Sitting down to write this evening and these wonderful words came to mind. Thank You, Father, for inspiring the heart and mind of Fanny Crosby so long ago (1875)!
Ev’ry day, ev’ry hour
Let me feel thy cleansing pow’r;
May Thy tender love to me
Bind me closer, closer, Lord, to Thee.
John 15:18-27 (<<click here to read the passage)
As I read through these verses, I can’t help but think that, on a least some fronts, I’ve been going about it all wrong. Or maybe I should say, what I have done I may not have done strongly enough.
In the previous verses, Jesus expounded the importance of love from numerous angles. But here he blatantly speaks of hate. No one has ever loved us as much as He did. No one has ever sacrificed as much as He did, proving His love for us. He was literally the personification of love. His words, His actions all pointed to the reality of who He was and why He came.
As a faithful believer in Jesus and what He clearly proclaimed, I strive to love. I pray that my actions, despite my humanity, which inevitably taints those actions, overall communicates Jesus’ love for everyone with whom I come in contact.
But if I am truly following Jesus and make every effort to conform to His likeness, I’m not getting something right. I should love so strongly, as He did, that others would hate that love and for all of which it stands.
OK…my brain is hurting… How can we love to the point where it turns some people off? But it is painfully obvious throughout Jesus’ ministry, that He did just that! His goal was to show everyone the love of the Heavenly Father in everything He did. But the rub came when the truth of what he did and said didn’t gel with what they saw as truth.
And aren’t we called to do as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did? Paul admonishes us in Ephesians 4:15,
But speaking the truth in love [in all things—both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head—Christ. AMP
There are things being spouted as truth that I will stand up against, but at least for me, that’s a very hard thing to do. I’ll be the first to admit that I am by no means perfect and encourage anyone listening to what I say or reading what I write to check it out. If it doesn’t mesh with Biblical truth, call me out! I need to know! But am I as forthcoming with my challenges? Not nearly often enough. And in so doing, do I allow “false truth” to flourish and grow?
Yet…that is what Jesus did. He did not hold back. So many times, “false truth” was aggressively pushed by the religious leaders of His day…and Jesus pushed back! Jesus spoke the truth. He lived the truth. He was (and is!) the truth!
I cannot lay claims to those things, but I can lay claim to Him, for He surely lays claim to me! Jesus said in verse 19,
“…you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”
Lord Jesus, this is becoming a reality in my mind. Help me with the utmost of love to make it a reality in my life and actions, as well. May I stand for Your truth and no one else’s! Amen.
Sept 29th, 2021, Wed, 6:06 pm
