Hen and Chicks - Matthew 23:37-39

"The Lament over Jerusalem"

 

37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

 

38 "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!

 

39 "For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'"

 

The Timing of These Words

 

The timing with which Jesus uttered these three short sentences is very significant.

 

He said them right after an enormous diatribe against the Pharisees (Matthew 21-23), proclaiming their condemnation ... and right before His longest explanation of the coming judgment of the End Times (Matthew 24-25).  What's more, He condemned the Pharisees for murdering the prophets (23:34-35), and explained that the same will be committed against Christians during the Tribulation (24:9) - the exact same thing he accuses the residents of Jerusalem of in this passage.

 

So, far beyond serving only as a segue into talk of the End Times, this passage serves another function: It demonstrates God's incredible love, and His desire for everyone to come to repentance so He does not have to punish them, in the middle of two condemnation passages.

 

Jerusalem, Who Kills ...

 

The prophets God sent to the Israelites were for their own sake, to bring the Jews back into God's blessing - and they still killed them.  It communicates an incomprehensible amount of love that God would want to forgive them despite that evil sin.

 

But I'd like to put out there that it goes even deeper than that - that God is yearning for them to come back to Him because of that evil sin.  That is, I believe that our sin, and our misery that results from it, makes God so sad that the more sinful you become, the more God wants you to come to Him.

 

"I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."

- Luke 15:7

 

Hen and Chicks

 

Have you ever actually seen a hen gathering a chick under her wings?  It totally changes how to read this passage.  I couldn't find an image free for the public domain or with a usage release to post here, but I think it's important that you guys see what it actually looks like, so click this link to take you to a results page for a Google Images search for "hen chicks under wing" to see what I mean.

 

What's important about this is that you see that the chicken is blocking the chicks from harm with her own body.  Whatever is trying to eat the chicks will attack her, and she will bear all the suffering and pain.  She may die protecting her chicks.  Sound like Jesus?

 

But the Jews refused to accept His love.  So, He let their nation have what they wanted - knowing that one day, at the end of the world, they would finally learn from their suffering and see that they need Him.

 

Desolate

 

... which brings us to the part about leaving their house desolate.

 

The "house" referred to is the Temple.  God would no longer manifest Himself in the Temple, but would indwell believers instead (Mark 15:37-38, Ezekiel 36:27, Romans 8:11, 1 Corinthians 6:19).  On top of that, the Temple would be destroyed by the Romans 40 years later, and has not been rebuilt since.

 

But, here's the thing:  The time when

• The Jewish Temple will exist (be rebuilt / have been rebuilt) and be in use again (Revelation 11:1, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, Daniel 9:27)  and
• The Jews will say, "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!" permanently (Revelation 7:9-10, 19:5-6)

coincides - at the very end.

 

Which is a topic we'll dive into with a lot more depth the next few weeks. :-)

Two Riddles - Matthew 22:23-40

Scripture #1

 

23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him,

 

24 asking, "Teacher, Moses said, 'IF A MAN DIES HAVING NO CHILDREN, HIS BROTHER AS NEXT OF KIN SHALL MARRY HIS WIFE, AND RAISE UP CHILDREN FOR HIS BROTHER.'

 

25 "Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother;

 

16 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh.

 

27 "Last of all, the woman died.

 

28 "In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had married her."

 

29 But Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.

 

30 "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

 

31 "But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God:

 

32 'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB'?  He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

 

33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

 

The Sadducees Join In

 

The Sadducees' question to Jesus was presented in a different way than the Pharisees challenged Him: Rather than trying to trap Him into angering some group or another with a controversial answer, they wanted to completely baffle Him - thereby not only demonstrating Him to be a fool (thus eliminating the "Jesus problem" that plagued all the Jewish religious elite), but also providing a significant victory for their side of the doctrinal argument they waged with the Pharisees by showing that belief in a resurrection is illogical.  It was a chance to take out two types of enemies at once.  But, once again, Jesus simply could be defeated.

 

Now, to us, the aspect of the Mosaic Law where a man was to marry his late brother's wife so their first child would count as his brother's descendant is not exactly commonplace.  But in terms of the Sadducees' challenge, it's no different that a situation we see as normal: A widow or widower marrying again after the death of the original spouse.  With the "weirdness" of marrying your brother's wife out of the way, it's easy to see why this scenario was an applicable objection to the concept of life after death.

 

But Jesus explained that after we die, we become like the angels.  Note the word like - we do not become angels when we die, no matter what the media and art portray.  Angels are separate created beings with distinctive appearances (see Ezekiel 1:1-28 and 10:20, and Isaiah 6:1-8), whereas our eternal, glorified bodies will be like Christ's (1 John 3:2); additionally, 1 Peter 1:10-12 reveals that God distinguishes between humans and angels in that he allows us to understand salvation on a deeper level (so, becoming an angel would be regressing).  However, we will be like angels in the sense that we will be outside of a social construct involving marriage and romance.  Our relationships with each other will change in eternity.

 



 

Jesus expanded into defending the very principle of life after death, not just refuting their example.  You see, God proclaimed Himself to be the God in the present tense of those 3 patriarchs long after they were all dead in Exodus 3 when He's speaking to Moses through the burning bush.  He did not say, "I WAS the God of..." He said "I AM the God of..."  Since "I AM" is an extremely common name of God used in the Old Testament (it's translated "Lord," so we don't see it spelled out a lot), Jesus used something that even the most uneducated Jew would have been familiar with to refute the Sadducees' lofty theological stance with one blow.

 

Some people claim that life after death was a new concept introduced in the New Testament, but this simply is not true.  For example, the Pharisees believed in a spiritual resurrection of the dead - that's why they fought with the Sadducees!  Here are just a couple of Old Testament examples pointing to life after death:

 

Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

 

Genesis 37:35: "... Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son..."

 

Would you like eternal life?  Click here to learn how to have it in English, or click here to learn in a different language.

 

Scripture #2

 

34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together.

 

35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him,

 

36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

 

37 And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'

 

38 "This is the great and foremost commandment.

 

39 "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'

 

40 "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

 

Last Ditch Effort

 

At least in Matthew's account, this is the last question the religious elite try to baffle Christ with.  This question wasn't one with a yes-or-no answer that would alienate some people either way; it was a very open-ended challenge that could mean it opened many people up to offense...or it could mean an epic fail for the Pharisees if Jesus's answer was wise.  The outcome, of course, was the latter.

 

Although it seems like an incredibly simple answer to us who have heard it dozens if not hundreds (if not thousands!) of times, the fact that literally every single command and every single prophetic message can be boiled down to Loving God and Loving Our Neighbors (which is, in itself, a mere manifestation of Loving God) is critical to our theology.  Here I share two particularly major ways it does:

• We Christians believe that we are under the "New Covenant," meaning we don't have a long list of rules to keep, but rather, as a response to God's grace, try to live our lives in a way that pleases Him (Hebrews 9:15, Romans 6).  Since God never changes and His Law is eternally holy (Hebrews 13:8, Matthew 5:17-18), the Old and New Covenants have to "mesh" somehow - and they do by the fact that Old Testament rules demonstrated an itemized way to live out the New Covenant principle during a specific time period God chose.
• We also believe that even those who have never heard the Gospel have the opportunity to recognize in their hearts that they are imperfect and cannot become perfect people on their own (Romans 1:20, Revelation 5:9 and 7:9).  In order for them to be able to try to follow God's standards (just as we do), it has to be able to be boiled down to such simple principles that anyone could think of, not seemingly-random manifestations given only to the Jews like don't eat lobster.

So, how can we live out:

• Loving God with all our heart?
• Loving God with all our soul?
• Loving God with all our mind?
• Loving our neighbors as ourselves?

Let's each mull over those questions today, and if you come up with an idea worth sharing, leave a comment. :-)  Or if you have something else to add to our discussion, feel free to speak up!

 

Image Credit: "The queen bee in a hive" by Bienenkoenigin_43a.jpg and B kimmel.  Wikipedia.  Used by permission.



Racism and Deja Vu? - Matthew 15:21-39

The Syrophonecian Woman

 

21 Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon.

 

22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed."

 

23 But He did not answer her a waord.  And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, "Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us."

 

24 But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

 

25 But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"

 

26 And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

 

27 But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

 

28 The Jesus said to her, "O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish."  And her daughter was healed at once."

 

I don't usually spend time on the locations these events occurred in, but I think this story is a useful opportunity to discuss it a bit.  Jesus was in Gennesaret before, which was a town next to Capernaum on the coast of the sea of Galilee (an inland sea).  In this story, he travels to the region of Tyre and Sidon (two "heathen" cities famous in the Old Testament), which are about 40 miles to the North-West of Gennesaret, and are coastal cities on the Mediterranian Sea.  They were in non-Jewish territory, and were even outside Herod's jurisdiction.  Which brings us to the important question here: Why on earth would Jesus travel there? 

 

One possibility is that the Pharisees started plotting to kill Him after their encounter with Him that occurred immediatly before these verses (although that is not mentioned in this passage, as it is elsewhere), and He departed to elude their grasp.  Another possibility is hinted at at the parallel verse in Mark 7:24 - that He needed a break from the crowds, so He went far away into non-Jewish territory where perhaps He would not be recognized.  If this is the case, perhaps He did so in order that He could focus on teaching His disciples (which is more important, from an eternal perspective) instead of all his time being consumed with physical healings.  But, in the end, we don't know for sure why He ever travelled where He did.  Indeed, there are numerous instances in the Gospels where locations are mentioned for no apparent reason.  Perahps the authors of the Gospels mentioned the locations to add validity to their accounts of Jesus's life.

 

We get to witness here another case of the disciples not exactly being at their best.  Before judging them too harshly, we should remember that in thier culture, women were of extremely low caste, and Gentiles were looked on with derision, so the disciples' reaction to this Gentile woman "pestering" them and their Teacher was normal for their culture.  But, normal does not mean right.  Just because something is accepted in our culture does not mean it meets God's standards of correct behavior (in this case, love).

 

But then, what are we to make of Jesus's response?  Did he really coldly call her a dog?  Not at all!  You see, in His day, "dog" was a common slur that Jews used to refer to Gentiles.  But the word that Jesus used meant "puppy."  He made sure that the true, loving intent of His analogy was not misunderstood by doing a play on the word "dog" that actually made it...nice - a compliment of sorts.  From the context, it seems that this entire conversation is His usual playful way of engaging someone as a test of their faith.

 

It is also important to understand that when Jesus was on Earth, His intended ministry really was to reach out first to Israel.  After all, the Messiah was the promised one to Israel.  After His resurrection was when the faith was going to expand among the Gentiles.  The reason for this is that, in the interest of fairness, God gave Israel a "fair shake" at accepting the Messiah first - so that when they rejected Him, it was completely on their heads, because they had every chance to accept Him.  And remember, God still had a covenant to fulfill with the Jews when He sent the Messiah.  If you take a look at Romans 2:9-11, you'll find that God acting chronologically (Jews, then Gentiles) does not indicate any inequality between Jews and Gentiles (see Galatians 3:28).  Romans 11 discusses this issue a bit more.  But the point I'm trying to get to is this: Even though Jesus had a specific purpose in focusing His ministry on Israel for a few years (2-3) before His Church expanded to actively reach out to the Gentiles, He didn't let that stop Him from having compassion on this Gentile woman and helping her.

 

Let's briefly look at the woman's faith, too.  (1) She recognized Him as the true God, even though her pagan culture surely lauded other (false) gods.  That means she was so sure in her belief that she was willing to risk that.  (2) She was willing to endure the disciples' ridicule and scorn (which she probably expected before she even came to them) to get to Jesus.  (3) She surely would have believed that, based on other world religions at the time, the Jewish God was not obligated to help someone not of those people - yet she trusted in His love enough that she came to Him and pressed Him.  Her faith was great, indeed.

 

Healing the Multitudes

 

29 Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there.

 

30 And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.

 

31 So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

 

It's easy to lose sight of how amazing these mass healings really are after we've heard the stories a number of times.  So, it's a good idea to take some time to meditate on what it would have been like to actually experience this.

 

This account reminds me of a few lyrics I love from the song "Mary, Did You Know?"  They say, "The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again!  The lame will leap, the dumb with speak - the praises of the Lamb!"

 

Consider for a moment that, before John the Baptist, the Jews had not had a Prophet of Old in centuries, and were under foreign captivity - they felt as if God had completely rejected them.  So, the presence of a Prophet at all - and the ultimate Prophet, Jesus, who was performing so many miracles for them - was a shocking testament of God's love for them.  The fact that they had gone three full days without eating just to remain with Him (as we'll see in a moment) is proof of how deeply this affected them.

 

Four Thousand Fed

 

32 And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, "I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way."

 

33 The disciples said to Him, "Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?"

 

34 And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven, and a few small fish."

 

35 And He directed the people to sit down on the ground;

 

36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

 

37 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full.

 

38 And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

 

39 And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.

 

If this story sounds extremely familiar, it's because we very recently covered the feeding of the five thousand (you can read that post here).  Why would Matthew write such similar accounts almost back-to-back?  I have a couple of theories... :-)  Even though it's the exact same scenario, there are some new lessons here that we shouldn't overlook.

 

First off, this is perhaps the most shocking picture in all of the Gospels of how Jesus's disciples simply did not learn and lacked faith to an astounding degree.  But, how often are we just like them?  It seems like God has to teach us the same lessons over and over - that's no different, no less terrible, than what's going on in this passage.

 

Second, the fact that Jesus fed 5,000+ the first time, and 4,000+ the second time demonstrates that He's not interested in one-upping Himself.  God provides in whatever way He thinks is appropriate for the situation - so we shouldn't be disappointed if God seems to do "less" for us than He does for someone else.

 

Third, the number of baskets left over before (12) was symbolic, and it is here, as well.  Seven is the number of completion or perfection.  This backs up the above point that God's will is to do whatever is perfect for that situation.  It also demonstrates that God will take care of us completely.

 

Questions for You

 

When have you been treated poorly by people who claimed to represent God (like happened to the Syrophonecian woman)?

 

Have you ever had an experience where God did less than you expected, but it still was enough provision?

 

Anything else you'd like to comment on - or add to the discussion?

 

Any questions?

 

Giving Credit Where It's Due

 

All images courtesy of Sweet Publishing.  Used by permission.

Love Without Boundaries - Matthew 5:42-48

42 "Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

This verse ties in exactly with where we left off last time - with the idea that we are to be "weird" (that is, we are supposed to defy social expectations with our love and kindness toward others) to point people to why we are weird - God.

The three examples we looked at last time had to do with specific events targeting you specifically (insults, suing in court, and legal obligations), but this one - helping others is much more broad in scope.  It requires us to help others anytime we see the need.  Rather than instructing us how to respond to specific scenarios, Jesus is here commanding us to extend this "weird" love to everyone, all the time.  This is a radical worldview shift.  He dives yet deeper...

43 You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.'

You'll notice here that "You shall love your neighbor" is in all capital letters in the verse, whereas "and hate your enemy" is written regularly...yet it is all in secondary quotation marks.  What this means is that the entire line was a common phrase, but the first part was pulled from Scripture (Leviticus 19:18) and the second was something men added themselves.

So what?  Well, this serves as a warning to us - we need to be extremely careful not to add on to Scripture with something that seems implied.  For example, a lot of people in America quote that "God helps those who help themselves" fully believing that it is in the Bible.  But it isn't!  In some cases, it is a Scriptural approach, but certainly not in every circumstance.  Yet, because it has been treated as bearing the same weight as Scripture, people are continually stumbled by it.

Jesus is not here reversing something for the New Covenant; rather, he is pointing out that because people added to Scripture, they've been living under a wrong worldview the entire time.

44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us...we've heard this line many times, and I fear it has lost much of its effect as a result.  Actually think about it for a minute - if someone were to despise you, spit at you, threaten your family, and try to get you arrested all for your faith, what would your reaction be?

A beautiful example of someone who actually lived out this principle is Corrie Ten Boom, a woman who hid Jews during the Holocaust, as caught and sent to a concentration camp, so many of her family and friends slaughtered, but still found the courage to forgive even the specific Nazis who persecuted her and her family.  You can find out much about her online, and I also highly recommend her book The Hiding Place.

What does it mean, "...so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven"?  Is this a stipulation for salvation?  No - we've talked about this a bit before.  Our actions do not affect our salvation (that would be a salvation through works), but rather, having a genuine heart wanting Christ's forgiveness so we can become like Him does.  Becoming like Christ is the ultimate goal of Christianity.  We see this again in verses 48: "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

The point is that God cares for even His enemies (that is, those who despise and reject them) and provides them with sunshine and precious rain, so if we want to be like God, we must treat them with the same love.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?  Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Remember, the Jews of Jesus's day despised Gentiles (non-Jews) and especially tax collectors (Jews who had betrayed their heritage by working for the Jews' Roman oppressors and harassing their own people).  So Jesus's point is: you are no better than the very people you despise.  What truly gives you cause to hate them?

For an exercise, think of a group that you can't stand (maybe a certain political activist group you strongly disagree with).  Now think of all sorts of genuinely good things these individuals do - care for their families, for instance.  If we think we are genuinely better, then why don't we act like it?  Here's a bit of a paradox - we need to be better, but not for the sake of being better...rather, simply to be like God and draw them to his love.

If even (who we consider to be) the worst people on the planet demonstrate basic love to those close to them, why do we feel superior for doing the exact same thing?  We as Christians (literally, "little Christs") are called to live better, more difficult lives - including loving everyone, and demonstrating that love through our actions.

48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

We've addressed this verse above, but it is such a poignant and succinct summation of all that our faith is supposed to mean that I want us to meditate on it for a few moments.

Therefore YOU
are to be perfect
as your heavenly Father
is perfect


What ways can you think of that we can demonstrate God's love to everyone around us?  Can you think of more examples like Corrie Ten Boom of people who demonstrated this love even to people who despised them?

Galatians 5:13-18

13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

Verse 13 refers to a very dangerous mindset – that of conscious, willing sin.  This is not a matter of a repeated sin that you struggle with continually, but rather of a sin you know is wrong but don’t care to fix.  It begs the question, are people with this mindset really saved?  We see this demonstrated in Matthew 22:5a, when after the king called his alleged followers to partake of His kingdom, “…they made light of it, and went their ways…” (KJV).  Again, we see this in Matthew 7:16-23, where the true followers “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8): “You will know them by their fruits.  Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?  So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  So then, you will know them by their fruits.  Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”  Furthermore, consider Mark 1:15: “and [Jesus was] saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”  Remember that repentance doesn’t mean to just ask forgiveness, it means to ask forgiveness and earnestly try to stop doing it!  Clearly, Jesus’s command is two-fold – we must have a heart honestly repentant in order to accept the Gospel.

Now, I wish to clarify here – I AM NOT SAYING THAT WE ARE SAVED BY WORKS.  We are saved by grace alone.  But, our “works” – rather, the change in our actions to match up more closely with Christ’s – are the EVIDENCE that we are truly saved.  If the Holy Spirit is in you, He will change you – that’s a promise from God.  Therefore, if we see no spiritual growth in our lives, we must honestly ask ourselves if we have once again embraced sin and rebellion against God, rejecting His righteous plan, and have fallen from grace.  We are commanded to check ourselves in this in Philippians 2:12-13: “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” 

Next, in verses 14-15, we hear the much-repeated command to ‘love our neighbors as ourselves’.  Because we have heard it so frequently, it is fairly easy to gloss over, so let’s dig into it a little more.  Firstly, we know who our neighbors are – everyone, regardless of religion, nationality, criminal history, etc. (see Luke 10:27-37).  Secondly, we know what love looks like -  “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” and requires us “putting aside all malice and all deceit and envy and all slander” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 1 Peter 1:22, 2:1).  Furthermore, in 1 John 3:14-15, we see that love for other Christians (at the very least) is yet another evidence of salvation: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.  He who does not love abides in death.  Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”  (Once again, I wish to clarify – loving the brethren, like any “work,” is not a requirement for salvation, but it is an evidence of it).  Loving the brethren is essential because, as Jesus pointed out in Mark 3:25, “If a   house [such as the body of Christ] is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”  In order to be effective for God, we need to work in complete unity (see Ephesians 4:3).

I see verses 16-18 as Paul’s way of emphasizing that this love is the work of the Holy Spirit, not of our own righteousness.  It is crucial to remember that when we see growth – fruit – in our lives, it is because of God – therefore, we need to be cautious not to let our pride get puffed up as a result of this “accomplishment.”  The Spirit – God – and the flesh – the part of us that is who we are without Him – are at war (verse 17).  The more we fight against the change God brings about, the less growth we will see, and the more pain we will suffer.  Let’s each make a commitment today to allow His Spirit to work more freely within us without so much rebellious interference.  Only be accepting His grace (and His change comes along with it!) can we be free from the “law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).

Today’s discussion starters:

1-      Today we talked about some of the evidences of salvation.  There are plenty more mentioned in the New Testament.  Which ones can you think of?

2-      What examples can you think of, Biblically and in your own life, of why it is important to show love for others?  What examples, both in the Bible and in modern day life, can you think of for how to demonstrate this love?