If I do not love...

In my last post, I talked about how focusing on Jesus and the righteousness imputed to us through His death on the cross can free us from the chains of guilt. If we turn our eyes from those things that are tempting us and toward Him, those things become dull and drab in the midst of His splendor.

In a practical sense, though, what does it mean to fix our eyes on Jesus? How can we seek to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16)?

Before I started singing the hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (see prior post), I had Ginny Owens’ I am Nothing in my head (we’re talking all morning…). Here are a few of the lyrics…

I could live a flawless life,
Never cheat or steal or lie,
And always speak so kindly, smile warmly, and go about doing good.
I could dedicate myself to do what everyone else wants me to-
Listen to them, compliment them, say the things I should.
I could show up every Sunday, lead the choir and Bible study
And they all might come to know me as a leader and a friend.
Oh, I could achieve success on earth, but success cannot define my worth
And all these actions, all these words, will not matter in the end-

Songs will fade to silence,
Stories, they will cease.
The dust will settle, covering all my selfless deeds.
So as I strive to serve you,
Won’t you make it clear to me,
If I do not love, I am nothing.

So thinking about focusing on Christ and His love and being holy as He is holy, I thought, what is it Christ has called us to do? He tells us of the two greatest commandments, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. I really think there are three great commandments here, the third being assumed. In order for us to love our neighbor as ourselves, we have to love ourselves. Radical thought, huh? Well seriously… you can ask my husband. I am the queen of being down on myself. I had my own little guilty shame-filled pity party last night for wasting away my day and making choices that certainly weren’t about to earn me any favor in God’s eyes. I beat myself up over small things and in essence not only make it all about me, but also all about not loving me. If I’m wrapped up in not loving myself, there certainly isn’t room for focusing on loving the Lord my God, much less loving my neighbor. (My neighbor wouldn’t want to be around me.)

Thinking a little further, if I’m to be focused on Jesus, how can I learn from Him how to love myself? Well to start, Jesus lived a very balanced, healthy lifestyle. When he was tired, He got away from the crowds and rested; when He needed spiritual refreshment or guidance, He turned to God in prayer; when He was tempted, He called upon God; when He was hungry or thirsty He ate; when He needed to focus on His purpose or His relationship with God, He put those things first. Though He ministered to both Jew and Gentile, His deep relationships were with dear God-fearing friends and together they took time for fellowship and relaxation. He focused His gaze upon things not of this earth, but things of Heaven. There was no room for falling to temptation – probably even no appeal. He was so focused on God’s splendor and love and purpose, all other things didn’t even matter. Loving Himself didn’t mean boasting about menial earthly things – His only boasting was that He was the Son of the Living God – and we too can boast about that! Loving Himself didn’t mean regular extravagant beauty treatments (though he certainly allowed it when it was the sacrificial love of the woman with the oil). Loving Himself meant loving who He was in God and taking care of His body as a vessel for God’s purposes. And loving Himself meant accepting God’s purposes for Him.

To love my neighbor as myself, sometimes I think I just need to get over myself. God created me; therefore, what I might see as flaws He sees as perfection. God sent His Son to save me; therefore, what I might see as sin, He sees as righteousness. If I love Him, I can focus on His love, learn to love myself, and then know how to truly love my neighbor. That’s way more refreshing (and joy-producing) than shameful self-loathing!

Here is the end of the song:

If I cannot live my life loving my brother,
Then how can I love the one who lived his life for me?

Sent to earth from heaven,
Humble servant, holy king,
Come to share a story, get no glory, and save my searching soul,
You knew that I’d deny you, crucify you, but nothing could stop you from
Living for me, dying for me, so that I would know-

Songs will fade to silence,
Stories will cease,
The dust will settle covering these selfless deeds.
But your life here has made it clear enough for me to see
That if I do not love, I am nothing

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of his glory and grace.

This morning we had the privilege of hosting the Kansanshi Fellowship in our home. This is a group of expatriate miners and a few others from around the world who started a small church group here in Solwezi because they didn’t feel comfortable or worship in the local Zambian churches as they were used to doing in their home countries. Actually, as August is a school holiday and many of the miners are on vacations or visiting family in South Africa or elsewhere, we’re hosting several weeks in a row.

Anyhow, the topic Luke led us through today was sin as a habit/lifestyle versus sin as an isolated event, looking at how everyone is a sinner from conception – from the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and from which the separation of mankind from God resulted, we are in our nature sinners. Through the blood of Christ on the cross, who was born of woman but conceived by the Holy Spirit, believers in Him are reconciled to God and freed from the power of sin. God views us as righteous, despite incidents of sin that occur after we put our trust in Him. While we are viewed as righteous, we still have to account for our sinful choices. Just as children whose parents will love them and forgive them when they do wrong but are proud of them when they do well, we know our Heavenly Father forgives and loves us when we slip, but we seek to do right for the honor it brings Him.

All that to say, that’s not what this post is about, really.... As we discussed the fact that we all still fall to temptation and make mistakes, one of the men said that sometimes he thinks we’re too focused on the sin and not on our righteousness. Before you say, “wow, he’s full of himself” or “missed the point of Christ on the cross,” think about it. He has a very, very good point. We’ve been freed from sin and its power – so why dwell on it? If we dwell on our sin, we tend to live in shame, guilt, and often a terrible cycle of: sinful action – guilt – distancing ourselves from God (how could He love us when we disappoint Him so?) – and sinful action again. It’s like when someone is on a diet and spends the whole time thinking, “I can’t eat candy bars.” If you’re constantly thinking about how you can’t do it, you’re constantly thinking about it.

If instead, we place in our minds something completely different rather than focusing on what we shouldn’t do, there’s no room for those temptations to even creep in. Our friend wasn’t saying we are righteous in that we don’t need a savior, but if we view ourselves in the righteousness we have because of Christ, it is easier to get out of the cycle of shame and focus on Him and His holiness as a guide for our own lives.

So thinking about all of that and how I should fix my eyes on Christ, the above hymn popped into my mind. If our eyes are on Jesus – in His glory and grace and splendor – the temptations of the world seem so frivolous and dull. If we focus on the temptations, and falling to the temptations, we completely miss the goodness and love of Christ. I mean seriously, what right have we to sit ashamed, guilty, and unworthy of God’s pleasure, when Jesus gave His life on the cross and deemed us worthy?

Stay tuned for a follow up to this message.... soon. Didn’t want this one to get too long....