We know it so well, we've embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God. God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. (1 John 4:16 The Message). We have come into an intimate experience with God’s love, and we trust in the love he has for us. God is love! Those who are living in love are living in God, and God lives through them. (1 John 4:16 Passion Trans) It is very clear from John 15 that the journey of a Christian is the way of love. Jesus describes this journey as "abiding in love" and this means so much more than simply 'staying put'. It has a sense of permanence, enjoyment, rest and of being at home. When we abide we are truly content and, I believe, able to relax. Abiding, however, is not a static state as it's a journey where we are rooted in sonship which, in turn, enables us to walk as Jesus walked. It enables us to come to the Father in a greater confidence, knowing that it is his desire to lavish good things on us and to see his will being brought to earth through us. The consequence of abiding is fruitfulness, it is not productivity. In his commentary on John's gospel, Stephen Hill writes: "Fruitfulness is not to be confused with productivity. Productivity is what we are engaged in when we are not abiding. Productivity is essentially self-generated whereas fruitfulness is generated from another Source." "The fruit of discipleship is to be a son like Jesus." These words in John's letter are experiential words, the NIV says we know and rely on the love God has for us. Our Father is totally dependable and reliable. His love for us shows us that we don't have to rely on ourselves or our own strength. We don't have to do or be anything in order to be accepted by him. It is his unchanging love for us which draws us into the place of life and the fruit that will inevitably follow. For a limited period, and while stocks last, I am offering a "Two For One" offer on some of my books. For only £10 (including postage) you can have any two of: A Father to YOU, Planted in Love or The Depth of Love. To take advantage of this offer click here. (Due to high postage costs this offer is only available for UK addresses). But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. (Philippians 3:7-9 ESV) It does not matter what we have achieved or who we have become. When we know we are 'in Him' all these things stop being important as we start to recognise something else, something deeper and more real. Paul's aim was to discover the reality of being found by Christ. He often uses the phrase 'in Christ' as this speaks of a unity and oneness with Him. He has discovered the truth of living in the sonship of Jesus and therefore being like him. This is the unity that Jesus describes in John 14: we are in him and he is in the Father and so, therefore, we are in the Father. As Richard Rohr describes it, we are caught up in the divine dance. The beautiful unity of the Trinity is not a dream but a reality. It is our home and resting place. It is this that Paul seeks to attain. Too often verses 12-14 are interpreted as us having to push into ministry, function or gifting. But this is not what Paul is writing about. The goal is not ministry or function, in fact those are the very things Paul now considers to be rubbish (or more literally, manure). The goal is the thing Paul has already referred to: it is knowing Christ and being found in him. It is living in the sonship of Jesus. Ministry may follow but it flows out of our sonship. For a limited period, and while stocks last, I am offering a "Two For One" offer on some of my books. For only £10 (including postage) you can have any two of: A Father to YOU, Planted in Love or The Depth of Love. To take advantage of this offer click here. (Due to high postage costs this offer is only available for UK addresses). For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. (Romans 8:20-22 ESV) In the Old Testament there are a number of occasions when the glory of the Lord is revealed. I'm particularly thinking of the building and re-building of the Temple. When the glory of the Lord fell, the people couldn't enter, all they could do was watch and worship. The greatness, beauty and majesty of the Lord's presence drew the people to a place of adoration. They watched, they saw, they worshipped. They saw something outside of themselves (external) and recognised it instantly as the presence of their God. In that moment I imagine they felt free. But the moment would pass and they would return to their daily routine with this encounter becoming a memory. In Romans 8 Paul is writing about something very different. The glory of the Lord is being revealed in us and it is this revelation that the whole of creation is eagerly waiting for (v19). The contrast is between creation which is decaying and the children of God who are enjoying a full, free life. The gift we can give to creation is the freedom that comes from the indwelling of the glory of the Lord. We call that gift 'sonship', the gift of being loved with a perfect love. The glory of God is the complete revelation of his character and personality, and that is love (1 John 4:16, Exodus 34:6-7). It is this love that is poured freely into our heart by the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit which enables us to cry 'Abba, Father' and which shows us that we are loved in the same way as Jesus, himself is loved. The glory of the Lord is his love being revealed in us (internal). The freedom which was previously viewed from a distance is now within us and so, as sons and daughters, the glory of being fully loved will shine from us and be a gift to our broken world. "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." (2 Cor 3:18 ESV) For a limited period, and while stocks last, I am offering a "Two For One" offer on some of my books. For only £10 (including postage) you can have any two of: A Father to YOU, Planted in Love or The Depth of Love. To take advantage of this offer click here. (Due to high postage costs this offer is only available for UK addresses). We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you. (Psalm 33:20-22 NIV) Mystery is all around us, it's part of the daily rhythm of life as we see in sunrises and sunsets, the coming in and going out of the tides. There is mystery each day when you set out for work; what will you find on your desk, what will be in your inbox, who be contacting you? There is even mystery when you do your online shopping - will the delivery be what you actually ordered? I love watching my grandsons react to a surprise. The pure delight of something they didn't expect unfolding in front of them. What do we do with mystery? Do we try and play detective in order to work it out and resolve it like a problem or puzzle. A mystery, by definition, is something that is hidden and our natural response is to do something to make it become a reality. Our journey with Father is a mystery. We don't see the end from the beginning. It's a journey which opens up before us as we take those little steps of faith. It's a journey of trust and therefore of relationship. Every mystery has an element of uncertainty or the unknown and being comfortable with that can be challenging. Our mystery is one that is rooted and grounded in love. When we know we're loved we can be content with the unknown as we're able to trust the one leading us. As John says in his first letter, we know and rely on the love he has for us. Love is our foundation. We hope in love, we trust in love, we believe in love. There is no fear in love. For a limited period, and while stocks last, I am offering a "Two For One" offer on some of my books. For only £10 (including postage) you can have any two of: A Father to YOU, Planted in Love or The Depth of Love. To take advantage of this offer click here. (Due to high postage costs this offer is only available for UK addresses). |
Weekly SignpostA Father to YOU is a signpost to the heart of the Perfect Father. When we became Christians we were given the right to become children of God (John 1:12). Sadly, many of us fail to take up that right and instead continue to live as slaves or orphans. But our true destiny is being sons and daughters who have a permanent place in the Father's family. This blog is an encouragement to help you know who God really is and who you really are. Click here to subscribe. |