Is God speaking to His people? Let’s make it more personal – is God speaking to you? Would you say that God has ever spoken to you? Do you know His voice? Can you recognize it? When God has spoken, have you listened? Have you made a point to be obedient to Him even when it went against what you wanted to do? Has God ever asked you to do something that you know will not make you widely accepted by those around you? Have you noticed that God and His word have not changed – even though culturally we keep trying to say He has?
Do you believe God is who He says He is? Do you believe that all of the words in the scriptures are true, or do you pick and choose believing some to be “outdated?” Who determines for you what is right and what is wrong? Does God turn a blind eye toward our sin because of His love for us?
Can we do whatever we want simply because we made a confession one time to accept Him? Do we get a pardon for whatever we knowingly do that is against God’s directives? Why should there be consequences for our actions, certainly a loving and forgiving God would not allow such things? Shouldn’t we follow our hearts? Can’t our emotions lead us? Doesn’t love for others equal acceptance and justification for what they do? Isn’t it loving for me to validate their choices? Does their happiness and my own not count for anything?
In this world, but not of this world. 1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
Perhaps the reason so many people – both in the church and out of the church – are getting so intwined with sin is because they forget that this is not it. There’s more. There is another life to come. There is an opportunity for an eternal life with God. Maybe we have attempted to try and determine what the will of God is and what God allows, instead of actually pouring over His word and seeking Him to determine it? Maybe we love and care for those caught up in a life or cycle of sin that we become passive to it – even embrace it – because we cannot imagine spending eternity without them as a part of it?
I am not saying God desires us to treat others poorly. I am not saying God says for us to only love those who are saved. I am saying that God’s standard is far greater than ours. I am saying that there is a reason He determines what is considered sin and what isn’t. I am saying that God doesn’t change. He will remain the same because what is holy and good does not change.
With that in mind, how are we in America doing? How well are we as Christian American’s keeping God’s law? Are we following Him?
“And God spoke all these words. ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or to worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and forth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD you God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20: 1-17)
How are we doing? Lest we dismiss these laws as merely “Old Testament” laws or try to make them outdated – can we? Can we discard them? To do so implies that God made a mistake or has changed – which we know He cannot. Rather, as Jesus said, in Matthew 5:17, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” My guess is that we have forgotten or taken out of context the interaction that Jesus has with the religious leaders in Matthew 22:37-40. “Jesus declared, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
God does desire us to love Him first and then love others like we love ourselves. No doubt if we lived that way, just like Jesus suggests, the other commandments fall into place. That is – if we really love. If I really love God, I will worship Him alone and will not worship anything or anyone else (idols). I will not take His name in vain. I will worship and honor Him by keeping the Sabbath holy. If I really love others I will honor my parents. I will value the lives of others – therefore not murdering them. I won’t commit adultery (taking someone else’s partner), steal (take someone else’s property), bear false witness (lie and destroy the reputation of another), or covet (desire wrongfully, or without regard for the rights of others) that which belongs to another.
God’s love isn’t giving permission to creation to do whatever they want, and being ok with whatever they do. God’s love is wanting the best for us – seeing the potential in us – and desiring us to live in obedience and holiness. It is God sharing the secret with us for how to live life well and experience the greatest blessings because of it. God’s love is so deep that not only does He show us how to achieve it, through His word, but He also demonstrated how to achieve it, by walking among us. Then He did the unimaginable by creating a way for our sinfulness to be forgiven when we own our sin, confess our sin, and repent of our sin to Him. God did this because of love.
God did not say love means accepting and even supporting the sins we commit or the sins our loved ones commit. He is holy. He would never do so. And friend, neither should we.
Maybe we need to wrestle a bit with what we are accepting and in some cases even endorsing in the “name of Jesus.” Does it fit with God’s unchanging character?
LORD, no doubt we are all guilty. We have sinned against you – even while we have claimed your name. We have convoluted the truth. And the truth was never ours to change. LORD, we recognize you as our Savior – and we desperately need you to save us. Save us from ourselves. Save us from our sinful nature. Forgive us and wash us clean from the sin we commit and embrace. Set us free, LORD. Break the chains of deception that are keeping our hearts and minds captive. We are seeking deliverance. And LORD, teach us to love in a way that honors you. Help us. Open our eyes, our hearts, and and our minds to see how to really love. LORD may we not deceive ourselves or others as we attempt to love well. Father, help us to really search our hearts and desire to align them to your will. We are absolutely incapable of doing this apart from you, so we ask that you would guide us in the process. Make us speakers of truth. Help us to live in accordance with you while still demonstrating kindness and compassion to those who need to experience your truth as well. Help us to always choose you. Help us to set aside cultural norms for the narrow path of right living. We thank you, LORD, for not leaving us in our sin and shame. We thank you, LORD, for creating an opportunity for us to be forgiven and free. We love you. We ask that daily you increase our love and passion for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Blessings!