Effective Affection

         We all have within us a human nature that longs for love and affection.  Deep within us is a fear of not being loved as well as a fear of loving.  Men usually do a good job of suppressing those feelings because they aren't "manly."  Surprisingly, many women suppress these feelings because they have been hurt in a relationship at one point or another and their desire to fill their longing for love is too painful.  Our longing for love could be described as the most fundamental part of our humanity.  At the same time, what we have discovered is that this fundamental part of who we are is also extremely dangerous.  Why?  Because real love is dangerous and risky.  It invites the possibility of our being hurt in one way or another.  And so, to avoid distress or dissatisfaction, we live closed and protected lives.

Why do you think so many parts of the world are so cold and unfriendly?  Why are so many people drawn to Facebook, cable television, and online shopping?  Because it can be done in the protected atmosphere of the home - safe, closed off, and comfortable.  

          What about the love of the Gospel?  Where does it find its place in clammed up living?  Furthermore, what about the love of the Gospel?  Are we really interested in the love of the Gospel?  How does it change us?  How does it set us apart?  How does it work?  How is it communicated?  What about the love of the Gospel...

          Church - we are to be the embodiment of the love of the Gospel.  A Facebook checkup, a friendly text, and a casual handshake at church are not enough.  The self-protective demeanor of the culture of Christianity is causing a lot of people to ask, "What about the love of the Gospel?"  

         I mean, do you know, do you really know the love of God in Christ Jesus?  Once we know that love, nothing can separate us from it.  Once we know that love, we're free to love.  We're never at risk of being unloved.  The only risk we carry as the church is to become unloving.  In doing so, the world begins to wonder, "What about the love of the Gospel?"  

          Back to Gospel Lenses - put them on the next time you look at the world, the next time you walk in to your work place, the next time you walk into your home.  Instead of complaining about how people treat you, instead of protecting yourself from pain or insult, instead of wondering why the world is so unloving, ask yourself the following questions; Who here can I love?  Who needs my love right now?  How can I make the love of the Gospel real in this place?

          We fear the act of giving love because we are not sure if it will be reciprocated.  What we should fear most is that we are not reciprocating the love first given to us by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers" (1 John 3:16).  Risky, lay-down-your-life, dangerous love, I will argue, is the clearest indicator that one is living a gospel-centered life.  Writing that statement puts a knot in my stomach.  Lay-down-your-life love is impossible.  It's totally and completely impossible.  Unless...

        Unless you know you are eternally loved by Christ.  Then you are free.  Then you become yourself the love of the Gospel.  Then you are free to give of yourself because you have received so much.  What if...

          What if we took the Lord's Prayer seriously in our lives?  What if our mantra was this - "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  What if we were courageous enough as a Christian body to take this prayer literally and seriously?  What would happen if we as the church sought wholeheartedly to bring the reality of heaven to this earth?  God's mission is to bring heaven to this earth.  God's mission is for people to get so wrapped up in the love of the Gospel that we never forget it, we never forsake each other, and that this world would begin to look more like heaven because people were so changed by HIS love.  This is effective affection.  It is effective because it is from our God above.  It is affective because he chased us down in the form of Christ.  So, what about the love of the Gospel?  If it isn't changing you, if it is what gives you breath each and every day, then maybe you're missing it.  

         Isn't it exciting?  Doesn't it do something to you to think and know that God is choosing to use you to bring heaven to earth?  I mean, how can we as a church become numb to the words of love in the Gospel?  He loved you enough to die for you.  God wanted to show you the affection you need so much so that he came.  Did you catch that?  He came.  He literally came and brought heaven to this earth through Christ.  Church - RISK everything so that no one ever has to ask again, "What about the love of the Gospel?"  Gospel love is effective affection.  Our world needs it so desperately.  Don't hold back.  Don't fear.  Bring the kingdom!

Gospel Lenses Part II

Just like any pair of handy glasses or lenses, Gospel lenses need a regular cleaning so we can continue to see clearly.  This past Wednesday night as we continued our walk through Jonah, we looked at Jonah chapter 3.  I'm not sure if Jonah took his Gospel lenses off when he ran from God or if they had just gotten really dirty and he wasn't seeing clearly.  For most of us, I don't think it's that we take off or abandon the Gospel, but it is more like we aren't quite seeing the Gospel clearly.  That's because things seem to get a little muddy sometimes.  Maybe Jonah needed a good washing and that's why he was tossed straight into the ocean.  A baptism for Jonah?  Maybe so...

By the time we turn to chapter three, Jonah is a washed-up prophet (literally)!  He has seen the depths and been spared.  But God seems to be an advocate of second chances and tells Jonah that his mission is the same (3:1).  God gives Jonah a second chance because He has remained the same and so too has his mission--God in all times and places desires that all creation be reconciled to him.  God calls a second time because he wants the lost saved, even the Ninevites.  Jonah has enjoyed God's grace and mercy, but has been reluctant to see God use that same grace and mercy on the Ninevites.  Sounds like some of us in the church today.  Scary...

So when Jonah finally shows up to Nineveh, God has given him a message to proclaim.  It's a message of coming doom and gloom.  In the Hebrew, Jonah simply preaches 5 words.  Imagine a Sunday morning sermon only 5 words long.  You would never miss a kickoff or wait in line at a restaurant again!  5 Words!!!  So, in a mighty city known for torturing their enemies*, Jonah brings a message of their coming destruction if they fail to turn to God.  He does so seemingly in an earnest way.  This is probably because he thinks they'll never repent, or they're too far gone.  He enjoys the message because he thinks God will overturn them and they will reap his wrath.  However, after 5 words, the people repent.  They are totally overturned!  They turn from sin and to God!  This was not the overturning Jonah had hoped for.  And why should God have mercy on people like this?  That seems like an injustice in the mind of Jonah.

But wait!  It's God.  It's the same God that brought about a storm and a fish to rescue Jonah.  He has done something even more incredible now!  He is changing the hearts of sinful human beings.  Their repentance encompasses all parts of life.  They respond by fasting, wearing sackcloth, and crying out to God.  Even the animals fasted!  They abstained from both food and water, and by having their livestock fast, they put their economy in God's hands as well.  What's even more amazing is that they do all this not knowing whether or not God will spare them.  They respond in repentance to God because he is God.  We should respond to God for who God IS, not because of what we might get or gain!  We don't worship God to get something in return.  We worship God because GOD IS GOD!  That's enough.  They put everything in God's hands, even their finances!  Total surrender to God because God is God.  That is the kind of humility that leads to a true repentant heart.

Perhaps we get like Jonah and the Gospel lenses through which we view life become a little muddy.  They get a little dirty when we come to church and dig deep into religious duties.  They are clouded a bit when we yearn for God's mercy for ourselves, but cry out for wrath and justice on others.  The lenses grow darker when we take the Gospel and keep it to ourselves.  They lose their clarity every time we sin because every time we sin we are living contrary to God's will.  We in fact are turning our backs to God and running toward Tarshish.  You see, sin makes it hard to see through those Gospel lenses, but like the Ninevites found out, God is ready to clean them off for us when we are overturned by repentance.

The real injustice in this life lies not in God seeking the redemption of our enemies.  The real injustice lies in the hearts of those who have the Gospel and keep it to themselves.  Why do you think Jesus tells us to love our enemies?  Because God loves them and God is calling us to share the good news with them.  In fact, every time we fail to share the Gospel, we are running from God just like Jonah.  What if Jonah had never gone to Nineveh?  They may have never had the opportunity to respond.

Perhaps as a church, we need to repent.  Perhaps we have been unjust.  Perhaps the lenses God gave us to view the world have become a bit muddy.  Maybe it's time for a cleaning.  Maybe it's time for humility.   And maybe, just maybe it's time for repentance.  I believe revival springs forth from true repentance.  Where there is true repentance, there is an increase of comfort and compassion in this world.  True repentance is not just about turning from disobedience.  It is about turning all the way back to obedience.  Ask God to clean your lenses so you don't lose sight of him in this world.