47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
THE LOVE OF THE FATHER -Mt.22:37-40
ReplyDeleteThe love of God is the most foundational thing in the life of the Christian, but it is oftentimes the most illusive thing as well. In many cases ministry itself can be an obstacle that separates us from the love of God. The love of God is more than head knowledge. It is something that must be received and experienced personally. We need to be like children again and sit on the lap of the Father. This is important, because without experiencing this love, we cannot give it to others.
The Christian life is not about “doing things for God.” This is a trap of the enemy. We can never be fruitful for God by being busy only. We become fruitful for God by staying in His presence. It is only when we remain in Him that we can bear fruit. Our Father's primary objective is to be close to us. Jesus' earthly ministry was the model for this. He was regularly seeking to spend time with the Father, and His public ministry was merely an overflow of that relationship.
The great commandment is summed up in our text. We are to love God, and love others. The two go together. We cannot love others if we have not understood what it means to love God, and know that He has loved us. It is a process of receiving love, and giving it away.
Love is the Source of Ministry
All over the world, the Church of Jesus Christ struggles under the burden of division and strife. It is because we have yet to understand the love of God. Walking in the love of God is not automatic. It is a fruit (Galatians 5), and fruit is the result of a growth process. We need to take care of our relationship with God. We must spend time with the Father in order to grow in the love of the Father. It is His love, not our ministry, that makes the difference (1Cor.13).
Mt. 25:31-40 paints a picture for what the love of God should look like. In short, the love of God cannot be packaged into a program. It is, rather, a lifestyle. It is about receiving love and giving it away. If you are serving the Lord, but do not yet understand this love, you must stop whatever you are doing. If our ministry is not driven by love, we become dangerous and can actually end up hurting people. The primary reason Jesus chose His disciples was not so they could do ministry. It was so they could “be with Him.” Religion is the enemy of relationship. Love is over the law. In love, we are free from the need to “prove ourselves.” He not interested in what you do. He is interested in you!
It is entirely possible to do the work of God without the God of the work. Mt. 7 describes those who prophesied, drove out demons and performed miracles in Jesus' name, yet Jesus told them, “I never knew you.” To know someone means relationship.
Jesus described Himself as the Way. A “way” is always leading somewhere. In Jesus' case, He was the way to the Father. When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, providing access for us once again to the love relationship of the Father.
Share What You Have
When Peter and John came to the lame man begging for alms in Acts 3, Peter said to him, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you...” You see, you cannot give what you have not first received. Peter had received something, and the healing that day was an outflow of that thing he received.
We cannot afford to have a greater relationship with the work, than with God. We must know and grow in the love of God, and our lifestyle will be nothing more than sharing what we have.