Today is my birthday. Since I usually post my blog on Saturdays today happens to be August 25th, the day I was born in 1962. Go ahead, do the math! I am old enough now that I can say I’ve been around the block a few times and there are a few things that I’ve learned through the passage of time. All those sunrises and sunsets. Thunderstorms and snowfalls. All that grass mowing and leaf raking. All those hellos and goodbyes. We learn so much just from living through so much.
I can also say that I have walked with Jesus for close to forty years. I’ve learned a few things there, too. It was in February of 1978 that a high school friend gave me a little tract that asked the question “Would you like a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?” It had never occurred to me that I could have a personal relationship with Jesus and I knew my answers was “Yes.” So, I prayed the prayer, signed and dated the tract on the line provided and put it in my wallet for safekeeping. (I am sorry to say, that somewhere along the line I lost track of that little important memento.) But the real transformation of my life started a few years later. In January of 1983 while I was in college I reached a crisis point. Overwhelmed with life I found myself kneeling by the bed in my rented room on Oak Street in Geneseo, NY, desperately praying, “God, I can’t do it by myself anymore. I need you to help me!” And He did. And He has.
So, what have I learned in all these years of church-going, small groups, ministry studies and personal devotions? I am going to winnow it down to three things.
1. Love is a choice.When asked what the greatest commandment was Jesus replied “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV) He made it clear that the most important thing in life and in Christianity is love. Love God. Love people. Part of our problem today is that our culture has reduced love to a feeling of romance. Butterflies in the stomach. A rush of adrenaline. A tingling attraction. A sense of connection. If that was the kind of love Jesus was talking about, it would all be based on feelings. And you can’t make feelings happen. We can’t be commanded to feel. The Great Commandment has to be something that I can do without being motivated by a feeling. It has to be something that I choose to obey. Feelings may follow, but it has to start with my choice.
In more than thirty years of marriage I have learned that I may not always feel love for my spouse, but I love him all the same. When he annoys me or disappoints me, as is invariably going to happen with human interaction of any kind, the love feelings might hide for a while, but I have been commanded to love him. So, I can and I do. Love has to start at home, with the people I spend the most time with. The people who can hurt me most. Love is choosing to do what is best for the other person, even if it might be inconvenient or challenging for me. It’s at home where I get the most chance to practice that kind of love.
But that kind of love, the love that does what is best for others, doesn’t stop at home. Jesus commanded me to love my neighbor and then illustrated who my neighbor is through the story of the Good Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans hated each other in Jesus’ day. By making the Samaritan the hero of the story, he challenged the Jews He was speaking to, and you and me, to love everyone who comes into our path. Even the person we like least. That can’t be based on a feeling.
Like any choice God commands of us, if I choose to love because He asks it of me, knowing that it is beyond my ability, I can trust that He will help me to do it. And He has.
2. It’s not about what you do. It’s about who you are.There’s no denying that we live in a celebrity worshipping culture. People grab for their fifteen minutes of fame so that they can feel important. Some even plan stunts just so that they will get that attention. The strange thing is that once the spotlight has turned on them for that brief moment they not only feel more important, people treat them like they are more important. Young people today often list being famous among their ambitions. Just being famous. Not being famous for anything in particular. Not accomplishing some major feat. They see fame as a goal in itself and a validation of their existence.
Because of Tom’s work in radio and television we have had the opportunity to meet some famous people, even to have dinner with some. It doesn’t take long to realize that people are people whether their names are well-known are not. On a small level, a very small level, Tom and I have experienced a measure of fame. Through Tom being on local radio and television, even Christian radio and television, many people in our region came to know our names. It has been crazy to watch how some people have responded to seeing us in person after hearing about us from a distance. They treated us, Tom especially, like we were important people. They stared with awe and had trouble talking. Tom has always been great at just treating people like friends. For some of those star-struck people, even that wasn’t enough to take the stars out of their eyes.
Here’s the thing, we know who we are with all our faults, failures and weaknesses. In our younger days, we both had that same ambition to be famous. Achieving it, even on a small level, takes the mystery out of it. There is no satisfaction in it. Well-known accomplishments carry no weight. People forget what you do. God doesn’t applaud our worldly successes. Jeremiah 9:24 says, “but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord." What matters most is not being known or accomplishing tasks worthy of recognition. What matters most is being someone who understands what is truly important and living that out. I’d rather be known as someone who loves like Jesus than to just be known.
3. It’s not about knowing more. It’s about knowing Him. I love learning. I was a good student because I could retain the information long enough to answer all the questions correctly on a test. I have always enjoyed gathering information, but I didnt take too much interest in applying it. When I first started following Jesus I approached Christianity the same way. I gathered information and could give the right answers, but I wasn’t paying as much attention to living out what I knew. I learned more and more about the Bible, but it was in seeking to develop a relationship with Christ that I came to understand that just knowledge wasn’t enough. I needed to live what I learned.
In order to become a pastor I had to achieve a certain level of Bible education. I’ve realized that none of that knowledge means a thing unless I live it and teach others to do the same. None of that education has value unless it transforms my life and leads me to a deeper knowledge of God and His love, not just for the world or for others, but for me personally. That is something I am still struggling to absorb. God loves me and wants His love for me to guide how I live. Ephesians 3:19 describes a love that is meant to fill me with life and power through receiving it. “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3:19 NLT) Wow!
Beloved, thanks for taking this journey of reflection with me. I hope that I can encourage you to love the way Jesus commanded. When you choose to love He will give you the ability. Let Him love through you. You can rest in the fact that you don't need to achieve anything to become someone God values. You don’t need to strive to know more in order to know Him. Just let Him love you. When you do, your life will be transformed and you will experience satisfaction and contentment. It really isn’t about knowing more or doing more. It’s about loving Him, loving others and being loved by Him. Be blessed, dear friend!
Key thought: Live what you learn.
A Scripture to consider: “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:19 NLT
A YES challenge: It may not be your birthday, but take some time to reflect. If you could distill what you have learned from life to three things what would they be? Write them down so that you can review them in the future. Find someone to share your reflections with. How are you living what you have learned?
Prayer: Father, I thank You for this life with all it’s challenges and joys. My greatest satisfaction is in knowing You and learning to be the person You have designed me to be. There is nothing I want more than to grow in knowing Your love and sharing it with others. Amen.