When I think about God’s love at Christmastime, I often default to John 3:16. Jesus’ first advent (coming) was because of God’s love for us. This love is so immense that it would lead Jesus to die for us that we might be saved from our sins. I have experienced over the years that this universal expression of God’s love strongly focused on the individual. You know what I mean. “If I were the only one, Jesus would still have done all he did.” Now, “God so loved the world” has become “God so loved me.” There is nothing wrong with reveling in God’s love for us individually. In fact, we will never experience its fullness. But the problem with that is so often we fail to pull back the focus to the collective level. God so loved the world.

Jesus defined our religious responsibilities with one word – love, and two aspects – God and others. Jesus’ vision of love was primarily collective. Lately, I’ve defined this for myself as “loving God by loving others.” This forces me to not relegate my love for God to the private expressions only, but to see that God is honored when I look beyond myself for the sake of others.

As I wrote last week, Jesus’ understanding of Messiah was different than that of his contemporaries. The establishment of the Messiah’s kingdom was founded on restoring people (Luke 4:18-19) so that they in turn can carry Messiah’s anointing to restore people. The love inherent in Jesus’ message, “repent for the kingdom of God has come near,” is that in turning from our ways to God’s way our orientation of love turns as well from self to others.

When Mary and Joseph cuddled their baby Jesus, they probably didn’t realize that this little one they loved so much would change the world through an unprecedented act of sacrificial love. This is kingdom love. Jesus has invited us to participate in this kingdom love when proclaimed, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)  May the love of Jesus become real in and through our hearts this Christmas as we love him by loving others.

Grace and peace,

Brook

I remark every year that Thanksgiving is barely here before we are thinking and planning for Christmas. As well, every year I try to write weekly devotional pertaining to the observance of Advent. For me it is a help in slowing down the holiday rush, focusing on Jesus’ first coming and savoring the season. In this year’s Advent series I will use a different tradition than in previous years. Instead of Prophecy, Bethlehem, Angels, and Shepherds, I will write on the themes of Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. I will also tie these Advent devotionals together with the theme of the Kingdom of God. May our hearts be established in hope as we walk together toward Christmas.

From the time that God intervened in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve disobeyed, there has been a promise that God’s deliverer would come and defeat the powers, releasing God’s people to reign with him (the Messiah) on the earth. Isaiah and Micah prophesied strongly of Messiah being a ruler, king, and shepherd (Isaiah 9:6-7, Micah 5:2, 4). As the generations, dynasties, and centuries marched on, hope for Messiah in the hearts of Israel’s faithful continued to burn.

When Jesus was born, Israel was under the occupation of Rome. For a few hundred years prior, Israel was under other occupations as well, and there were many messianic contenders genuinely seeking Israel’s deliverance. None were ultimately successful. So when Jesus made messianic claims, people were understandably seeing this in terms of national and political deliverance. Jesus, though, saw it differently.

When Jesus began his rabbinic career, he started by preaching, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)  Around this same time, Jesus entered a synagogue and affirmed how God’s kingdom will be established by quoting Isaiah 61:1-2. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)  He saw the kingdom of God as a people of God. Messiah would establish a people for God by restoring people for God. These restored people would then collectively carry Messiah’s anointing to restore more people for God. As Israel’s true messiah, Jesus is ultimately successful. The hope of ages past is realized in Jesus. 

Grace and peace,

Brook

Things I Don’t Believe in Any More

This is the first installment in a series I will be writing on things I don’t believe in any more.  The titles may sound fantastical, but the point is not shock value.  These are thoughts I have been reflecting on for a long while, and I feel that the change is fundamental enough to warrant strong wording.  I hope you not only find them insightful, but worth engaging.  I welcome your comments.  If you wish, you may post a comment below.  If you would like to talk in person, just grab me at our worship gathering this Sunday. Let’s jump in!

I Don’t Believe in Hell

Over the last five years or so my view on hell has undergone a change enough that I have considered not using the term hell any more in regards to the state of those who the church deems as “lost for eternity.”  The term hell has certain connotations that I feel are not helpful if the purpose of the church is to make disciples and to be in relationship with Jesus.  This is not to say that I don’t believe in an eternal state for those who have not embraced Jesus Christ and the new life found in him.  I believe in such a state, just not in the traditional way.  Lastly, I believe in the love and grace of God so much that I am willing to be labeled as one who doesn’t believe in hell in order to highlight the winsomeness of Jesus, which is much more powerful than the threat of hell.  I will briefly expand on these thoughts below on why I don’t believe in hell any more.

If not hell, then what?  Before I say what it is, I will say what I think it is not.  It is not a myth.  Many well intentioned people have tried to explain it away.  But with Scripture as our guide, there seems to be plenty of evidence supporting a place of anguish in the next life for those who did not walk faithfully with Jesus in this life.  On the flip-side, God does not hate us either, looking for any reason to sadistically punish our every sin through unending torture.  Remember John 3:16?  Thirdly, hell is often characterized as separation from God.  You may call me a heretic over this, but I believe it is impossible to be outside of God’s presence, even in hell.  In this life, we are limited from seeing God in the fullness of his glory.  In the next life, that filter is removed, and we will see him as he is.  When we experience God’s salvation through Jesus, our spirits are made alive, and he lives within us by the Holy Spirit.  This miraculous transformation will allow us to abide in his unfiltered glory.  Anything less will be anguish and torment for in our unregenerate state will not be able to stand in his presence due to our sinfulness.  What is holy and beautiful to the ones made alive in Christ is painful and vile to those who have not repented and have chosen the way that leads to death.  

Lastly, love wins.  In the letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul appealed to the power of grace to the extent that he was accused of harboring licentiousness.  Likewise, I appeal to the power of love.  As I said above, I am willing to be labeled as one who doesn’t believe in hell so that I may spend my energies loving people into the kingdom of God, rather than scaring the hell out of them. 

So, what do I believe in if I don’t believe in hell?  I believe in the glory and holiness of God that we must all be reconciled with in this age and the age to come.  For some it is love, joy, and peace as none have ever known.  For others it is every darkness being brought into the light with all its requisite shame and guilt, hence wailing and gnashing of teeth.

In this article I have continued to use the label hell for this regretful state.  I have yet to come up with a more suited one, but my main contention is that I don’t want to taint God’s glory with the characteristics attributed to hell.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 

(1 Corinthians 13:12, NASB)

Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27, NIV)

Grace and peace,

Brook

The other night while tucking my children in for bed, I thought I would test the waters of their faith in Jesus.  It started with Asher, who is 5½ years old.  I asked him, “Do you know that Jesus loves you?”  With his head on his pillow, he quickly and succinctly nodded, “Yes.”  I then asked him, “Do you know that Dad and Mom love you?”  He replied as before.  Lastly, I asked, “Do you know that your family and friends love you?”  He responded again with a cute little nod.  With that I told him, “You are a very loved boy.”  With a smile he said, “I know.”  Then I kissed him, prayed with him, and said, “Good night.”

Feeling good about that exchange, I thought I would try it with Salem (3 years old).  I asked him, “Do you know that Jesus loves you?”  He replied, “I don’t love the Jesus!”  Puzzled, I continued, “Do you know that Dad and Mom love you?”

“I love Dad and Mom, too,” he said happily.

“Do you know that your family and friends love you?”

“I love my family, too.”

With affirmation I said, “You are a very loved boy.”  

But, I just couldn’t let his first response go that easily, so I asked again, “Do you know that Jesus loves you?”  

Emphatically, he responded, “I don’t like the kids of the Jesus!”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“They yelled at me tonight.”

“I’m sorry that happened.  You are still a very loved boy.”  With that I prayed with him, kissed him, and tucked him in with a “Good night.”

Autumn informed me later that some of the boys in our Community Class that night had spoke to him a little brusquely, which had upset him.  To Salem, love is only realized when it is reciprocated.  With his family and friends, love comes full circle back to him.  With a few boys in the Community Classes, his friendly advances came back negatively.  To the best of my reasoning, he called these boys “the kids of the Jesus,” because we were in the same room on the VLC campus that we have Children’s Church in.  It is a place where Salem hears about Jesus regularly.

The difference between Asher and Salem is that Asher has begun to develop a sophistication that allows him to see love in an abstract way, not entirely dependent upon response.  Not so with Salem, love is as love does.  Even though as adults we develop an abstract sophistication toward love, I don’t think we ever totally abandon the need for full circle love.

This event spoke to me that as people “of the Jesus,” we need to love as we would like to be loved, or better yet, as Jesus loves (especially when we are in the place “of the Jesus”).  It also reminded me that our worship to God is best expressed in loving him back, which is most easily recognized by loving others well.

I know I’m preaching to the choir.  Thanks for listening.

Grace and Peace,

Brook