Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Do You Want to Run Away?

 Over the last year as life has sometimes seemed crazy in light of Covid and the political climate in America, my wife, Traci, and I have often talked about just wanting to get away from it all. We want to buy some isolated tract of land in the mountain west, build our tiny home, and get away from all of the problems of the current world. 


While this solution seems like it might work for us personally, when we examine what God really wants us to do with our lives, we discover that one of the enduring truths about life is that we are not supposed to live just for ourselves. In this series of articles, I have examined some truths that endure even when things get tough. The truth of God’s sovereignty and goodness. The truth of our sinful nature and need for a savior. The truth that Jesus loves us in and through all circumstances. In this article, I want to focus on the truth that God created us to love Him and to love others, and that particularly when life is hard we are called to show His love to the world.

When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded that we are supposed to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and second to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). So if we are going to follow in Jesus’s footsteps, we are going to need to learn to love God and love others in all situations. In fact, one of the ways that Jesus’s type of love is different than our modern transactional view of love is that He loved people even when they did not love Him (Romans 5:8).


True godly love is the type that is revealed in the worst of times. Can you love by serving your family after a hard day of work when your body is sore and your mind is tired? Can you care about a person even when they treat you unjustly and say mean things about you that are not true? Can you show love when you are sick? Can you show love when you are grieving and someone says something inconsiderate? 


All of these times are when we want to run away and have some “me time.” Our world tells us that we deserve a break, and that we should ask the question “who cares about me?” The truth is that in this world, perhaps we will not find justice, love, rest, and care from others. Jesus, the best man to ever live, was abandoned by His friend and tortured and killed by His enemies, but He still loved them and died to make His enemies into His friends.

In these bad times we can only find the strength to sacrificially love others by experiencing His supernatural love for us. When we fill up on His love, we then become the instruments of His love. When we see someone in distress, we will sacrifice our time to stop and comfort them. We will sacrifice our money to help those in need, even when we know that their own behavior led to some of their problems. We will choose to listen and respond gently when someone brings a criticism that we think is unfair. We will fight to restore relationships that are broken by sin, even if it means we have to admit and ask forgiveness for our own sins.

When we build our lives on the solid foundation of a loving relationship with our Lord and Savior, we do not have to run away from the brokenness in the world. Instead, we are called to enter into the brokenness and show others the love that Jesus has for them, so that more people will desire to build their lives on a relationship with Him. The truth is that people need the Lord and we have the exciting job to run into the crisis where people are desperate for help and show them that Jesus is their ultimate hope. If we really know and understand these enduring truths about God, our world, and ourselves then our lives will continue to change to become more like Jesus, and others will see and feel His love coming through us.



The truth is . . . Jesus loves you.

I have a question for you, does your phone love you? Do the little words and pictures on the screen provide you with a sense of belonging? Do you find significance and purpose for your life on Instagram and Facebook? Are your Instagram followers going to be there when your life does not look like it has been put through a photo filter?

In this series of articles, I have wanted to remind us of some eternal truths in the middle of our uncertain and chaotic world. The first article reminded us about God’s good nature and sovereignty, while the second article reminded us that because of the fallen nature of man we cannot look to earthly solutions for lasting peace and joy. In this article, I want to remind you that Jesus loves you, so that when our Facebook and Instagram lives fall apart, we will know where we can turn.


Perhaps you are at the point where you feel worthless. You recognize that through your failures, sin, and lack of effort you have not lived up to your potential in the eyes of the world or God. Your life does not match the image that other people put out there, or perhaps you feel worthless because you know all to well that you are a sinner. Well, I have some great news for you!! Jesus came to save people just like you. He talks specifically to you saying, “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10), and "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). When Jesus tells us that God loves the world (John 3:16), He is not talking about people who have it all together, but rather to His enemies (Romans 5:7-10).


Maybe though Jesus’ love is hard to experience right now just because this year has been hard. Perhaps you are simply depressed because you do not have hope that the pandemic will ever end or that we can really have peace in our world. Maybe you are sick or in grief because you have lost someone. How does Jesus’ love help in the middle of trouble that you did not cause and that you cannot fix? How can sickness, death, and war even be reconciled with the love of Jesus? Well, the Bible tells us that Jesus’ goal for us is not primarily to make us healthy, wealthy, and safe in this life, but rather to transform us into the type of people who can handle adversity by learning to truth Him in all circumstances. In fact, James 1:2-4 and Romans 5:3-5 make it clear that He brings trouble specifically to help us form character. Like a bodybuilder using heavy weights to build muscle, God uses trials to help us build better character. He says, that all things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), so we can see trouble as an opportunity to trust Jesus more. 


Jesus’ love is so solid that we can have hope that no matter what happens in this world, we can find real love and purpose. As the apostle Paul says at the end of Ephesian 3, nothing can separate us from the love of God. He knows you without the screen, without the filters, without the makeup, and without hitting the like button. He loves you right where you are. Will you come to Him just as you are and let Him love you in the good and bad? Will you let His love be the grounding of your life? Jesus loves you this I know, for the Bible tells me so!!