Loves Comes Full Circle

Listening to today's sermon on Philippians 3:8, I felt weary, and inclined to feel sorry for myself.  We were being admonished to count everything as rubbish in order to gain Christ. All things, in comparison to the treasure of Christ were to be regarded as no better than manure (and in reality, a much stronger, even offensive word was used in the original Greek text).

As I thought about all that my life entailed, I felt frustrated.  I wanted nothing more than simply to sit at Christ's feet, as Mary had done, basking in His truth and love, but the realities of my life would not allow this (or so I told myself, after a second trip to the "potty" with my daughter deprived me of a hymn and half of the sermon).  What does one do with all of life's obligations?  How do they fit into this model of treasuring only Christ?

B.B. Warfield says this in The Emotional Life of our Lord:

"...[Jesus] declares that the love of his followers to him, imitating and reproducing his love to them, is to be the source of their obedience to him, and through that, of all the good that can come to human beings, including, as the highest reach of social perfection, their love for one another.  Self-sacrificing love is thus made the essence of the Christian life..." (emphasis mine)

 It's not always about the "cloister," the secluded time of prayer and communion with Christ.  It is often about imitating Him and loving Him by obeying Him.  For me this means caring for my children, for my special-needs child, for my husband, and being faithful in the many tasks I have been given as a way of sacrificially loving my neighbor.

Quick Observation from Deutoronomy 27

Just wanted to make note of the emphasis on kindness (to the blind, fatherless, widow...) and sexual purity in this chapter.  I see these as recurring themes throughout Scripture in places where God gives His law.  This presents a clearer picture of His character, as He reveals what is important to Him.

And of course -- verse 15 is the foundation:  worshiping God alone, and refraining from idolatry.

This is reiterated by Christ himself in Matthew 22:37-39:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind...
You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The Thief's Creed

I recently read a comment on Facebook that said "Theology didn't save the thief on the cross."  This got me thinking.  Of course theology per se doesn't save us, but our theology is also our creed.  Our creed is what we believe, and is therefore inextricably linked to our faith.  So, I turned to Luke 23 to see what the thief said, and realized that this man confessed his faith very clearly in his last hours of life.  Here is his Credo, in my own words:

• I fear God, who has justly condemned me for my wicked deeds.

• I believe that Jesus lived a sinless life, and is Heir to the kingdom of God.

• I believe that Jesus is the one who can plead for me - who can release me from my condemnation.

• I am guilty; Jesus is sinless.

• I am a man; Jesus is the God-man, my mediator, and my Savior!