Do You Have A Spirit And Joy Filled Love?
Good Morning Friends,
During the lockdown, some of my friends at the New Canaan Society set up a zoom with Gary Chapman the author of The Five Love Languages. Mr. Chapman has also written the books, The 5 love Languages of Children, The Four Seasons of Marriage and Covenant Marriage. And on the Zoom meeting, which was oversubscribed but recorded, Gary Chapman set forth the premise that our deepest need in life is to be loved. And that during a crisis we realize the importance of spending some time to give that love a firm foundation. Indeed, it is the love of God and those closest to us that brings to light the importance of understanding how we go about being loved and in loving others. To make things better in this regard we need to build on the foundation of our relationship with God. Talking is one thing. But listening is even better. For in the middle of a crisis it is not necessarily a good time to tell people not to worry because God is going to take care of everything, or to beat each other up because our past decisions present a current problem. We need to ask people to share what they are thinking and feeling. We need to listen. But it might also be instructive to ask God how best we can love others as well as love Jesus during a crisis. Asking God what God is doing is a first step. And with that kind of conversation we set the stage to ask God those things of greatest importance. So, Do You Have A Spirit And Joy Filled Love?
Scripture: I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
John 15:11 (NRSV)
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight. Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips. The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:1-11 (NRSV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:3-9 (NRSV)
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.
Luke 24:13-23 (NRSV)
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ‘You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him, “I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover, my flesh will live in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.” ‘Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, “He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.” This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear.
Acts 2:14, 22-33 (NRSV)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
John 3:16 (NRSV)
Message: On the road to Emmaus the two disciples share a walking companion who was initially a stranger who asked them a series of questions to help them see more clearly about the work of God and then breaks bread with them. Then in the distribution, taking and eating, as if they remember the meal they shared in the upper room at Passover, this stranger is revealed to be the resurrected Jesus. The questions are about how we are feeling. And this is a good way to learn about love, because we have different personalities and deal with stress and love differently. Chapman presents five love languages that we all are to use. They are: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Giving Gifts that come out our mind and become realities, Spending Quality Time in giving our undivided attention, and Experiencing Physical Touch as love. And we as Christians are to experience these feelings through our belief in God and transfer this to our other relationships and circumstances to glorify God. God works in all these love languages, but we have a primary way of being loved formed from the time we were children. And we need to understand our preferences as well as those closest to us. We are to know the primary love languages of those in our family and circle of friends and maybe even our enemies. But we are to be willing to sprinkle in all the ways of love so that they too might be developed. It is nature and nurture, but it is also spiritual. The beauty is that we can learn to love. So humble yourself as Christ was humbled in service. Go to God and ask God to change your heart so that you might learn to love more fully. Ask God and ask others these three questions and listen for the answers. How can I help you? How can I make your life easier? How can I be better? So, bless the world with the love of Christ whether you are in a crisis or not. Have a conversation about Jesus to reveal the ways of love on a journey into the light of the Spirit.
And So, today we piece together the broken parts of this week’s lectionary Word in Christ’s peace through a better understanding of knowing God and knowing how to love. Friends, God is love and we were made in God’s image. And it is Jesus who knits up our sorrows and heals our broken spirit and teaches us how to love. He is the one who manifests the promises of God for the people of God. And so, the truth, the only meaningful fact about my life and yours is how we reflect the love of Jesus. It is that important and is ultimately the only thing of which we will not be ashamed. And it cannot be a tale or fib or yarn with embellishments or worse yet a lie, for that does no one any good. No, I am thinking about and I hope you too feel a desire and joy growing inside that spills over into the lives of others along the lines of those who walked on the road to Emmaus on Resurrection Sunday. I am talking about how Jesus changes each of us when we lift him up and talk about what he has done by laying down his life in love for us. And if we are seeking the evidence of the presence of God in our lives, we will hopefully be striving together for something more tangible than the stones that make up the places in which we worship. Hopefully we will be striving and
finding joy and love in being part of a body of believers, living stones that shout out a witness to the Good News of the Temple of God now residing in us and for us as the Body of Christ. Today with that in mind, coupled with the events of the world we continue the journey of Eastertide toward Pentecost and the birth of the church hoping that Christ is Eastering in us as we hopefully are moving toward the light of love. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus we need some enlightenment about love. And hopefully we will see that it is the love of Christians filled with the Spirit, and called to a purpose, that open doors of greatest opportunity for our salvation.
Pray we gain a better understanding of our need to love and be loved. Pray we appreciate the power of relationships shaping us into more Godly people. Pray for humility in service and pray we be grace filled and patience.
Pray we are overjoyed when His glory is revealed. Pray we give away our lives, so we might find them. Pray we not lose heart. Pray that Jesus would pour out His joy to each of those reading this word today so that each would acknowledge that God is our protector, our delight, our inheritance, our firm foundation, our resurrection and our path of life…the fullness of love forever. Pray we consider the story of how we each came to know Jesus. Pray we see Jesus in the face of those we meet. Pray we are filled with love. Pray we realize that the Resurrection of Jesus is to include us as well. Pray we share word of affirmation to God. Pray we exhibit love through acts of service for God in those things we have been asked to do. Pray we give gifts that come out our mind and become realities as an expression of God. Pray we spend quality time giving our undivided attention to God. Pray we experience the physical touch of God as we are embraced by God in the Spirit.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 