Skip to main content

Being In Love Jesus' Way

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 
And I will ask the Father, 
and he will give you another Advocate, 
to be with you forever.

The novel, Lila, by Madelyn Robinson is a memorable, distinct, love story.

Lila is abandoned as a toddler, rescued by Doll, a young drifter, and raised in a poverty-stricken childhood with Doll's strong sisterly love.

Homeless as an adult, Lila's shelter from a rainstorm, is a church.

Lila and the minister marry, begin a new life, trying to avoid previous lives based on loneliness and abandonment.

The result is a weak marriage based on shared loneliness to provide comfort and life in a tenuous peace.

Being in love, according to Jesus, works far differently.

First, Jesus does not abandon his disciples leaving them orphans on the doorstep of a commandment.

Instead, begins by Jesus clearly defining the boundaries of that love: 

   “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you".

Being in love, according to Jesus, begins with being chosen by God to be in the world God loves which is probably why the word "Love" appearing 57 times in John's gospel.

So, at the end of each day, ask yourself: “In what ways did I or didn't I love according to Jesus?” 

The hard part of being in love according to Jesus, is doing it. 

Second, Jesus promises more than homelessness and seeking shelter in a storm try loving like Jesus.

The Holy Spirit,Jesus says, will nurture the disciples as they mature from learners to tutors.

Since God promise is Spirit being with disciples forever, everything the disciples were taught and experienced is equally available to us.

Finally, love according to Jesus is more than shared loneliness providing comfort and a life of tenuous peace.

Being in love according to Jesus, with the Spirit's presence, gives us new a purpose for living: to go and bear fruit in Jesus' name.

Think about it: Have you ever been lost or abandoned? If so, how did you feel and what did you do?


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grantchester's Warning

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, the owner would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (from Luke 12:32-40 ) I regularly watch Grantchester; a murder mystery set in 1950s England. The main characters are a local detective and an Anglican priest who, as a team, solve mysteries set in the town. Two aspects of Grantchester impress me. First, the simplicity of the 1950’s police communications done by a landline phone and not cell phone. Second, the simplicity of daily life with little television and fewer possessions allowing the characters to focus on their vocation of detective and priest. This simplicity is more than a nostalgic return to the “good old days”. Instead, it’s a Shaker type of simplicity where austerity allows freedom from distractions to focus on worship and community. Today’s distraction-filled world has seemingly countless activ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Walking with God

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. (from Ps.103:1-8 ) Thomas Merton, American Trappist monk, writer and theologian, once asked himself a question he immediately answered:   How does an apple ripen? The apple, by simply being in the sun, fulfills its purpose of ripening, The apple doesn't try to ripen faster, it simply allows the sun to do its work.   There is nothing it can do to ripen itself. It can’t do workouts, tighten its muscles and then suddenly be a red, ripened, juicy apple in the morning. The apple just hangs on the branch in the sun, naturally ripening, where it receives its daily nourishment. This is the basic plan for how Christians ripen in their relationship to God. The difference is that Christians don’t naturally ripen in their relationship to God, we have to place themselves where we can be nourished. The beginning place of nourishment I find most helpful is the Guide to Prayer For All Who Walk With God. The daily walk in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jesus, Deliverance, and Demons

"Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind." (from Luke 8:26-39 ) Astrid is a streaming program I often watch. The plot is a basic cops and robbers action until the criminal is caught. The uniqueness of the program is Astrid, who is on the Autism spectrum, is brilliant at solving puzzles including connecting clues to solve the crime. Watching this program has given me a more profound insight to people living with this condition and their acceptance in society. My first-hand experience with children on the Spectrum was driving a Special Needs school bus for 6 years. With this experience, I can imagine the life the possessed man was experiencing, especially living among the tombs, bound with chains and shackles, having to live in the wilds. It was no wonder he cried for mercy. Jesus, with his power and mercy, cast the demons out and even...
Post a Comment
Read more