Our Lord in John says that He does not give as the world gives. This has spurred me on to some thoughts. Christ does not love as the world loves, and this causes no end of confusion to the world.
In the world, to love means to accept and to validate. If I love someone, I will "accept them, warts and all". And if they stay warty, that's fine. In the world, if I love someone, I will validate them - I will support and encourage them in what they want (even if their want is foolish and self-destructive). Okay, so occasionally we might have an "intervention" where you move someone from highly self-destructive to less self-destructive, but that is highly rare.
This is not how Christ loves. Christ's love is a love that serves the one whom He loves, that provides for them what they need, not what they want. Which gives proper care for a person, not just the stroking of their ego. Christ's love is a love that seeks to improve the person, to heal them, to make them grow - not simply leave no where near well enough alone.
This is why the world rejects Christ - it despises His love and rather craves the shallow false-love that is popularized today. People jump from spouse to spouse trying to find one that will stroke their ego, that will increase their social status - rather than finding the spouse who is the meet and right helper who will improve them. People seek friends who are more apt to say, "Yeah, you are so right" rather than, "listen, you were out of line there."
Our sinful nature does not want to be healed - it wants to be told it's okay.
Our sinful nature does not want growth - it wants its deformities applauded.
Our sinful nature does not want love that serves it - it wants tyranny and control.
Our sinful nature does not want to submit to others - it wants to be accepted on it's own terms.
Our sinful nature does not want to become better - it wants wickedness validated.
The world does not know love, and so the world will never recognize Christ. The world will never know the God who is love, because it does not know love.
2 comments:
very insightful look at the sinful flesh. The Old Adam cann't be reformed, just killed.
That why Christ's love is so exclusive. He said that no one comes to the Father except thru me. No universalism here. The world rejects that notion. It's not nicey nice to be exclusive and tell Muslims, Hindus, ect that they are headed straight to hell.
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