Wednesday Word with the Pastors
Feb. 15, 2012
“Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling” (1 John 2:10).
At SBPC’s Tuesday morning bible study one of our friends reminds us that our relationship with God is a vertical one. Our relationship with one another is a horizontal one. If you put them together you make a cross – and that is where you find Jesus Christ!
In other words, the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ is expressed at the intersection between our relationship with God and our relationship with one another. There is no relationship of love with God if there is no relationship of love for one another. How we treat one another reveals the true attitude of our hearts towards God.
This unbreakable bond between our love of God and our love of fellow man is both encouraging and frightening. It is encouraging because through others God gives us the opportunity to have a tangible relationship with him. We do not have to fall into the pit of despair thinking, “We never see God!” The Bible responds, “Yes, you do. You see God first in Jesus Christ. And, now since his love dwells in you, you see God in every person you encounter.” Which is also why such an unbreakable bond is frightening. If it is true that my relationship with others reveals my true attitude towards God, then when I am selfish, mean, slanderous, complacent, indifferent towards other people, then I am also these things towards God. And, this is frightening – this is not what I want for my relationship with God.
Next Wednesday begins the season of Lent. It is a time of preparation for Holy Week – for Easter. Often we use Lent as an opportunity for commitment – maybe you commit to giving something up, or maybe you commit to something new. Very often, it is a commitment that is only between us and God. But, what if we remember that there is no vertical relationship with God without the horizontal relationship with one another? When these are put together a cross is formed. And, Jesus Christ hung upon the cross to bring the vertical and horizontal relationships together. That is where love is found; and that is where our Lenten commitments should be focused.
The Bible says that whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light. It also says that God is light (1 John 1:5). Therefore, you live in God when you love your brother or sister. Maybe this season of Lent you consider a commitment to a loved one – a friend – a neighbor – a stranger! Such commitments have a way of drawing us into the deep love of God found in Jesus Christ, who expressed perfect love upon the cross where the vertical meets the horizontal.
Peace,
Aaron Teter