Jeremiah 31:3
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
The cool thing about seeking the Lord is He is more desirous to have you know Him than we are to know Him. If He is allowed, He becomes our Best Friend, Spiritual Father, and Savior. As our Best Friend, He wants to be included in everything, and as our Father, He wants to spend time with His son or daughter, and as Savior, He longs for us to be with Him. As we read His Word, He wants to build us up, strengthen us, and make us men and women of integrity and faith, and you know what? It doesn’t come easy, but it sure feels awfully good. It will make you smile as it does mine and bring peace to our hearts. Like that old song, “Guilty feet have no rhythm,” righteousness is the perfect beat for our soul.
The only “problem” we have is God’s love, and despite all the evidence we have in scripture of His love, many of us do not know His love for us. We think I can see Him loving the pastor or “Billy or Lisa,” because they are good people and help in the church, but not me. What do I do? I’m not even a good Christian. We are stuck on performance, the act of doing. Doing is part of the Christian’s life. Jesus even said that by our fruits, people would know us, but fruit on anything, a peach, apple, etc., comes from the tree abiding in the soil, getting its water and fertilizer, producing fruit. So before doing so, we must be abiding.
John 15:4-5
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine; ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can — do nothing.
I can’t entirely agree with churches that send new believers into the community for service work. They are too young in the faith to represent Christ adequately. They need to go with a mature believer. It would be like sending two new employees to do a landscape job. It would be such a poor reflection on me and the company.
Is there a way to measure when we are ready? An excellent gauge is Psalm 1.
Psalms 1:1-3
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (where do our affections lay?).
When you find yourself enjoying the presence of the Lord more than the world, I think that’s a good indication. However, let’s ask a few simple questions: what distinguishes Psalm 1, man or woman? Do they have a master’s in Theology, or are they on several boards of charitable organizations? We put so much emphasis on education or training, but these scriptures do not say anything about that. They say that our heart’s delight is in God’s law and that they meditate on it frequently. If we do that, God will give us the words. The word blessed here results from the Word being one’s delight. Have you come to this for yourself?
Proverbs 3:13-14
Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gets understanding.
For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
Being blessed is the state of being content, not because of wealth, favorable circumstances, or any external things, but because we live according to how we were made to know the Lord. Paul and Silas sang praises in jail in the middle of the night, and they were in pain from being beaten earlier (Acts 16:25). To find pleasure or delight in God’s Word as our chief source of peace and wisdom is how you know you are maturing. Question: how much time should we spend in prayer and Bible study? I spend a 1/2 hr. daily ( my lunch time) and would love to have more. So, I make up for it on the weekend, but my faith has been built on a 1/2 hr. a day. That’s one reason why it takes me so long to write Vida.
My next question is: Do trials, problems, and frustrations help us to grow? Here’s an answer most people do not like, but absolutely! Without trials, there is no growth. Again, back to plants, when do they aggressively put out their roots, when there’s plenty of water, or when there’s a lack of water?
Romans 5:3-5
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
And hope maketh not ashamed; the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost given unto us.
To know God’s love for YOU is INCREDIBLE. It is not intellectual but heartfelt. It enables you to undergo trials and difficulties, seemingly impossible situations because you feel connected to Him. It’s wonderful. However, as part of our training, He sometimes pulls away. It’s like walking a mountain path. During the day, it’s easy; you can see the path and feel the sun’s warmth, but continuing through the night is a different story. It’s pitch black and cold; unlike the day, you cannot see what’s ahead of you. We must trust and exercise our faith that He is still there and will not let us fall off the path. Scripture says, “for the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).” These are the trial periods in our life. They are necessary, like lifting weights or running to lift more or running longer. It’s hard. It’s not easy to fight against your flesh. We may consider these the dry periods in our lives, the testing of our faith.
Romans 7:22 – 8:1
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched (divided) man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For those of us who have been raised with love, this is not as big a challenge as for those who felt rejected growing up. Now it feels as if God himself is rejecting us, or for those of us whose love was conditional, “I love you IF you act this way, or do this for me,” which is absolutely not true of God; God loves us period. However, when God feels absent, it’s tough. Performance, or conditional love, is not love. Imagine living in a glass house (our soul)and looking out from there. Life is like looking through a clear window for those of us who have had at least one parent or grandparent who loved us. The majority of us have not had that privilege. Life for us is like looking through a window of shattered glass, and to the degree that we have been hurt and or rejected is to the degree our glass is shattered.
You can have two people, one raised with love and one raised with conditions/rejection experience, hear the same thing, and come back with a completely different reaction and interpretation of the situation.
And it can be frustrating for the one whose glass is mostly clear. However, the one who sees life through shattered glass cannot be expected to see in the same way as the one whose glass is clear. Their interpretation of the event and or life, for that matter, is seen differently. Generally, the one whose internal window is clear tends to trust people more or believe things will turn out okay, especially with God involved. The other struggles with trust and tends to believe the worst. Trust must be earned countless times with them. Therefore, the one who is a conduit of God’s love for them must apply much love, patience, and continued kindness.
The end goal for the one struggling with life is for them to come to the Lord without the fear of being rejected by Him. A lot of times, people don’t read their Bibles because of this fear. It’s much safer and easier to “believe” God loves you but never actually experience it. What if you come to Him and He rejects you, like your parents or spouse? Where do you go? That fear, for some, is insurmountable. We who know God’s love underestimate our role as parents, spouses, and friends. How we treat our relationships, especially those that are wounded, is how they will feel God feels about them.
Our role is vast, and if you are going to make a mistake, over-love rather than under-love. I can promise you you will get criticism for being too soft or spoiling the child, but that criticism will likely come from those who have not experienced God’s love for themselves. Note the source, pray for them, and love them too.
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Our self-worth is a delicate thing. It should come from the Lord. However, He is too abstract for shattered glass people, and that bridge is too long. We cannot see or feel Him, and if we are honest with ourselves, we even struggle to believe that our spouse loves us, but at least we can see them. We may say God loves us with our mouths, but our actions prove the contrary. That emotional wall of separation is hard to tear down. Would you share your hurts, most profound longings and fears, joys, and tears with someone you don’t know? We might go to church because it makes us feel better about ourselves, and we could even become super busy with church.
Volunteering is a means to prove to ourselves, to others, and to God that we love Him or that we are good people, but action is not proof of love; proof of love is ABIDING. However, God’s love in us produces sincere action, the action that wants to glorify Him. We can spend every free moment on church activities, and within 5 to 10 years, we will be burnt out because we were doing it in our strength, not God’s. It was all for the wrong reasons. I’ve seen this happen multiple times, and it is not Christ’s doing. Read Psalm 23. Does this overburdened with doing seem like something He wants from us?
Psalms 23:1-3
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Let’s learn, and press in, and truly know that God is our Shepherd. Amen?
Father,
Thank you for this study. Please apply it to us and cause us to make You our treasure, like the man in the parable who sold all his possessions to buy a field because of the treasure in the field. Help us to release the care and wants of this world into Your hands, knowing that You want to fill us with Your love, and these other things are simply distractions trying to route us away from You.
Thank you, and Amen,
Your son by Grace,
Arthur
Matthew 13:44
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field (that treasure is Jesus and selling all to know Him better).
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