Post Valentine Message
God's Love and Ours
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world." 1 John 4:9-14 (written by the Apostle John, one of the closest and earliest followers of Jesus)
I know many still has the post Valentine hangover, both for those who are crazy/madly in love and the lonely and loveless.
But today we will talk about agape love, God's love -- selfless love.
Man in the Mirror
Now there was a song Michael Jackson popularized that someone else wrote for him. It was a song meant to be a ray of sunshine for people to see.
Michael loved it so much that he made it the anthem of one of his albums. Many gospel singers and church choirs have sang it since, and it's lyrics goes like this:
I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love...
It's time that I realize...
Take a look at yourself...
...starting with the man in the mirror.
It's time to make a change.
Change
Indeed Jesus changed the world. And He will change us...
People will tell us we need to change our ways. And many of us do, but like most New Year's resolutions, most if not all who decided to make a change in their lives starting last month (January) have already called it quits around this time of the year (Valentine's week).
Why? Because, change is hard. We can decide and change (on our own) but it typically will not last long.
Word of God
The Bible is the written Word of God. It is alive and active and sharper than a double edged sword.
And it is a mirror in which we are supposed to look into and see ourselves.
Reading the Word but failing to see our own reflection is totally missing the point of us reading it.
Contantly pointing out other people's mistakes and folly (a popular past time of religious people) is a sure sign that we aren't really reading the Word of God right.
Mirror
The bible was written as a mirror where we might ought to see ourselves in, see what's wrong with us and help us change. But most people aren't that quick to realize that.
The thing to keep in mind is that while reading the bible or listening to a sermon, we must constantly remind ourselves that God is speaking directly to me. Of course it is also speaking to the person sitting right next to you and everyone else for that matter. But thinking about that is entirely missing the point of reading or studying Scriptures or attending "church".
Personal Relationship Not Religion
With God it is all personal. He sent His Son to save the whole world, but if there was only one person in the world and that person happens to be you, He will still come to save you. Yes it is personal. And God desires that personal relationship with each one of us -- through His love, through His Word and through His Spirit.
Don't Miss the Point
So as we read the Word, let us not fail to see our own reflection in the mirror. And more importantly allow God's love, the Word of God and the Spirit of God to change us (yes from the inside out -- down deep from our heart).
God loves you and He will do that for you, if you would allow Him to.
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world." 1 John 4:9-14 (written by the Apostle John, one of the closest and earliest followers of Jesus)
I know many still has the post Valentine hangover, both for those who are crazy/madly in love and the lonely and loveless.
But today we will talk about agape love, God's love -- selfless love.
Man in the Mirror
Now there was a song Michael Jackson popularized that someone else wrote for him. It was a song meant to be a ray of sunshine for people to see.
Michael loved it so much that he made it the anthem of one of his albums. Many gospel singers and church choirs have sang it since, and it's lyrics goes like this:
I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love...
It's time that I realize...
Take a look at yourself...
...starting with the man in the mirror.
It's time to make a change.
Change
Indeed Jesus changed the world. And He will change us...
People will tell us we need to change our ways. And many of us do, but like most New Year's resolutions, most if not all who decided to make a change in their lives starting last month (January) have already called it quits around this time of the year (Valentine's week).
Why? Because, change is hard. We can decide and change (on our own) but it typically will not last long.
Word of God
The Bible is the written Word of God. It is alive and active and sharper than a double edged sword.
And it is a mirror in which we are supposed to look into and see ourselves.
Reading the Word but failing to see our own reflection is totally missing the point of us reading it.
Contantly pointing out other people's mistakes and folly (a popular past time of religious people) is a sure sign that we aren't really reading the Word of God right.
Mirror
The bible was written as a mirror where we might ought to see ourselves in, see what's wrong with us and help us change. But most people aren't that quick to realize that.
The thing to keep in mind is that while reading the bible or listening to a sermon, we must constantly remind ourselves that God is speaking directly to me. Of course it is also speaking to the person sitting right next to you and everyone else for that matter. But thinking about that is entirely missing the point of reading or studying Scriptures or attending "church".
Personal Relationship Not Religion
With God it is all personal. He sent His Son to save the whole world, but if there was only one person in the world and that person happens to be you, He will still come to save you. Yes it is personal. And God desires that personal relationship with each one of us -- through His love, through His Word and through His Spirit.
Don't Miss the Point
So as we read the Word, let us not fail to see our own reflection in the mirror. And more importantly allow God's love, the Word of God and the Spirit of God to change us (yes from the inside out -- down deep from our heart).
God loves you and He will do that for you, if you would allow Him to.
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