as possible? Certainly not. This does not mean we have to listen or agree with the opinions of fools or people who find ways to do wrong. What does God say He wants? People who seek Him. People who are open to being vessels of truth, grace, and love. Where is your focus? Is it on drawing close to God so that you can be the person who acts and reacts with love?
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing. A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. Truly the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.”
Proverbs 11:2, 4, 7, 13-14, 19-20, 24-26, 28, 30
There will be barriers to living out our call to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. While it might sound simple to follow His ways, no one ever said it would be easy. What are some barriers to follow Jesus? Pride, the pursuit of wealth, trusting in people more than your personal Savior, gossip, greed, and living a disconnected life. Which of these are easiest for you to avoid and which are hardest? Why?
Within the wisdom of Solomon exist real world scenarios of God's promise that there are two sides of every coin. There is a blessing and a curse depending on whether we choose to love God or love the ways of the world. Solomon says you can be prideful or humble. You can pursue wealth at all costs or doing what is right no matter the cost. You can place your hope in God or in humanity. You can be trustworthy or not. You can be generous or selfish. You can live a life that produce fruit and helps bring salvation to others or not. What will you choose? How could you grow in your decision making so that you can receive the blessing and become a blessing?
“And he measured the length of the inner sanctuary; it was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits across the end of the main hall. He said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”
Ezekiel 41:4
A truth emerges in scripture that we can find the Most Holy Place and grow in the holiness of our how we live. Just like any journey begins with look at a map, evaluating where you are, and casting vision for where you want to go, so our path to becoming the likeness of Christ involves examination of our hearts.
What is the state of your heart today? Is Christ the plumb line for your life? Often life is not all or nothing, but we see areas where we have surrendered to Christ and areas where we have not. God clearly uses the word all frequently when commanding to love all and follow because He knows how easily a drop of oil can pollute living water. Examine your heart. Examine your mind. Examine your life by looking at the fruit you are producing. How are you feeding others and following Jesus? This should be a daily exercise if not more frequent.
“After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
Galatians 3:3, 5-6, 9-11, 13-14, 26-29
Do you ever wonder how to live out a life of loving God with all? Paul had to work through the same challenges as he was transformed from a Pharisee who hated the followers of Jesus to one who championed the message of Christ to all people. What does Paul teach us from what he has learned?
He says you have a choice. You can live your life in such a way where you measure your performance against the rules of the law or you can live by faith in Christ. You cannot live both ways. They are counter to each other. The law focuses on how well you have done to earn salvation. Living by faith in Christ declares that it is by the grace of Christ alone and what He did on the cross and through the empty tomb that we become the children of God.
You can say you don't live by the law, but examine the way you are thinking. Do you ever think you do not measure up? Do you ever think you are not good enough or you have not done enough? Flip the script. Do you ever feel like you are good because you haven't done bad recently? Do you ever feel like you are in right standing because you give, serve, and attend church? Each of these mindsets fundamentally rely on our own performance. Paul says that is not living by faith.
What is living by faith? Loving God with all of your heart, mind, and strength in response to what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do in and through you. Our actions are all meant to be in response to His great love. This is the key to transformation and reconciliation. How do we love the people who are not like us, appear to be our enemies, or frustrate us with their words and actions? We respond out of the love we receive with love that we let flow through us. As we do, we begin to realize that other people are not our enemies, they are also people who were made by God to love God. We do not love them based on their performance and we are not loved because of our own. We love because Jesus first loved us.
You are made to love. Made to love God and love others. You have strengths and gifts that can uniquely bring love to the world today. How will you use what you have been given to love God back? How will you respond to the love you have been given? Will you listen to the voice of truth and choose to live by faith that we are one in Christ? Paul says do this and you will find a life that is as blessed as the promised land was to the people who first heard God's call.