Life, Death and Love

In 1985 Australia demonstrated bipartisan opposition for capital punishment for crime and banned it.  One reason why this policy and more strict sentences have been widely panned is they have not been proved to deter crime.  Whether or not a sentence or punishment deters future crime is of little consequence when a legal system exists to uphold existing laws, protect the innocent and hold criminals to account.

Under the Law of Moses there were many infractions that required the life of an offender.  This served the purpose of revealing how terrible and awful the offence was before the living God with Whom the children of Israel entered into a covenant with.  While the administering of the sentence may have served as a deterrent to some people, the Law was to be kept in the fear of the LORD.  It is one thing to fall into the hands of men who can kill the body, but it is another altogether to fall into the hands of the living God Who is able to cast a soul into hell forever.

It would be wonderful to be "hard on crime" while being "soft on criminals," but this does not do justice to the rigours of the law, victims, the accused or convicted.  In a country where there is no crime possible that warrants a death sentence, it may prove difficult to convey the severity of crimes committed.  The Law of Moses did a very good job of showing sin is incredibly sinful and held forth the righteous character of God.  In a secular society we can learn much from God's word about the righteous treatment of our fellow man, the requirement of restitution to the victim--double what was stolen--and submission by servitude rather than stealing.

It is amazing how Jesus the Son of God put on human flesh, not to destroy the law, but to fulfill.  He who loves God and his neighbour as himself fulfills the Law of Moses that was nailed to the cross with Jesus.  Jesus kept the Law but was murdered contrary to the Law, and through His sacrifice followers of Jesus are called to a higher standard:  to love one another as Jesus loves us.  By His grace we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to obey God and honour the laws of the land, not out of fear of condemnation, but out of love for God who loves us.  Love is a greater deterrent to evil law could ever be, and Jesus gives us the grace and power to walk in love towards all.

Who Do You Serve?

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Matthew 6:24

Jesus spoke with all authority as the Son of God.  This is one of many absolute, simple statements we nod our heads in agreement with but in practice resist or reject as untrue.  We think we are able to do what Jesus said no one can do:  that we effectively can serve two masters.  The truth is we can pretend to serve many masters at once, but we cannot serve any of them fully.  I had an experience yesterday that illustrates this well.

Yesterday I did something a bit different and threw a small brisket on the BBQ.  It was a low and slow cook and historically I have always used the BBQ hood thermometer as the gauge I refer to.  This time I used a temperature probe to monitor the heat level because this prevented me from needing to go outside and check it.  It is convenient because I can work at my desk and have a real-time readout of the temperature of the BBQ as well as the internal temperature of the meat.  Generally the thermometer on the BBQ is not nearly as accurate as the probe and there can be a large discrepancy between them.  This was the case yesterday of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

George Thorogood sung, "Who do you love?" and I needed to ask myself, "Which thermometer do I trust?"  Would I go with the BBQ thermometer or the Thermopro?  Previously I had decent results by relying upon the BBQ hood, but digital probes tend to be more accurate.  I was tempted to adjust the heat to land in the middle, yet doing so was a clear indication I really didn't trust either of them.  So I went with the Thermopro reading and disregarded the BBQ thermometer.  This is a point Jesus was making:  it is impossible to serve two masters at the same time.  A master demanded total obedience, loyalty and love of his servants, and no master will be pleased with a servant with divided allegiance.  If they have divided loyalty, are they really serving him whilst moonlighting for another master or themselves?

Jesus said, "You cannot serve God and mammon."  "Mammon" is a word we never use today but what it represents is prevalent:  wealth, money, riches and property.  Jesus said it is impossible for a person to serve God and serve wealth and money.  Either we serve God with our money and stuff or we will serve our money and stuff as god.  A true servant of God will love and obey Him.  Attempts to divide our loyalty between God and the pursuit of worldly wealth will be in vain, for Jesus rightly says it is an impossible exercise.  When we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all we need He adds unto us.  There is no one more wealthy or prosperous than the child of God in this life and the next, for God who gives wealth supplies wisdom for living.

It is good when we yield to God's word, submitting to the truth He has spoken.  Instead of our lives being a declaration of our love and loyalty to God they can be likened to an argument against Him, foolishly saying we can serve two masters.  Jesus tells it like it is:  we cannot serve two masters.  The question is:  who do I love?  Who do I trust?  Who am I serving?  May our lives answer and affirm we serve God with our money, property and stuff rather than the other way round, for all we have is a gift by His gracious hand.

Love Changes Everything

Knowing you are loved changes everything.  If we believe someone is acting against our best interest, we are naturally suspicious.  Our defenses go up and we are not likely to receive anything that is said.  When someone comes up to my door and offers me free services or appliances, I am most wary.  Giving away things is not a successful business model, so I wonder what the catch is.  It is easy to wine and dine someone in the hope of receiving profit, but this is not love.  True love has no catch as it acts unselfishly for the benefit of others.

The love of God is different than all earthly loves which come to an end.  Love offered that is refused remains unfulfilled, and receiving God's love by faith in Him is most fulfilling.  Anyone can mouth the words "I love you" but Jesus demonstrated His love for us while we were yet sinners.  In contrast to the greatest love a human can muster Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  God's love toward us was not because we were worthy or He hoped for satisfaction from us:  God's love springs from His goodness, compassion and grace.  The love of God is sacrificial in all aspects, for He gives, provides, protects, forgives and saves at His own expense.

Knowing God loves us helps us receive His instruction and correction.  Interestingly, Jesus did not walk around telling people how much He loved them.  He spoke of God's love as transcending humanity in magnitude, duration and power.  As Jesus demonstrated His love in death for lost sinners, so He did during His life:  He walked in love towards all by walking with people, talking with them, wept with those who grieved, healed the sick, delivered those possessed by demons and raised the dead.  When He raged against the hypocritical Pharisees He did so moved by love for them and the people they deceived.  He was patient with His disciples who did not understand Him and argued among themselves who would be the greatest--when Jesus infinitely surpassed them all in love, righteousness and grace.  He was rejected and hated, and yet He loved.  How great and persistent is Christ's love!

1 John 3:1 says, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him."  God's love transforms us through relationship with Him.  Before I knew her name, I remember the look the woman who would be my future wife gave me.  It was startling; she grabbed my attention because no one looked my way that way.  This beautiful woman in time became my beloved wife because out of love in her eyes toward me.  The love of Jesus for us transcends all romantic ideals, and knowing He first loved us ought to grab our attention and command a response from us:  will we be drawn to Jesus Christ because of His love for us or will we pursue a foolish ideal that does not exist?  You will never find an undying, active, unconditional love like God's toward us undeserving souls.  Because Jesus first loved us, we love Him.

Open the Door to Jesus

When we hear an unexpected knock at our front door, it is natural for our minds to quickly determine the proper course of action.  The first consideration when it comes to opening the door concerns our current personal state and appearance.  The second may be the state of our house.  If we are in the middle of cleaning or things are in disarray, we may choose not to answer or open the door.  There may be a situation, depending on who is at the door, that we would exit the door or close it behind us.  This way we can politely engage with our visitor without the welcome offer of hospitality.  There are those who invite people in and apologise profusely the place is not immaculate, and others that seem to pay the condition no mind whatsoever.  Our homes and our hearts are personal things we all handle differently.

Another reason we might not open the door is because we do not recognise the person and do not want to converse with strangers or sales people.  Even when we know the person who knocks at the door it does not guarantee we are inclined to open the door.  Like the bride in the Song of Solomon, we might not immediately open the door because it does not fit in with our plans.  When her beloved husband came to the door and knocked, the bride lamented she had just bathed and climbed into bed.  It was an inconvenience to shed the covers, put on a robe, and get up go to open the door.  In the song after awhile she decided she would open the door only to find her beloved had departed and no one was there.

In Revelation 3, Jesus describes Himself standing at the door of the church of Laodicea and knocking, calling out to those inside.  Jesus said in Revelation 3:19-20, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."  It is possible for people who know and believe in Jesus, genuine believers, to ignore Jesus at the door.  We can be more focused on how presentable we are rather than His worthiness to be joyfully welcomed as our Saviour.  It is good for us to be zealous in our repentance for sin even as Zacchaeus was when Jesus came into His life and volunteered to dine with him.  The chief tax collector responded joyfully and immediately offered to give half of his goods to the poor and if he had swindled anyone to return four-fold.

When we open the door of our hearts to Jesus, He comes in and contributes all that is needed for our forgiveness and cleansing from sin.  He does not condemn us but works to change us from within.  I remember when my mum visited my house and as we were talking she was putting away cutlery and casually pulled out the plastic tray and gave it a good clean.  This was done cheerfully and without censure, a beautiful picture of the cleansing work Jesus does in our hearts and minds when we simply let Him in and fellowship with Him.  As long as we hide behind closed doors and block His entry, we deny Him and ourselves the opportunity for growth in our relationship.  Praise the LORD Jesus loves us, stands at the door and knocks, calling out our name as His beloved brethren.  Let's open the door and welcome Jesus into our lives for His glory.