Sunday’s message continued the current teaching series on love, as we have attempted to wrap our minds, in some small way, around the concept of love as the Bible teaches it– love of self, love for other people, and of course mainly, our love of God. Our focus was on John 3, and specifically on this man Nicodemus, a high religious official, who came to Jesus by night with honest questions about who Jesus was and how to relate to Him. We called Nicodemus an “honest skeptic,” one who set out not to debunk Jesus’ claims, but to discover their validity.
We also considered the proposition of “new birth,” and explored its implications. I would be interested in your observations related to being “born again.” What does the expression mean to you?
Finally, we talked about what the word “eternal” means– particularly as it relates to everlasting life. Our assertion was this: “If what you think you have ever ends, then what you think you have is not eternal life.” I would appreciate it if you would react to this statement, especially in light of the prospect of one losing his salvation.
IT’S YOUR TURN. . . .
March 26, 2009 at 10:03 am |
I was recently asked the question from a friend “Do you think God still loves you even if you are not accepting His love or working to seek His love?”. I had to respond “yes I do”. Then my thoughts start to pick at me about the subject…I had to look in the Bible for an answer and still have not found what I am looking for. I think I need a little help. I am not speaking about committing sin as a Christian, I realize the grace God offers me in that realm. I am speaking about the people who are rejecting God and His offer of salvation. I want to take it in faith that He loves everyone and longs for us all to come to Him.
March 26, 2009 at 12:57 pm |
You are right to respond in the affirmative. God’s love for every human being is unconditional, without respect for their response to it. Romans 5:8 is a good place to start– “God demonstrated His great love for us, in that (even though) we are sinners, Christ died for us.” In other words, He loves us in spite of our own sinfulness. This truth is foundational to any relationship with God. The attempt to frame God’s love as conditional to our behavior leads a person down a dark path from which he can never return. We cannot understand such unconditional love apart from the parent/child relationship. You love your child now matter how he acts. Take that concept of parental love and refine it to match the limitless capabilities of Almighty God, and you can begin to see how great a love He has for us!