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Face the future: With love

by Esther Griggs
written by Esther Griggs

As I write, I recollect the lyrics of a hymn, “King of love, my shepherd is.” Buried within spiritual songs and scripture lay treasures which honour and highlight Jesus our shepherd, the King of love. It is in His presence, the God who is love, we best know love. Jesus is ‘God with us’. Song of Solomon records, “He is altogether lovely.” The Shulamite said, “For your love is better than wine. Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, your name is ointment poured forth.” The Lord Jesus, a balm in Gilead, Saviour of the world, is God’s love shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.

A Balm in Gilead

The prophet Jeremiah mourned for his people. “Is there no balm in Gilead?” he asked. “Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people?” He mourns their distance from God and their retreat to deception and evil. But Malachi writes, “But to you who fear my name the Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings.” In Jesus we see and experience compassion; to the crowd who might faint on the way, food; to the weary and lost he admonishes his disciples to pray for harvesters; to those he encountered, the demonized, the diseased, the distressed, He, moved to compassion, brought healing.

Saviour of the World

The Saviour of the world, Jesus. It was His love for the Father and for humankind that brought Him to our world, to take on our weakness and endure suffering and the cross. He did not come as a philanthropist, lawyer or politician. He came as the beloved Son of God, a servant, laying aside His glory to take on our festering wounds, to bring to us ointment for our depravity. Until we see Him in His home environment, we will never understand.

Shed Abroad

His love is to be shed abroad. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” is the demonstration of His love. The Holy Spirit has shed the love of God abroad in our hearts. This love distinguishes us as God’s people. Jesus told his disciples it was a new commandment. “Love one another; as I have loved you, … you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples if you love one another.”

 The Lord Jesus, a balm in Gilead, Saviour of the world, is the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. Let your light shine!

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Gratitudelove of Godmercy

A Thankful Heart

by Esther Griggs
written by Esther Griggs

It is easy to sing when the sun shines. But the genuine test of the heart comes in times of adversity. A quick look at the Old Testament books of Lamentations or Job would cause most of us to have a thankful heart. As in their stories, times come when we must remember God’s goodness. He is pleased when we look to Him with thanksgiving, for it is His will for us. In the dark times we remember God’s mercy, compassion, and our salvation.

God’s Mercy

God’s mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. It is because of His mercy that we are not consumed. Instead of the wrath of God, in Him we find our hope.

God’s Compassion

God’s compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Our God is faithful. We call and He hears our voice and He says, “Do not fear, I have loved you with an everlasting love.”

God’s Salvation

It is good to wait and hope for the salvation of the Lord. He has pleaded the case for our souls. In overwhelming suffering, Job declared, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.”

This Thanksgiving season we give thanks knowing that Jesus Christ has died, risen again and is coming soon to take us to our heavenly home. We remember God’s mercy, compassion, salvation and give thanks.

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Body of ChristFamily of Godlove of GodServanthood

What Love Looks Like

by Esther Griggs
written by Esther Griggs

With so much chatter of love in our world, it’s easy to lose sight of the reality. John speaks to this in 1 John 3: 16-23 writing about what love looks like. He discussed how to know love, how it works through us, and how it affects us.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” Galatians 6:2 NKJV.

How We Know Love

First, we know love because of Jesus. God is love and it comes to us through His Son Jesus Christ. We look to His life of service to God and His death on the cross. John wrote, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.” Jesus ultimately illustrated His love for God and His children, by His sacrificial death on the cross.

How It Works Through Us

Secondly, how does it work through us? God’s love changes us. We ought also, like Jesus, lay down our own agendas, our own goods, our lives, especially to our siblings in Christ. He challenged his readers. If you have this world’s goods and you see your brother struggling, do you shut up your heart? Do you turn away? How can you, if the love of Christ is living in you? As stated in 2 Cor. 5:14,15, “the love of Christ compels us.” We no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died for all. It goes beyond the utterance of the words. It shows up in actions flowing from a pure heart.

How It Affects Us

Thirdly, how does God’s love affect us? God knows our hearts, for He has fashioned them. He alone is judge. At times we suffer beneath our own judgement but John writes that the Father is greater than our heart. We rest in His delight of us. It gives us confidence that He will answer our prayers because our heart’s desire is, to please Him. John summarizes by reminding his readers that the commandment is to believe on the name of Jesus Christ and to love one another. In these verses, he discussed how to know love, how it works through us, and how it affects us.

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love of GodPeterServanthood

God As Servant

by Esther Griggs
written by Esther Griggs

Our God reigns above the three dimensional. He cannot be contained in our thoughts and ideas. Speculations beyond our understanding, dare to define the characteristics of Who He is. Jesus, descended to earth, to give us a peek into the awesomeness of our God. In John 13:1-11, the author describes an event, illuminating one small facet of our great God. Jesus, in this setting, with His knowledge, illustrated God as servant.

This Setting

The Feast of the Passover is close at hand. Jesus dines in a room with his disciples and they have just finished eating. The devil has already placed in the heart of Judas, to betray Him. He loves these men deeply, all of them. Surely it grieved Him. Still, when the temptation could have been to wallow in self pity and despair, He laid aside His own garments and took up a towel.

His Knowledge

Jesus knew His time had come to leave the world and to return to His Father. He knew that the Father had placed all things into His hands. He had come from God and was returning to Him. He would love these God had given Him, despite His knowledge of the betrayer, to the end.

God As Servant

In this setting, with these men He loved so deeply, having His knowledge of the past, present and future, He removed His garments and put on a towel. Then he poured water into a basin, began to wash their feet and wipe them with His towel.

We get a glimpse of how it made them feel. Peter doesn’t like it. It was uncomfortable. This was the Master. He knew he didn’t measure up to Him. Jesus tells Peter that some day He will understand, but for now, he needs to allow it, in order to be apart of Him. Peter figures that in such a case, Jesus should wash all of him. He wants to be all in. “You are clean, but not all of you.” Jesus knows as He bends down to wash the feet of these men He loved, how Judas, would betray Him. Still, Jesus, the fullness of God, as servant pours out His love on each one.

Jesus, in this setting, with His knowledge, illustrated God as servant.

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love of GodThe Light

From Darkness to Light Nicodemus part 3

by Esther Griggs
written by Esther Griggs

In Genesis 3 we read how Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. From then on they experienced fear and shame. When they heard God’s voice they wanted to hide. Even little children, aware of doing something wrong close their eyes hoping you won’t see them, to hide what they are up to. And here we have Nicodemus, a religious ruler of the Jews coming to Jesus by cover of night. In his encounter with Jesus he is exposed to truth which illuminates his spiritual darkness. Nicodemus heard Jesus speak of His purpose, of judgement and of the light as Nicodemus comes from darkness to light.

From darkness to Light.

The Purpose of Jesus

Jesus knew His purpose. His supreme desire was to do the will of His Father. Even as He talked to His Father, when the cross lay imminently before Him, He ultimately submitted to God’s will. God loved the world so much He gave His “only begotten Son” so that any who believed in Him would live forever. He did not come as a judge but as a Saviour to rescue all who believed from the wrath of God.

Judgement

In John 3:18, Jesus clarifies to Nicodemus about condemnation and judgement. If you believe in the Son, there is no judgement. However, without it, judgement is already there. The fact that men love the darkness, prefer to stay in their estrangement, their hiddenness from God puts them in a position of judgement. They would rather stay in the dark, hidden because what they do is evil. We may think I am not a murderer, I am not a thief but at the core do we come to God’s provision of reconciliation or turn away?

From Darkness to Light

“Everyone who practices evil hates the light.” Jesus told Nicodemus. They fear being seen for what really lies beneath the dressed up surface. “But” Jesus goes on. “Those who do the truth come to the light so their deeds will be seen as being done in God.” As we look to Jesus we no longer fear the eye or presence of God. By placing our faith in His cross, all is laid bare before Him and we walk from darkness to light. Faith replaces fear.

Nicodemus may have come to Jesus in the darkness of his understanding, in the cover of night. Whether or not their discussion took them into the light of a new morning, Nicodemus heard Jesus speaks of His purpose, of judgement, and new revelation brought him from darkness to light.

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love of God

The Inexhaustible Love of Christ

by Esther Griggs
written by Esther Griggs

Only a day to focus on love can warm the chilly winds of February. Yet if we look to the world for our understanding of love, we will remain dry and brittle. When we turn our hearts to look to God, we find the inexhaustible love of Christ which sacrifices all despite our condition, invests great grace into our lives and is His nature.

Despite our Condition

The Bible tells us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Not that we loved God or even thought about Him. Paul in Romans 5 writes that while we were without strength Christ died for us. He further states that it is very rare for someone to die for someone, but it is possible for one to die for a good person. But God, He shows His love by dying for we who were children of wrath.

Great Grace

God has poured His love into us through His Holy Spirit. I like the word poured. It implies coming from an abundance. Because of the death of Jesus, we become right with God. He took our judgement upon Himself. Our faces look to the future in hope rather than fear. We live knowing that God is not against us, but for us, there is no longer any condemnation. In addition, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. As Paul so beautifully writes, “neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

His Nature

God’s love does not depend upon us. It is His character. He is everlasting. His Son ever lives to make intercession for us. He has called us His children. Love is the characteristic which shows the world that we are. John the apostle says that if we love God who we cannot see, we will also love our brother. We will suffer long and be kind as God is. We won’t be arrogant or rude or self consumed. We won’t be thinking up evil, nor will we rejoice in iniquity, but will rejoice with truth. For “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” As the God whose nature it is, Love never fails.

Here we find the inexhaustible love of Christ which sacrifices all despite our condition, invests great grace into our lives and is His nature.

May the warmth of His great love not only shelter you but also radiate to those you encounter each day.

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