Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this the first day of March. Praise the Lord for the gracious invitation He has given us that we might seek to live in fellowship with Jesus day-in and day-out. It is written," that this is the message that we have heard from the beginning that we should love one another and that love is modeled for us in the life of Jesus. "
In 1 John 3: 12-16, John contrasts two lives, the life of Cain and the life of Jesus. John said that we are not to be like Cain who killed his brother for selfish reasons, but that we are to imitate Jesus who laid down His life for you and for me. When we hear the story of Cain, who murdered his brother, contrasted with the story of Jesus, who offered His own life, a sinless, spotless, perfect life, for the lives of sinners like me, it is not hard to figure out that Jesus is the model that we should emulate. The juxtaposition of Cain and Jesus is the contrast of the life of hate and murder versus the life of love and self-sacrifice.
Even the most hard of heart can easily conclude that it is more noble to emulate the life of love and self-sacrifice. Especially in this society where self-love is much more prominent than self-sacrifice we need to have an example whom we can follow. "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." John Stott wrote, "The Cross is an example to copy, and not simply a revelation of love to admire."
David Livingstone, the great missionary to Africa, once said, "People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice that is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny? It is emphatically no sacrifice. Rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, foregoing the common conveniences of this life - these may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing compared with the glory which shall later be revealed in and through us. I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself for us."
It is inconceivable to most to think that David Livingstone never made a sacrifice. A study of his life would probably convince you otherwise, but Dr. Livingstone was able to say that what others saw as a sacrifice he saw as a privilege. Dr. Livingstone understood John's lesson in sacrificial love lived out in everyday life.
In verses 18-20, John encourages us once again by saying, "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything."
We are called to live sacrificially in sharing the Gospel with all people. There is a wonderful blessing that arises from loving our brothers and sisters in a sacrificial way. We gain assurance that we belong to the Lord and we will one day be at rest in God's presence. When we choose to live sacrificially and love our brothers and sisters then we are at rest, peace permeates our souls, and we have confidence that we belong to the Lord.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSKnkqAOhpA
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 26, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Laureen Naik
Speaker: Rev. Brown Naik
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment