God's Gracious Love

"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32, ESV)

This declarative statement about what God has already done for us also interrogates every doubt one may harbour as to God's willingness or ability to meet any of our needs.

In other words, our scripture text compels or challenges the believer to carefully consider the reality of their new creation status in Christ, how gracious God has been and how much more gracious He can be.

Beloved, rest assured that God withholds no good thing from those who do what is right (see Psalm 84:11).

THE POWER TO FORGIVE

 “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,” (Luke 17:3, ESV)

“… forgive, and you will be forgiven;” (Luke 6:37, ESV)

Forgiveness is one of those things that concern every human being. Not only do we all stand in need of it from God, but in our relationship with one another, we also are either giving forgiveness or receiving it.

In a nutshell, the thrust of what I am about to share with you is this: “You have the power to forgive”. As a citizen of the Kingdom of God, you have been commanded to forgive. And in order that you are able to do this, the King has given you the grace to comprehensively obey His command.

THE LOVE THAT NEVER FAILS

There are many forces and influences on the earth but none as prolific and powerful as the power of “Christlike love” or “agape”!

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance…love will last forever!” (1 Corinthians 13:4–8, NLT)

Love manifests in different forms but it is to Christlike love (agape) that I presently wish to direct our thought. This is the only love that never fails! It will never become obsolete! It will last forever!

Agape love is defined not in terms of feelings but rather by the loving acts it engenders as our reference scripture indicate. Its character is based on God’s nature and actions because God is love.

Christlike love is the love that values, esteems, and is ready to serve. It expresses that unconditional, utmost and self-sacrificing form of love which always sees something interminably invaluable in its object.

It is no surprise then that agape is the character of the love behind God’s decision to redeem mankind from the bondage of sin and it is agape that motivated Jesus to willingly lay down His life as a ransom for the sins of humanity. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NLT).

Christlike love is the purest of all, and is able to modify all other forms of love – affectionate love, appetitive and self-interested love, etc. – infusing them with selfless and noble attributes that endure. For example the Bible urges, “if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:17–18, ESV).

By agape we must love one another sincerely or without hypocrisy. By agape we must love life (1 Peter 3:10), for only with Christlike love are we able to engage with the true concerns of life and living. In contrast, Jesus reproved the love of life that is not concerned with the real object of living but rather occupied with an undue desire to preserve life (John 12:25).

By agape we must also love God in return. ‎"We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19) and showed us priceless kindness while we were still sinners. There is no limit to His love & mercy toward us, or to the might of His power that is able to transform our lives.

And we know and are confident that God’s love has achieved its goal in us, and that we walk in the love of God that never fails because we live a life of obedience toward Him. As John noted in his first letter, “those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.” (1 John 2:5, NLT)

When we love in this selfless, Christlike manner that has it source in God, and also understand that we are loved by God perfectly, all fear is banished for there is no room left for it to thrive. God is love and His love working in you will never fail!

FIVE SIMPLE RULES - Part 5

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything with love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

“Five Simple Rules” are principles of Christian living instructed by Apostle Paul in the closing verses of his first letter to the Corinthian church, specifically verses 13 and 14 of the 16th chapter.

The first four principles focused our minds primarily on the value of being equipped to defend our faith and holding on to what God says is ours in Christ in view of the prowling presence of our spiritual enemy, the devil. He seeks opportunity to catch us off-guard with a surprise attack aimed at undermining the victorious life we are called to live in Christ Jesus. So the believer is instructed to be vigilant, steadfast in faith, courageous, and strong. However, this fifth principle, love, does not speak to any one area but affects every aspect of the Christian life: Do everything with love!

Rule #5: Do Everything With Love

As I started typing the words, “Do everything with love”, an almost comical voice went off in my head, “What’s love got to do with it..?” (…a reference to the song by Tina Turna in which love was described as a second hand emotion). But then it occurred to me that this precisely the question: What’s love got to do with living a victorious Christian life?  And the unequivocally, unwavering and unconditional answer is: “Everything, everything, and, yes indeed, everything!” But this is “agape” love and not the emotional love Tina sings about. It is of a superior quality and character. We possess it and are able to express it because God first loved us (1 John 4:10)

Love has got everything to do with being able to live the kind of life for which God, motivated by love, sent us a Saviour. In John 3:16, one of the most popular passages in the Scriptures, the Bible declares, ”For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God did everything that He did for us with love!

Christ came to earth out of love for fallen humanity, lived a sinless live, died for our transgression and rose again for our justification so that we may have the capacity to live a triumphant life as a people of God. But this new kind of life, the New Creation, created as an expression of God’s love – sacrificially and unconditionally offered to all who would accept it, can only be successfully lived by living every aspect of it as an expression of the “agape” love of God, which has been “poured into our hearts” (Rom 5:5) – whether it is in hating and shunning sin or in obeying God, we do all things with love.

You may be “doing everything” that the Bible teaches as an expression of your faith in God, but the Bible also teaches that you must do everything with love. Your faith will count for nothing if it is not activated, energized, expressed and working through love:

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love”. (Gal 5:6)

“If speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud”. (1 Cor 13:1-4)

The believer may be alert in vigilance and standing firm in the faith, never lacking in courage and in strength, but if these are not done “with love”, then he or she cannot escape doing these things with wrong motives and will end up with wrong outcomes. Such work will not glorify God.

To do all things with love is simply to do things God’s way and in God’s time (i.e., God’s how and when) regardless of how you feel about doing what He commands you to do or who you think should or should not benefit. God’s Kind of love is unconditional and it is not selective or self-centred. Love is purpose driven: God’s purpose. Jesus was able to complete His sacrificial mission and still found it in Himself to pray for the forgiveness of those responsible for Him suffering on the cross because His obedience and total submission to the Father’s purpose was love driven.

One who obeys God only when it is comfortable for them to do so does not walk in the agape or God-kind of love and does not walk in God (1 John 4:7). Love is supreme!

As the motive force behind our actions, the absence of love will be exposed by the obvious absence of the attributes of love. 1 Corinthians 13 as well as some other New Testament passages do identify some unique, observable qualities of love that we must embrace as standard Christian behaviour traits and attitude.

Love’s uniquely selfless qualities ensure that as we do everything with love, the greater good as the word of God defines it, will be served and God will be glorified in our deeds. Love is patient and waits for others, love is kind and does not ignore the disadvantages of others, love does not envy and does not covet what belongs to another, love does not puff itself with pride but is humble, and love is not arrogant and snobbish but is sensitive and considerate. Love never gives up but is always hopeful and never fails!

“The love of God constrains us…” and underlies every true success. A life lived by the motivation of “agape” love is a life lived in a way that is consistent with the will of God!

CALLED TO SERVE

The life of a true Christian is, in a nutshell, a call to serve. Every follower of Christ is a minister: you are called to serve. Ministering to people rather than manipulating them to meet your needs is the most life changing, the most rewarding and the most joyful thing you can ever do. Greatness is not the focus of this “call”, but submitting to God in obedience and serving with humility is! It is a call to give freely of ourselves and to use our time and resources, not for selfish gain, but for the good of others.

To His disciples who were squabbling among themselves over who was going to be the greatest, Jesus said:

 ...”You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around,” he said, “and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. – Mark 10:42-43 (The Message)

Notice how Jesus completely reverses the criteria for greatness and leadership. The greatest in the eyes of God is the person who serves the most.

Inspired by the words of Jesus, no doubt, J Oswald Sanders, in his timeless classic “Spiritual Leadership” (p.15), wrote: “True greatness, true leadership is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you".

In God’s kingdom, the measure of your greatness is the quality of your service to others. It is so important that we re-calibrate our definition of greatness so that it bears those striking hallmarks of self-giving, humility, empathy, compassion, charity, and submission to God just as Jesus Himself illustrated all through His life and ministry on earth.

On one occasion, Jesus and His disciples were gathered, and there was no sign of the servant who was to wash their dusty feet as was both customary and hospitable in those days when people used to walk great distances on dusty roads. What Jesus did next both shocked and confused His disciples. Their Master had just taken off His robe, picked up the bowl of water and the towel just like the servant would normally do, and He began to wash their feet one by one.

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you – John 13:12-15 (NKJV)

And the invaluable lesson of this is that:

“If you know these things, blessed and happy and to be envied are you if you practice them [if you act accordingly and really do them]” – John 13:17 (AMP).

 And as Albert Schweitzer said, "One thing I know the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve". Seeking an opportunity to serve has never been a more pressing and urgent. True joy is reposed in a servant’s heart. And just as I was finishing this piece, I read in a friend’s facebook update the following quote which was attributed to Kay Arthur:

"What is your focus today? Joy comes when it is Jesus first, others second... then you”!

So true and so pertinent! How do you respond to the call to serve today? Are you focused on it? Kay Arthur’s quote reminds us to set the right priorities in our lives daily and not to rob ourselves of joy by becoming introverted, extolling the dubious virtues of “me first” mentality that is so prevalent today. There is a right priority to life and when we get it right by following Jesus’ example of selfless service; our hearts fill up with joy. This joy comes from the satisfaction of being able to make a difference.

In his book, “The Volunteer Revolution” (back cover), Bill Hybels wrote,

“Imagine what would happen if people in our world – by the masses – took up serving towels, draped them over their arms and willingly (even joyfully) served other people in their everyday lives. Such attitudes and actions would change our world!” He added, “In my view, people are never closer to living out the teachings of Christ than when they are adding value to someone else’s life. And people who are far from God are rarely impacted than when they see 21^st century Christ-followers behaving as Christ behaved.”

You are at your very best when you serve, Christian. You are enriched and your heavenly Father is glorified by every single act of service you perform! Jesus by His exemplary life teaches us to seize the moment and make a difference not minding our reputation. He did not feel it beneath Him to wash the feet of His disciples, rather He encourages us to be the same way and serve each other. It’s time to hang up your robe, pick up the servant’s water bowl and towel!

As you seize upon the opportunities that will come your way daily to serve, know that God who has called you to such a Christ-like life is faithful and His grace is sufficient!

Pastor Victor Ubani

LOVE'S SACRIFICE

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." (1 John 4:10, NKJV)

Behind the life Christ lived on earth, the nature of the death He died on the Cross and His resurrection, we are confronted with the unfailing, unconditional love that He and God the Father has for humanity – a love that gives, and gives sacrificially!

“In this is love...”! This is how we must perceive our responsibility and the debt we owe to love one another; to love the next person purely because God loved us first, and not because they can love us in return or deserving of our kindness.

Furthermore, the nature and extent of our love should also be based on the capacity that we have received from God and the nature of the love of God which is shed abroad in our hearts (Rom 5:5). God the Father sending “His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” speaks to the sacrificial nature of God's love for us. It was neither easy nor comfortable for Jesus to do what He did for us, but it was needful for us to have such a saviour. He denied Himself to love us as He did. The God-kind of love identifies with the other person’s need. “In this is love...”

 Sacrifice is not a very popular word. Indeed, secular society is consumed with a kind of individual freedom which encourages self-centeredness and will view aspects of Christian care that God’s love inspires as wholly unacceptable intrusion. But we are not of this world even though we are in it (John 17:15-16), and we have the capacity and the grace to love selflessly and unconditionally.

We must resist the tendency to deny who we are. Self-giving is the peculiar nature of the God-kind of love; it is our nature. By faith we can obey God and live as Christ lived even when our labour of love is not appreciated.

It must be by faith, therefore, that we receive the challenge: “...if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another”. Love one another as God has loved you! As you yield to this divine challenge, you can expect your influence for God to grow deeper and wider. In this is God’s name glorified!

Live within the constraints placed on you by the love of Christ (2 Cor 5:14); let love be the central motive for the good that you do; and refuse to shrink from doing the right thing at the right time for the good of another when it is in your power to do so, even when such action demands that you make certain personal sacrifices. “In this is love...” 
We are not diminished by love, rather we are affirmed by it - "everyone who loves is born of God and knows God"! (1 John 4:7)

Pastor Victor Ubani

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

People celebrate all kinds of accomplishments - some truly worthy, some extremely crazy and bizarre, and some quite mundane indeed. Consequently there is no end to the array of celebrities, many of which one will be hard pressed to identify any worthy basis for.

What should people celebrate about you? What is the true worth of your life? The true worth of one's life cannot be estimated by the extent of the wealth amassed. Having the wherewithal is important - “money answers all things” (Eccl.10:19b), but not an end in itself. Its importance must be defined strictly as a means to an end; a lesson which the man in Luke 12:20-21 failed to learn when he chose to build larger storage for his wealth, rather than be rich toward God.

Jesus identified true life’s worth and that which is worthy of celebrating when He said:
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

Your true worth is in manifestation when you let your light shine through your good works in such a way that people are compelled to “glorify your Father”. Our light shines when we get on board with God’s agenda, dream the dreams that God has for this world, and become co-workers with Him in touching lives. That is a massive challenge - the challenge to live a worthwhile life!

The love of Christ in our hearts ought to constrain us and compel us to let our light shine. That’s the main thing!

The life to be celebrated is captured in the words of George H. Morrison who wrote in one of his devotionals: “All life is service. We must serve to live”. If you are not serving, you are dying. The good that we do with this life which God has been gracious to bless us with is the main thing. So then, we must learn to serve, for to serve is to live; or as the Apostle Paul put it, “To live is Christ...”!

Let God celebrate you! Let your light keep on shining! And don’t become tired of doing good! This appears to be the thought behind a prose that was inscribed on the wall of Mother Theresa’s room at her Home for Children in Calcutta, which reads:

People are often unreasonable, irrational and self-centred. Forgive anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

Light has come but some people will chose darkness. Be a blessing and let your light shine anyway!

THE REAL CHRISTMAS

Over the years, Christmas festivities have been shaped (or reshaped) by several traditions as a result of which many have been left wondering what Christmas truly means. Just as I was writing this article, I saw a newspaper headline that read, “A drink, a doze and a family row: it's the official British Christmas” (Evening Standard, 02/12/09, p.13). Now that can't be right, can it? Is that what Christmas is all about? Well, sadly, to some people, yes.

Some think it has something to do with pagan worship, others think it is just another highly commercialized secular holiday; add to this the debate about the date of the celebration itself and concerns about whether God really sanctions the celebration, what is left is a confusion of meaning and significance. Consequently, there are some in the church who have concluded that it is wrong to celebrate Christmas.

The question therefore is what is Christmas? Is it okay to celebrate Christmas? What is the real significance of such a celebration?

“CHRISTMAS” is a compound word formed from CHRIST (Jesus' title meaning Messiah, Anointed One) and MASS (meaning loosely, religious celebration). That is, Christmas is “Christ's Mass”, “Celebration of Christ”. The celebration commemorates the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”- Isaiah 9:6

Now since there is no command to commemorate Christ’s birth as in the case of His death, it is purely up to the individual believer to make a decision of conscience how to respond. But here is the thing, the Bible neither encourages nor discourages us from celebrating Jesus' birth. So would it be a sin to affirm Christmas? I think not. A clear scriptural principle that must guide you, Christian, in everything that you do or choose not to do can be found in 1 Corinthians 10:31

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

I believe that celebrating Christ in this powerful and symbolic way is, among other things, an endeavour to reach out to the whole world with the same kind of ecstatic joy as the angel expressed on that Holy night when he announced to the shepherds:

“... Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11).

We celebrate Christ daily, what can be wrong with having an annual special celebration at Christmas? As long as we do so for the right reasons, the result can only "glorify" God. Indeed, l am convinced that what would dishonour God would be that we failed to take advantage of such an opportunity to highlight the incredible love of God. I believe that we limit God whenever we fail to “remember” His deeds, the birth of Christ inclusive. Failing to use this worldwide opportunity to focus minds on the real meaning of Christmas would be like scoring an own-goal.

Should Christians abandon Christmas because it has been hugely commercialized and tainted by traditions that have nothing to do with Christ? Certainly not! Again, if that were to happen, it would be a classic case of throwing the baby out with the bath water. We should keep the baby but change the water. Let’s keep the heart of the celebration and remove from it those traditions that do not point to the purpose of Christ’s birth! Strip away those offensive traditions that contaminate the real Christmas. Jesus said traditions of men make the word of God ineffectual.

Let us reclaim Christmas, restore its true meaning, re-telling the “good news of great joy” at Christmastime. My purpose in writing this is to encourage you, child of God, to do what you can wherever you are to help restore the true meaning and significance of Christmas.

The real significance of Christmas is not, and cannot be found in the “traditions” we have built into the celebrations but in the “person and purpose” of Christ our Lord only. After the eating and drinking and exchanging of gifts many people around us still do not know the real gift of Christmas!

The real meaning of Christmas is “lost in traditions of men”. During this Christmas, a lot of People will get caught up with “things and traditions”, spending more than they can afford, and in the end rob themselves of the very joy and peace that Christ embodies.

And the real tragedy is that there are many who hope for more than presents this Christmas, but don't even know that the real Christmas gift is Christ. At the heart of Christmas is Christ - God's gift to meet man’s greatest need!

Shine the light of Christ this Christmas! Give a gift that impacts someone's life. Some of the people to whom you traditionally give gifts at Christmas may not need that extra pair of socks, but there is someone somewhere who is in desperate need of the next meal! Think about those who really need help this Christmas.

Jesus said that He came for those who needed His help, not those who don't! (See Mark 2:17). Perhaps, you can agree with some of your friends and families not to buy each other gifts, but to pool that money together and be a blessing to those who can really do with the help.
At Christmastime, we have the greatest global outreach opportunity, an opportunity to tell the story of love, peace, joy and hope for all in practical ways.

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” ( Luke 2:13-14).

So, this Christmas, I challenge you to put the heart of the story back in! Christmas has a real and important meaning and a powerful Christian message for our lives today. Let the message of love, joy, peace, and hope resound as we celebrate Christ – the Anointed One!