JOIN US THIS SUNDAY AT 10:00 AM
AMT 9/21
Below is the “A Moment Together” segment from Pastor Charlene
I missed you all last Sunday. This body of mine is so unpredictable. Thank goodness my heart is not. In my spirit I sang with you, prayed with you, and absorbed the Word of God with you. This week, I was thinking about how important it is to be in loving, Christian relationships, friendships and fellowships with others. Jesus introduced us to the concept of brotherhood and sisterhood. He let us know we could pray to God as our Father. We are a child of the King and Jesus is our brother. HOT DIGGITY DOG we would say in the South. He called us into relationship! And we get an extended family. That means we are related to each other right? Hey Brother Vince! Hey Sister Kristi! Howdy Brother Josh! Can you imagine walking down the hallway going toward the sanctuary. Waving and talking and laughing.
Sunday is a great day. We love everyone. Right? Everyone“Love one another?” Do I have to? Why?
I will get to that
It’s kinda easy to love each other when we only see each other 2 hours or so a week. Ok, some are more easy to love than other. But, generally we love one another in the ‘bible’ way of speaking. Which part?
In the Old Testament, there is no real understanding of being brothers and sisters. There was friendship, relationship, worship of One whose name was so Holy it could not be said. However this was not the same kind of love as when we have learned about true Love (I am using a capital L for that special kind of love we will be describing). This type of love is only understood after it is experienced. Before Christ, folks had no idea of the way you could feel about each other. We can understand this new type of Love only after Christ steps in. We needed Love to be explained, demonstrated, and expected.
If you search the NIV (New International Version) of the Bible, you will find a bunch of references when you search “one another.” We know we are supposed to live and worship in community. ‘One another’ suggests interaction and relationship. However, if you search the phrase “love one another,” it occurs only in the New Testament. It occurs 12 times. In case you are curious, the ‘one anothers’ in the Old Testament refer to actions like feeding one another, killing one another and talking to one another. Mostly, there was a lot of “they said to one another.” You don’t need a lot of relationship to ask or tell another person anything.
You will also notice that the love word is not in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In these books, they are describing how to Love. Here, we see the disciples and others watching Jesus and asking questions. Then we get to a point where Jesus has not just shown how to live and worship together. He lives His life as an example. He gives His life as a gift…a gift of Love. He tells the disciples to do as He has done. John 13:34-35 begins to enlightens us. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
In the other New Testament books that are written to establish churches or to churches that are established, we see again and again the call to “love one another.” We are taught that because we were told to love one another, we should. More than that we are to love deeply from the heart. Don’t think that we can look at our brother or sister in Christ and say, “Oh I love everyone because we are supposed to,” while silently cursing the way someone has acted toward us. Find a way to work through your hurt or anger so that you can Love from the heart – even without an apology or a change. Really?
“Love one another?” Do I have to? Why?
(Remember these questions from above?) Because we were told to, because we believe in Jesus Christ, because God loves us, and because God lives in us. It will take work and has to be repeated daily.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to be your Love in human skin. Help me love those that don’t do things the way I wish they were done. Help me show others how to Love by using right words, right actions, and right reactions. Help me show others how to find the Love I have found in you. Help me feel your love when I struggle to feel loved at all. Thank you for Loving me. Thank you for teaching me the way to love you and others even more than I do now. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen
