Love

I think it’s sad that the picture portrayed of Christianity is often one of judgmental people with a “holier than thou” attitude and wearing their “Sunday best” clothes who shun outsiders with hateful scowls. This is a gross caricature and the exact opposite of what Christ taught. At the heart of the Christian gospel is love.

I’m not very good at praying consistently and so I’ve developed the habit of using Bible verses to help my wandering mind to focus on what really matters. A scripture I pray often is this one from St. Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. It’s a bit long, but bear with me (emphasis is mine):

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:14-19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 In the middle of this prayer is the admonition to be “rooted and established in love.” As Christ’s followers, then, this is where we start. We start with love.

But what is the nature of this love from Christ? This same prayer includes two of its features: (1) it is immense, and (2) it’s impossible to fully wrap your head around it.

“How wide...?”

Jesus said "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." And so during His time on Earth he demonstrated His love through His compassion for the sick and the lost, loving on children and loving His disciples. The Gospels are full of these stories of His practical demonstration of God's love for them.  But He goes on to say "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." OK, so that's something more.  Paul expands on this in his letter to Roman Christians: "For one will scarcely die for a righteous person - though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die - but God shows us His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." So here then is the breadth of God's love.  Though we turn from Him, hide from Him and rebel against Him, he still sent His only son to rescue us.  And the nature of that rescue? He had to die for us. Quite literally and horribly, He had to die for us. And He did it. That's the breadth of His love for us.

“Love that surpasses knowledge...”

But it's hard to comprehend this love fully, I think.

If you're a parent or have a very close friend, you can perhaps imagine putting yourself in harm's way to protect your loved one. That's a glimpse of God's love for us in Christ, but His love is much more. John said "God is love," that is to say, love is at the very core of God's nature. In creating the Universe in the first place; in bringing life into existence; in giving us life individually, He shows His love.  In giving us free will to choose or not choose to love him back; in sending His only son to die for us; in raising Him from the dead so we can have eternal life too, He shows His love. In painting a beautiful sunset; in the laughter of a child; in the company of friends or family, He shows His love. With the still small voice of His Spirit speaking to mine when I calm my mind and pray, He shows His love.

I'm still figuring out the height and depth of God's love and I'm quite sure I'll never fully get it.  But maybe that's the point. I don't need to understand it fully, but I just need to accept it.

So, in my top 10 Reasons to Believe, for sure this is number 1.  I might go as far as saying I personally don't need any other reason than this one, but I have another 9 to go, so we'll see!

A not so old hymn from when I first became a Christian in the 1980's, still speaks to why I personally became a Christ follower:

Amazing love, what sacrifice
The Son of God, given for me
My debt He pays, and my death He dies
That I might live, that I might live! 
By Graham Kendrick

10 Reasons to Believe

About a year ago I did a series of blogs entitled "10 Reasons to Not Believe."

Having looked at the Christian faith from a negative angle, and trying to provide arguments against not believing, in 2019 I thought I'd take a shot at looking at some very significant and positive reasons actually to believe.  So here are my "10 Reasons to Believe" which I'll list here with some brief explanation. In subsequent weeks I'll attempt to unpack each one a little further. As always, comments and critiques are welcome.
I'm not a philosopher, nor a theologian, and so if I've overstated something or missed the mark completely, please let me know in the comments. Equally, if something resonates with you, please also let me know, either in the comments or responding to me privately.  Scripture tells me to be "always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" and that is my intent.

1. Love

In my early Christian walk one of the things that captivated me the most about the Gospel was how much God loved me. Possibly the most famous scripture in the Bible is John 3:16. Perhaps it's sometimes overused or not fully understood, but the weight of the words, if you break them down, are tremendous:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

Alongside this scripture is another that describes the facets and outworking of real love in 1 Corinthians 13 that includes the words:

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Paul wraps up this part of his letter by clearly stating "The greatest of these is Love." I agree!

2. Joy

Elsewhere in scripture there's a description of the facets of "the fruit of the Spirit" which starts the list with: "Love, joy, peace, patience..."
Joy is similar to happiness, but distinctly different in that the source is from the inside out and not outside in.  In other words, happiness depends on external forces and circumstances whereas joy comes from the inside no matter what the circumstances.  The joy that God gives through His Spirit when you trust in Him, is a very compelling reason to believe.

3. Peace

The Hebrew word for peace in the Bible is "shalom."  This word has a much deeper meaning than simply the absence of conflict, conveying the idea of wholeness and, if you like, an "inner peace" no matter the circumstances around you.  If you're suffering from inner turmoil or angst, then this peace, which scriptures call a "peace beyond all understanding" is a gift that makes trusting in Jesus a very good reason to believe.

4. Hope

Hope is a concept I've grown to appreciate over the years more and more as I've walked with Christ.  The Christian definition of hope isn't wishful thinking ("I hope I win the lottery") but more of a certainty that God has a plan and that He wants us to be part of that plan, here on Earth and beyond.  It's tied to faith and being able to trust in God. He is trustworthy and His promises lead to hope of a future that is very good.

5. Relationships Restored

God is relational but our relationship with Him and with those around us, is broken.  If we turn to Him, trusting in Jesus and what He did on the cross, then He restores our relationship with Him.  Beyond this, He also enables us to restore and improve relationships with those around us: family, friends, coworkers... even enemies!

6. Community

The older I get, the more I appreciate being part of a community of believers. Having lived in 3 different corners of the world, it was wonderful to be able to join a local church, to get to know people and to encourage one another through life's ups and downs.  Life is not easy, but doing life together is so much better than trying to tough it out alone.  Our home church here in Pearland is awesome in this respect: a truly loving community of Christ followers looking out for each other. I love my church!

7. Logic

What? Don't you need faith to believe? Is that logical? I'm a strong advocate for a reasoned faith. When you look at all the evidence for life and its meaning, then the Christian explanation is, to me, the most logical.  The evidence and reasoning isn't water-tight (that's where the faith bit comes in), but compared to other worldviews I think it is the most compelling.

8. Eternal life

It might be surprising to see this so far down the list order. Escaping Hell and looking forward to an eternal life with God is a pretty compelling reason to believe. Shouldn't it be number 1?  I guess it's personal and the order doesn't really matter, but for me it was love that compelled me initially, though fear of what happens after death was certainly part of my salvation story!

9. Reward

 Tied to the promise of eternal life is the reward of what we'll receive when we get there. We're encouraged by Jesus to seek treasures in heaven and not hoard wealth here on Earth.  The stuff we try to gather in this life will only wither and die, break down or rust.  It makes more sense to seek after the stuff that's destined to last forever.

 10. A New Creation

Wrapping out my 10 reasons to believe is the opportunity for a new start on a journey as a new creation.  The Bible puts it this way: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. " No matter who you are, or what you've done in the past, Jesus offers a new start to anyone who turns to Him.  The last item on my previous list argued that no-one was "too far gone" to be rescued and redeemed by Christ.

OK, so there's my list of 10 reasons to believe.  What did I miss?