A good way to avoid the snare of empty religious activity is to appear before God every once in a while with our Bibles open to the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians. This passage, though rated one of the most beautiful in the bible, is also one of the severest to be found in Sacred Writ. The apostle makes the highest religious service and consigns it to futility unless it is motivated by love. Lacking love, prophets, teachers, orators, philanthropists and martyrs are sent away without reward. To sum it up, we may say simply that in the sight of God we are judged not so much by what we do as by our reasons for doing it. Not what, but why will be the important question when we Christians appear at the judgment seat to give account of the deeds done in the body.
~ AW Tozer
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” and he said to Him, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This He said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this He said to him, “Follow Me.”
~ Jesus, King of The Universe, setting the foundation of The Church, in John 21
Oh beloved, it is true.
We have been called into something beyond our wildest dreams. Those of us who have but yielded the slightest have been overwhelmed by the lavishly gracious, Grace of G_d. His very Person has taken the primary position in our lives.
And, as we grow, we get into the rhythms His grace imbues and enables. We are, like the edge of a tool or weapon, being drawn out into a sharp edge. Hammer blows and polish. Flag-on-the-moon experiences of His Love, followed by valleys of pain and rejection by those of this world.
Part of what keeps us going is that we know, truly know, that it is now Jesus Who is at work in us, and through us. Our lives and our Loves are a delicious blend. Life is Love. And, The Ones Who are Love – have become our very Life. So, even in the pain of it all, we find ourselves growing in some sort of unwaning strength. It is one of the great conundrums of the Kingdom we now inhabit though: the strength comes from our deep weakness.
And… There is one who hates what is happening to us so bitterly, that this wraith writhes in the Light that now pours out from within us.
Can we see it?
Jesus gives us a picture of what happened to Peter when the liar, the devil, was given permission to sift this bedrock figure of the Church. Peter was given the chance to let the light burn bright during the night of Jesus’ suffering, but he instead allowed fear to douse the fire of his courage. He backed away from what was most important.
Oh, yes, it was bad that he denied his Lord. But, Jesus does not scold Peter for being a bit scared during a very scary situation. No, what Jesus challenged Peter with, was much more important. Jesus challenged Peter to see whether he truly Loved Jesus or not. And, especially in the original language, it is more clear to see that Jesus is asking Peter whether he truly and unconditionally Jesus. However, Peter answers with a less powerful word that denotes familial or brotherly love.
Don’t miss this. Jesus is not ever saying that doing nice things, or having familial love is a bad thing. But, He IS saying something to Peter that we all can learn from if we will see it. Jesus is saying that simply having good thoughts towards people and doing nice things, falls infinitely short of the calling we have in Christ.
Thou shalt Love the LORD thy God, with all thy heart and soul, and mind and strength. And, thou shalt Love thy neighbor with the same Love with which you Love yourself.
Anything less; mere philanthropy, mere concern for others “plight” is not going to cut it in the eternal game we are part of. The liar, the devil, would have you drained of a bit of your courage during dark times (just like Peter) as well. But, the devil will offer a soggy sop for your conscience. He will say to you, that if you just back off a little bit; compromise on the Fire just a little, you can still do a little good, and he – the adversary – will back off on you a little bit, so you will not feel the pain of the battle quite so directly.
Can this fool of a writer preach for a moment? Don’t go there. The Gospel is an infinite proposition. It never contemplates compromise. And simple philanthropy – as nice as it seems – will not get the job done. We must, instead, Love people and pour out our lives for them in the same way that Jesus has done for us.
Nothing else will do.
Tonight is your night beloved. Love to the hilt. Love till it hurts. To hell with the devil. LOVE!
You asked for a loving God: you have one. The great spirit you so lightly invoked, the ‘lord of terrible aspect,’ is present: not a senile benevolence that drowsily wishes you to be happy in your own way, not the cold philanthropy of conscientious magistrate, nor the care of a host who feels responsible for the comfort of his guests, but the consuming fire Himself, the Love that made the worlds, persistent as the artist’s love for his work and despotic as a man’s love for a dog, provident and venerable as a father’s love for a child, jealous, inexorable, exacting as love between the sexes.
~ C.S. Lewis, from The Problem of Pain
