Monday, June 02, 2008

From Rules to Love

Suggested Bible Reading
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

"Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

"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.

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
-John 3:1-17 (NRSV)

 

Today's Scripture

The whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
-Galatians 5:14 (NRSV)

 

THE summer before my wife, Suzanne, and I became engaged, I was obsessed with questions: How could I be sure our marriage would not end in divorce? How could I be certain that ours would be a happy home? It occurred to me that rather than a marriage license, I was asking for a warranty to take the risk out of loving another person. But there is no love without risk.

 

 

In a similar way, for many years I wanted my life with God to be legal and literal, like a game in which all the rules are written down. Living by rules removes ambiguity and risk. I have spent a lot of my life keeping rules, preferring to be right rather than loving. But in my loving marriage and in my life in Christ, I have experienced the difference between living legalistically and living by grace.

 

 

In the spiritual life, living within the circle of love may require unlearning much of what we think we know about God. Only as we let love guide our understanding of the rules can we receive the gift that we know but can never know fully, the good news that we hear and proclaim: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son . . . . God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:16-17).

Mike Ripski (Tennessee, U.S.A.)

Prayer
God, take away our need for certainty and give us faith that risks loving others and loving you. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Love shatters legalism.

 

Prayer Focus

Newlyweds