pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: fond


by Leave a comment

Love Lived Out

Reading: Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Deuteronomy 6:5 – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength.”

Today and this week is all about staying in love with God. This is John Wesley’s third simple rule. This last “rule of life” empowers one’s efforts to keep the first two rules: “do no harm” and “do good.” These two encapsulate the command to love neighbor as oneself. Our love of neighbor is rooted in our love of God.

In verse 4 we are reminded that there is only one God. Our God is not one of many gods. This too is how God looks at you and at me and at everyone. Each of our relationships with God is supremely important to God. I’m reminded of a line from the book The Shack. Each time Mac asks God about this person or that person, God says, “I’m especially fond of that one.” Every time.

We read one of the two great commands in verse 5: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength.” Love was a word used in ancient covenants. In this Near Eastern context this kind of love implied total obedience and faithfulness to the covenant. But because our God is a relational God, this concept of love extends far beyond our expected external and ethical behaviors. Within the faith context, there is an added depth of internal devotion. Hence the charge to love God with all that we are: heart, being, and strength.

Verses 6-9 reveal how this internal, comprehensive love of God is meant to impact all of communal life. We are to remind ourselves and our children to love God and neighbor, “talking” about it all the time. We are to “write” this command to love on the hand and forehead, on the doorframes of our houses, and in the gates of our cities. We are to talk and write about the love of God in our homes, in our neighborhoods, and in our communities. We talk and write by being love lived out in all aspects of life. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, this call to love is comprehensive. May it begin in our heart and soul, growing our love of you through worship, study, meditation, and prayer. Then may it grow from this place, moving out into all of our relationships, allowing each person we encounter to experience your great love for them. Amen.


by 1 Comment

Favor

Reading: Luke 1: 26-30

Verse 30: “Do not be afraid… you have found favor with the Lord”.

Out of the blue, an angel visits Mary.  Her first reaction is what I think mine would be: fear.  The angel greets her and then tells her that the Lord is with her.  Maybe her fears subsided a bit knowing that God was with her.  In that moment, though, Mary must have really been wondering what would be coming next.  I would be!

Our passage tells us that Mary was “troubled” – again, a reaction I think most of us would have if an an angel appeared to us.  At a minimum, if I am being honest, knowing that I was on the brink of something big, I would be really troubled.  While it is probably quite exciting when an angel comes for a visit (I assume it is), there is also the scary recognition that things are about to change pretty seriously.

The angel then says to Mary, “Do not be afraid… you have found favor with the Lord”.  The first part is good to hear, but the second part is great to hear.  Mary has found favor with God!  Hallelujah!  Praise be!  Amen!  Yes, it is indeed wonderful to know that she has found favor with God.  While in this setting it is particularly good news for Mary, our reality is that this is good news for us as well.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we have all found favor with God.

In the book The Shack, the lead character Mac and God have frequent conversations.    Most of the time when the conversation is about people in Mac’s life, they are people that he could do without.  Each and every time God says, “Oh yes, I am especially fond of that one”.  Every time.  Although it is just a fictional book, I believe this part to really be true.  God is especially fond of every human being because we are all children of God.  He loves us all.  And some – those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior – have found favor with God.  Talk about good news!  Hallelujah and amen!