God is Love

“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 

1 John 4:8

A tiny but mighty bit of scripture: 1 Kings 3:16-28.

King Solomon presided over a controversial matter (of which there were no witnesses). Two women stood before him: they were prostitutes and as such, they lived in the same house. Both had recently given birth to a baby boy. 

The first woman gave birth. Three days later, the second woman gave birth. But one of the babies died in the night. At midnight, one of the women noticed that her baby had died; she swapped the deceased baby for the living baby while his mother slept. One of the women woke up in the morning to feed her child but realized he was dead. But she studied the baby in the morning light and realized it was not her baby. At this point, the second woman interjected... she exclaimed that she was the mother of the living baby.

It was King Solomon's duty, his first since becoming king, to discern the truth and judge the matter fairly. To return the living baby to his biological mother. But how? There were no witnesses. There were no fathers to claim their child. There were no DNA tests.

Immediately preceding this case, God visited Solomon in a dream. God granted Solomon the opportunity to ask for anything he wanted. Humbly, Solomon asked for wisdom, which he lacked due to his youth. He asked for the ability to discern good and bad; he asked for the ability to aptly judge the people. God granted this request.

And here was Solomon's first case; his first chance to use the wisdom God gave him. But this was a case that, seemingly, could not be solved with wisdom. That must have been what an onlooker thought, anyway, as they heard Solomon ask for his sword. Solomon commanded that the living child be divided in two; was his thought process that the only justice to be had would be that both mothers' babies died?

Much more clever, and compassionate, and just than that, Solomon's actions keenly exposed the deceitful mother! For his words drew the true mother of the living baby to immediately beg the king to spare the life of the baby; to give the child to the other woman, who was not his biological mother, if only to preserve his life. She preferred to live with the grief of losing her claim to her son rather than with the grief of him losing his life.

The corrupt, deceitful mother exposed herself, too... for she thought the judgment was a fair resolution. The self-sacrifice of the other mother, the one that would save the baby's life, never occurred to her. She was unrighteous because she did not love. She was not of God, for God is love. 

Since Solomon could not possibly determine the biological mother, he used a bold and shocking tactic to expose the deceitful mother. The woman who should under no circumstances receive the living child. For certainly he knew that he dealt with one deceitful woman, and one truthful woman. One of them was a liar and he needed to discern between them.

This is a story about love. Love in its truest, rawest form, its self-sacrificing nature. And mingled with that, it is a story about faith; because not only does it foreshadow self-sacrificing nature that was the birth and sacrifice of Jesus, it echoes the near-sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham in faith. 

As horrible as it is that we live in a world where atrocities such as this, and worse, could occur... it is also a world in which love can stop it from happening. Solomon's wisdom was unparalleled; it was famously impressive and restorative, but not half as much as that true mother's love. 

She embodied the compassion that cannot be taught. She possessed the character that cannot be bought. She expressed a love that cannot be faked. Shunned by society or not (for her trade), this was a woman of integrity and thereby an example to us all.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

She is the very definition of love. Between this woman and Solomon is a wealth of knowledge about how to discern between good and evil, truth and deceit. We learn to discern whether our own love is pure or tainted... subsequently, we learn how to love better, in the righteous way. We learn to let compassion reign, even at the expense of all else.

Perhaps a tiny first case, but not a trivial one. Right out of the gate, this was his first action as king, this matter. For a purpose, undoubtedly: to cleave unrighteousness from righteousness, darkness from light, truth from deceit, good from evil, a loving heart from a hateful heart, a pure spirit from a corrupt spirit... the discernment on which the whole kingdom of God endeavors and rests.

Heart to Serve

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you;

…For every one that askes receives; 

Luke 11:9-10

The Lord is generous. 

He has expressed that it is His great joy to give us access to, and the fruits of, His kingdom (Luke 12:32). In Malachi 3:10-12, He states His inclination to open the windows of heaven and pour out blessing... So much that there isn't enough room to receive it. God gives with a selfless heart and we should ask with one.

In order to receive what we ask for, we must know what to ask for. Nobody would expect a sportscar from a vending machine; neither should we expect one from God. When we arrive at a source, with a request for a provision, we should be aware of the contents of its warehouse. If someone has a selfish request, born from a selfish motivation, to be used for a selfish intention, God is not the source to be asked.

To understand how God's system of ask-and-receive works, we must first ask, in earnest, for ears to hear, eyes to see, a heart to serve, and a mind to lead.

Ears to Hear

"He that has ears to hear, let him hear." Matthew 11:15

It all begins with ears to hear. The first thing we must ask for is access to the word of God. People without ears to hear think Jesus' parables are, at best: fairytales, and at worse: nonsensical. Those with ears to hear, understand them as deep truths told in parables. Revelations about the world and truths about humanity, masked as simple advice.

We must delve beneath the superficiality of the world before we can understand what truly is a worthwhile request. But we cannot do that without ears to hear. If our ears are blocked to conversation with God and lectures from Jesus, our worldview is too self-centered and thereby, too limited, to ever ask for anything that would matter. We cannot transform ourselves, our family, our community, region or world with such a narrow scope. And is that not why we ask for things in the first place? To transform something or someone or some feeling into a different or better version?

This is the first and most intimate conversation anyone ever has with God: the first ask. The desire to understand, to know more, to want to believe. To be at the beginning, to crest the hill and see an ocean, to have the courage to step into it. It is the beginning of a lifelong relationship, a ceaseless conversation in heart and prayer, and journey to the heart of God. Ears to hear is figurative. The ear is the spirit awakening, realizing its distinction from the body, and pursuing its natural habitat: the kingdom of God.

With ears to hear, our instruction begins. Scripture transforms into a personal life-guide. A daily provision. A lifelong foundation. It adapts as we grow in wisdom; our dialog and counsel with God becomes wider and deeper, our ability to hear becomes more attuned to what we missed before. And then, we flourish.

Eyes to See  

"Blessed are your eyes, for they see." Matthew 13:16  

 

Next we ask for eyes to see. We need eyes to see the character of God; We understand who God is by what He loves and what He does. (This is how we should determine anyone's character). The first is quite simple: God loves His children. God's whole purpose, described in scripture from Adam to Jesus, Genesis to Revelation, is to gather, love and lead His children: humanity. And that is the answer to the second; what God does is heal, instruct, give, forgive, and save. Plus, He does so much more: God is the mastermind creator. He is the proliferator of life. He gives life and love in bold, broad, specific and precise ways.

If the biosphere itself were not miraculous enough, He has created a whole universe around it to host us. Are we worthy? God's generous heart decided that we are worthy. In that truth we see God even more, in this way as an entity full of mercy. From scripture we know that He is the established, incorruptible, unerring justice system.

When we see who God is, our faith proliferates. More clearly than ever are we able to view life from His vantage point.

Heart to Serve

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Matthew 9:36 

 

God's vantage point is the peak of abject compassion. Not unmovable but moved, moved by compassion. It is the natural and necessary progression of faith to desire a heart to serve. No longer does life cease to exist beyond ourselves. Steadily, it becomes apparent that we cease to exist, in any meaningful way, if we do not live beyond ourselves.

We grow in faith so much that we cannot fit into our old mold. We are not ignorant to the plight of the people and in good conscience, we cannot neglect them. From our journey and relationship with God we are given a new heart, just as He promised:

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

With our new heart, we cannot imagine asking for anything other than the ability and resource to assist the orphans and impoverished, the ensnared and endangered, the sorrowful and fearful persons of the world. It ceases to matter whether or not we will ever become great, and yet we become it: great in the service of God (Matthew 23:11). We cease worrying about what we need, and yet our needs are taken care of better than ever before, better under God's management (Matthew 6:33). When we are otherwise engaged, in the service of the kingdom, God takes care of us.

We ask then for a heart to serve, in order to: emulate Jesus, who healed the literal and figuratively sick, forgave the ignorant and repentant, and fed those hungry for bread and the word of God; to embody the good Samaritan, who bandaged the wounds of the unjustly attacked and tragically abandoned; to be even like the dog that tended to Lazarus rather than the like one who walked right by;...(Matthew 4:23; Matthew 14:19; Matthew 4:4, Luke 10:25-37, Luke16:19-21)

…And finally, to be like Solomon.

Mind to Discern 

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 1 Kings 4:29  

 

The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night: Ask, what shall I give you? Solomon was poised to become king. He would succeed his father, king David, who, through faith and obedience to God, fought and led the people into a nation. Solomon was the beloved prince, precious to David (who was precious to God) and thus, likely, easily poised to become a spoiled king.

But the reverse was true: Solomon was humbled by his father's legacy, the responsibility of his role, and by the goodness and mercy of God. He understood himself as a servant of God, first and foremost, in the midst of a multitude. A multitude that needed a leader capable of compassion, judgment, and discernment. He could have asked for anything at all, anything for himself... instead, he asked for something he could give to others. He asked for those capabilities. The ones that would benefit God's people.

In doing so, he pleased the Lord. God specifically noted His pleasure in the fact that Solomon had not made a self-centered request. Solomon's ask was selfless but not without magnitude. He asked for many-lifetimes worth of wisdom. Justice. Objectivity. Discernment. The ability to lead a nation. God was able to grant it nonetheless. Ask and you will receive... if you ask for the right reasons. Solomon's selfless request was granted with abundance, and with the added bonus of everything he could have asked for but humbly chose not to.

Solomon went to sleep a man rich in faith and woke as a man rich in wisdom and much more. He rose from his bed, thanked the Lord then began to scaffold a nation with the resources he was given. Everything given to him by God he gave to the people. Subsequently, his example continues to teach us that whatsoever we ask for should be asked for with the intention of giving it all away. When asked in that manner, God surely opens the windows of heaven and from them overflow blessings inexhaustible. 

To whom much is given, much is expected (Luke 12:48). God will freely give. There is no shortage; the system of ask and receive, without limits (Matthew 11:24), is intended to reach the people, without limits. Blessing is plentiful because the need is great. And since the laborers are few (Luke 10:2), more and more and more will come from God to the individual who asks, to the one committed to the work, the service of the kingdom via service to those in need.

Solomon's request managed to get to the crux of the purpose of the whole system of ask-and-receive. We are instruments of God; vessels through which His blessings flow into others. For we are God's fellow-workers (1 Corinthians 3:9). We are His ears, eyes, hearts, minds, hands here on the ground... if we ask to be.

If we ask, we will receive, and our joy will be complete (John 16:24).

Grow in Grace

"... the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;" 

2 Peter 3:10

Partakers of the Divine Nature, 2 Peter 1

The nature of the world is entirely separate from the nature of the spirit. Throughout the Bible God requests that we be holy. Interestingly, the word holy means separate. If we are called to be separate, we must need to be different... but from what? The world. The kingdom of Heaven operates in a different manner, and for a different purpose, than the world does. As a consequence of that, the world does provide what we need to diligently develop in the nature of the spirit. The world tempts our bodies. The Lord tests our spirit.

In his second letter, Paul adjures us to be diligent. Focused. Attentive. Productive. Intentional. Involved. Conscientious. So that we may be partakers of the divine nature. So that we escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. To do this, he suggests that we steadily develop our character, consistently growing upon and adding to the righteous character, behavior, and lifestyle that we learn from the Lord.

Ultimately, Jesus taught us to retrain mindset and behavior. Because of what he taught, and how he exemplified it, we learn that we are not merely biological bodies. We have a spirit that a biological body hosts and maneuvers. The body and the spirit are nourished differently; 

The body is tempted by the world in that it craves and strives doggedly for what will advance itself. The scientific theory "survival of the fittest" is also the mindset of the world. Our bodies are naturally self-centered creatures. And if our spirit has not been retrained to take the reins, so are we (self-centered). Much of what we say and do and think is to satisfy our body.

The spirit is tested (rather than tempted James 1:3) by the Lord as part of the retraining process. The Lord catalyzes our spirit to be better, to develop, to establish itself, to strengthen itself, through a series of life circumstances. The "test" element of it comes from the fact that the nature of the world, in which we are smack-dab in the middle of, is separate from the divine nature. Some examples from this from Jesus' own teaching:

The meek inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5

Incredibly, this is the exact opposite of the nature of the world, of survival of the fittest. Jesus encourages us to be gentle rather than ferocious. Yet the world has trained us that ferocity obtains what it wants.

Give and you will receive. Luke 6:38

Without faith, that sentence does not even make sense. That's how separate Jesus' approach to life is from the world. The body may not gain from giving, but the spirit does. By giving, the spirit reveals itself as a capable, functional, reliable, willing vessel through which blessing comes from the Lord into the person and thereby the world.

The least will be greatest. Luke 9:48

The diligent servant of the Lord is elevated in the kingdom. The diligent servant in the world is overlooked. Uncelebrated, or even unseen and unappreciated.

Our body is a well and our spirit is the water. Through diligent faith, the living water of God fills us up. Our biological bodies become quite inconsequential when we focus on the nourishment of our spirit. Focused on spiritual nourishment, our bodies receive what they need to be healthy and functional as they maneuver our spirits to do the work of the kingdom rather than vain wants, and unproductive things, for itself (and those things are sometimes even worse than unproductive and vain, they can be harmful and corrupt).

Perished in Corruption, 2 Peter 2

The world tempts our bodies. The world proffers what our bodies desire. History and personal experience have shown how unchecked desire has deeply ensnared and damaged countless people. Yet there is good news in two parts from the Lord. Part 1: God knows how to help the godly, the holy, those earnestly endeavoring to be separate, out of temptation. God recognizes when His child is drowning and wants to be saved, wants to retrain themselves into a different outcome. He is able to save that person... from themselves, from oppressors, from vices, fears, sorrows and addictions. Part 2: God reveres the unjust to a day of judgment. So while an earnest, though imperfect, child of God (person) may not perish in corruption, the actually unjust do.

For while the kingdom of heaven is gentle, it is divinely ordered, balanced, and mightily maintained. Jesus did not teach us to be powerless; He taught us that a meek, generous, sedulous, spirit is power... for it mines its strength directly from the all powerful God (1 John 4:4). From God flows directly into us power over not just evil but all the things the secular world cannot seem to shake: grief, fear, anxiety, pain, addiction, depression, lethargy, apathy, existential-crises.

So many of the world are, as Peter states, wells without water; clouds carried by a tempest; in the mist and midst of darkness. But in the kingdom, we are light. The living water nourishes, fills and overflows us with blessing. For us, by God's command, the tempest ceases, unable to carry us off. God is our firm foundation, our provision, the source of the light and power that makes us wholly separate from those entrenched in the way of the world.

And that is as much blessing as it is responsibility. Peter aptly glorifies God for these gifts we are given but he also warns us to be diligent with our gifts. We know better, we must do better. We have much, we must give much. The expectation for us to be separate, holy, in our character and behavior increases. Regression worldly, selfish habits is a darker, deeper blemish once we are ignorant no longer of sin.

Grow in Grace, 2 Peter 3

So, grow in grace. Make it a daily mission, a lifelong endeavor, to grow in grace... in evermore precise emulation of Jesus. It is a commitment that requires action... to be holy is to actively separate, or even extricate one's mindset from where it started. If we do not grow vigilantly in grace, we neglect to develop. Worse, we regress. We need consistent conversation with God and review and reflection of Jesus' life to remember, to maintain, to grow to be spirits God will call His own and call to action. 

For we do want to be active, in earth and heaven. Even the word "angel" means messenger. That implies action and duty. We want to be participants of the operation of the kingdom of heaven, part of its many-membered-whole. We learn that diligence here, now. This life in the world is a chance for development that could progress us into service within the kingdom of God. We can be proponents of the spirit now by doing God's work here. 

And because, as of right now, we cannot completely separate from our body we need to learn to rely on God. To source our needs from Him. To let Him fill the tanks within us that actually bring happiness (generosity, service, kindness). Our spirit needs power from Him to overtake the temptations of the body that bring us no peace, no joy, no fulfillment.

Hold Your Tongue

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, 
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 
Matthew 12:36

True faith will control the tongue. The Book of James is our most prominent resource for learning the importance of productive faith. It is imperative for any Christian to consider their works, not because works earn us a place in heaven (the grace of God does that) but because faith without works is ineligible for grace. Because faith without works is dead (James 2:14).

There is an important component to faith that is not often talked about or reflected upon: the ability to control the tongue. The work, in faith, the faithful act of restraint. The ability to bridle oneself, as James teaches in James 3:2-8:

"For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, withersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles! And the tongue is fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that is defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." 

Matthew 7:18 explains that what is within will come out; in its specific words: a good tree cannot produce evil fruit, nor can a corrupt tree cannot produce good fruit. People and circumstances will provoke us to anger and impatience, and if we have not done the faithful work of cultivating peace inside, we will spew such ugliness right back at them. 

How do we do work on the inside? We adopt the perspective of Jesus; we rely on the promises of God. From Jesus' vantage point, every person deserves our love; and God's promises are of restitution and justice. We do work on the inside by humbling ourselves and reminding ourselves that faith without works is dead. Ego fuels our temper and supplies the nasty words and tone that corrupt our speech. If we proudly understand and accept ourselves as servants of God, we will serve Him. And in the manner He has requested. We are asked to love others, we are asked not to render evil for evil. We consistently remind ourselves that faith without works is dead because God knows people by their works (Matthew 25:35-40). Anything we do on behalf of another is service to Him. (And, horrible but necessary reminder, to harm someone is to harm him). We remind ourselves that we want to be known by God for our righteous actions, not by unrighteous ones, or by altogether inactive faith. We must build our character! Since we all fall short (Romans 3:23) there is always something within us to improve upon.

In the process of learning to restrain our tongues, it can be helpful to review the day before bed. Think about what could have been done better, as well as what was done well. Endeavor to do better, to alter what needs to be fixed, to build upon what was done well. Likewise, it can be helpful to begin the day by setting the mind to conscious effort in faith. Like a priming, a preparation for the day makes one more apt to respond intentionally (aligned with God's manner, rather than subject to the body's rampant emotions) and thus productively.

And ultimately, review always, the heart. Peace and light will produce peace and light. A noxious inside will spew noxious fumes to the outside. If there is hurt or anger or fear, it will control the tongue. Only through a tight-knit, closely-clung to, consistently communicative relationship with God can those internal hurts be healed.

And plainly, learn to communicate. It is not always natural, the best ways to express oneself do not always come easily to hand. Scripture and other resources exist to help learn how best to state what is true, necessary and kind. Sometimes what others say is not what is meant. An angry word might have been derived from sadness; fear from distrust, impatience from exhaustion or circumstances wholly unrelated to the target who receives it. It is important to remember that as both the speaker and the one being spoken to.

And that inside-work becomes homework, of a sort, that takes place outside of us, in the real world. In real conversations. The work that takes place within ourselves takes place within our every day, thought and interaction. We learn from God then put into practice the concepts of patience, kindness, mercy and the like. We develop the habit, the spiritual muscle/ability, to behave according to God rather than circumstance. 

The statement "faith without works is dead" reminds us to be generous Christians within our family, friend-circles, community and world. But it is deeper than that. As children of God, we rely on Him and scripture to do a work within ourselves (mentioned in Philippians 1:6). Before we can produce fruit, good or evil, we develop. What we develop into, a producer of good or evil, depends on the characteristics, habits, values and actions we embody and hold and do and express. In other words, how well or poorly we emulate Jesus determines the type of fruit we produce. The work of sincere emulation is a work in faith we cannot neglect!

Speech is an expression of what is inside of us. What we say, and how we say it, is evidence of whether our spirit holds the reins and is in alignment with God's will and personality, or not. If we have not bridled our base emotions (our mouth, especially), we are not in control of ourselves. If we are not in control of ourselves, our spirit is subdued by our body. If our spirit is subdued, how can it work in faith?

Perhaps the person on the other side of the conversation is a bad-fruit-producing-tree and is guilty of provocation... our response is still a reflection of us, not them. If we respond caustically, we too are a bad-fruit-producing-tree. Neither they nor we, have done the work of restraining our tongue. Caustic speech is evidence of an un-mastered, unrefined, undisciplined self. 

To be provoked into a temper is a sign of spiritual immaturity or even spiritual neglect. To restrain our tongue is to learn to communicate in a righteous way; the ability to do so is derived from a righteous spirit. As we learn from James' examples, mastery over our tongue actually drives our entire body to act, react and speak in a godly manner.

The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, Matthew 15:8 tells us. If we can only muster patience, kindness, peacefulness and even-temperament when it is easy, when it is given to us first, what is our accomplishment? God teaches us to be patient, kind, peaceful, and even tempered so that we will use it when it matters, when it is difficult to do. 

In the same vein as James 2:19 and Luke 6:32-36, which tell us that even devils believe in God (though they do not follow Him) and even evil people are kind to their friends, so do they also have an even-temperament when everything is going their way. Indeed as stated in Luke 6:35, God is kind even to the unthankful. We must learn to apply that ability to our own interactions with people.

1 Peter 3:9-17 Provides the mindset with which we accomplish the task of restraining our mouths. What we actually seek when we respond angrily to another person is restitution. We argue when things are improperly balanced; we argue because we seek the balance and restoration that will make us feel happy. Well, if we suffer for righteousness sake, happy are we (3:14). Ultimate, foundational happiness comes from a spirit in alignment with God's will and purpose. For true, faithful children of God, happiness does not come from arguing our own cause but from aligning with God's and knowing that in due time, He will support ours.

In order to love life, to have good days, we must restrain our tongue. We must not kindle fires. Rendering evil for evil will not accomplish happiness. Righteousness will do that, for God's eyes and ears are open to prayers of the righteous. Compassion, mercy and courteousness to even the undeserved renders compassion, mercy and courteousness back to us. 

James 3:9-13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom...The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Only a well disciplined person has any claim on wisdom. Speech is an action, therefore it is a work, and God watches our works for they reveal the productivity and character of our faith. Thus must we be disciplined in the act of speech. We are responsible for what we say (Matthew 12:36), we are influenced by what we hear (1 Corinthians 5:11) and we are noxious for what we busy-bodily repeat (2 Thessalonians 3:11). All aspects of conversation are components of our faith.