Good Morning Friends,
Great truths might be simpler than we ever imagined. And this is true especially when it comes to relationships and joy on a conscious level but perhaps not so much on a subconscious level when it comes to race and tribe or class, for below the surface things get complicated. We live in a crazy world where things just do not make sense and our culture twists things in unhealthy ways. Society periodically changes the names given to groups many discriminate against. But people first language and new names, though helpful are not enough. Prejudice persists because of pride. Our culture confuses us with the lie that pride is good…Proud to be an American. Even Proud to be a Marine. And many other cultures follow this same path. And it seems right but the exclusivity by its very nature excludes those not in the club. We need to be united to love. And not to take anything away from a person’s rugged individualism, but there is a better way to prioritize our identity that uses our uniqueness to help connect with others. Somehow Jesus worked all this out even though he was privileged in ways we cannot comprehend. He was empowered but humble, purposeful but not prideful with both principle and pragmatism. Perhaps the tipping point was that Jesus loved so much that he was willing to lay down his life for all of us. I think that changes the dynamic. It certainly seems to for brothers in battle. Of course, one does not have to understand all this to experience love, hope and joy. You see, Jesus sensed the deep desire of people to belong and especially so for those society rejects. Jesus’ personal historical narrative running in the background was all God. Unfortunately for us ours can be full of lies that we are better or worse than we really are. Relationships might not always help us to make sense out of the bewildering reality, but they make it bearable especially when it comes to the complex issue of our individualism overshadowing another person. Thankfully, Christ worked this out for us to emulate. And it is about time we did because we have an epidemic of loneliness in the United States that goes beyond race and privilege. We need a connection and closeness to others that strengthens us spiritually and like Cornelius in today’s scripture links opportunities to God’s plan. So, Do You Have A Friendship With Jesus That Helps Bridge The Gap?
John learned this from Jesus. At the Last Supper, Our Lord told John and the others, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” And right after that, He promised us that if we live like that, we will know the full joy that was in Christ. Then He gives the zinger: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” To get the joy of Christ, we have to be willing to imitate Him in His life and even in His death. Not all of us are called to martyrdom, but to be authentic disciples of Jesus, we have to be ready for that ultimate cost of our discipleship.
Scripture: On Peter’s arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshiped him. But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.” And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled; and he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?” Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.” Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
Acts 10:25-48 (NRSV)
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
John 15:9-17 (NRSV)
But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
James 4:6 (NRSV)
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:7-10 (NRSV)
Message: Jesus says that the Father has loved him and so then he loves us though the Spirit. We are loved by the Father and Son and Holy Spirit each in a personal way and that gives us a solid footing for life that belongs to something greater. Here the footing should be so strong and our love so unconditional and kind that people mistake us for Jesus. That is our destiny. To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life, and grace. Friends, if we claim to know Him, we should live, walk, and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. We need to live the Word as life unfolds day to day so that on Judgement Day the Father will recognize us as not just friends but family. This is the foundation of the church…the foundation of family…. the foundation of community…the hope, joy, and love of what it means to be a friend that pushes the boundaries of love. In a more fundamental sense, applying these teachings on a much more personal level, it is also true that all who follow Jesus have been chosen to be His witnesses, and commissioned to share His gospel with others. We all share a responsibility within the church to exercise our spiritual gifts for the furtherance of His kingdom. Friends, Jesus was privileged like no other and burdened with a task like no other. But unlike me and perhaps you as well, Jesus was not blinded by the subconscious. Let us think for a moment about this Roman officer, Cornelius in relationship with the issues of our day. We need to step back in the book of Acts to get the context of today’s tale. Cornelius was “a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms liberally to the people, and prayed constantly to God.” That is quite a resume. He was just the opposite of what people thought Romans to be. He had a vision halfway through an afternoon. An angel told him to send for Simon Peter in Joppa, some 39 miles away. The very next day, before the messengers arrived, Peter himself had a vision. Three times a great sheet came down with all kinds of critters, mammals, reptiles, birds. A voice told Peter to kill and eat them, but there were unclean animals among them, and Peter refused. Three times the voice said, “what God has cleansed, you must not call profane.” Then Cornelius’s emissaries arrived, asked for Peter to go with them, and he went. Once he arrived at the family of Cornelius, all he had time to say was “but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Cornelius and his whole family and friends showed evidence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit. Peter realized that this was proof God was making them clean, so he had them baptized, not with the baptism of John showing repentance, but with the baptism of Jesus that effected forgiveness of all their sins. You see, Cornelius was ideally suited to help bridge the gap between Judaism and Christianity and help show the logic of a belief in Jesus Christ. The conversion of Cornelius should not be understated. He may not have been the first Gentile converted but he was the first of sufficient eminence to overcome the challenge of an entrenched Jewish hierarchy. Perhaps you too might be a bridge.
And So, the price Peter had to pay for his discipleship that day, clearly, was baptizing the first Gentile converts. He had to pay steeper prices as he continued his walk toward perfect union with the Trinity, and ultimately, he gave it all, crucified upside-down. This should lead us all to recommit ourselves to walking with Jesus, to spreading His Gospel, and asking for the grace to pay whatever price is demanded. You see, rooted in God’s love is not only leadership but also a friendship that is essential to the Kingdom work to which we have been called as disciples of Christ. And now we are to be led by the Holy Spirit in these relationships. We are to recognize the power of God’s love for us, which should compel us to passionately serve each other out of love. And so, friends, take time to experience Christ’s Spirit in others. Open your heart to Him. Not that you have not. But seek to draw closer to Him as you experience His power and majesty. Soak in His love and grace. Seek His power and strength. Celebrate Jesus! Be passionate about Christ! Be excited about worshiping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the Friend beyond all other friendships. Being without friends is lonely and frustrating but it is even worse when Jesus is not one’s friend. He is there with you even now to give you peace of mind in times of trouble. He comforts us and leads us in the path of peace and joy. Jesus as a friend forever. He is a shoulder for us to cry on and truly understands and cares about us and all that concerns us. Jesus can make us smile and cry because he knows who we are and how lonely we would be without him. The message is that when we love Jesus, or another human being, we literally cannot set a limit on what we do to demonstrate that love to the glory of God.
Pray we see clearly and wholly. Pray
we have friends that let us think out loud. Pray we are living lives that count. Pray we are living lives that abide in a full relationship with God. Pray we are Christ centered, bearing fruit that glorifies God and are motived by a desire to be a friend to others in need. Pray we realize that Jesus never put a limit on the number of friends we should love. Pray our love stretch our advocacy for others. Pray our friendship with Jesus opens our hearts and minds to a holy relationship that develops relationships with others that make a difference. Pray we realize that though we may not all be Apostles we all have a role to play. Pray our prejudice be turned into acts of humble inclusion. Pray we have both principle and pragmatism but also pray we have the miracles of hope and love and joy and grace overflowing. Pray we have a common friend in Jesus. Pray we are led by the Holy Spirit to bridge the gap for others.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 