OJ! Overwhelming Joy

   Dr. Daniel B. Wallace is a Professor of New Testament study at Dallas Theological Seminary.[1] He is determined Christians understand the importance of the authenticity of the scriptures. He mainly has focused on the New Testament and the importance of the revelation or historical facts of the resurrection. In his article “The resurrection of Christ: Theological implications” He uses all of the perimeters of the New Testament to argue the importance of the of the resurrection and the critical necessity of the church to believe in this miracle.

   He believes that people in the church put too much importance on the death of Christ and not enough importance on his resurrection. He breaks his article down into two parts. The Old Testament and New Testament and how they point to the resurrection. In the Old Testament, he explains the importance of Daniel 12:1-2 and its description of the hope that is in the future for the captive Jews in Babylon. Daniel 12:1-2 points to the resurrection of the righteous and of the unrighteous. It articulates the value of when God should reveal this hope to the Jews. God chooses to do this when the Jews are in desperate times. Wallace makes a comparison to today’s world and how the people who are intellectual tend to not believe in the resurrection but those who need hope do know the importance and significance of the resurrection.

   Wallace explains the early churches understanding of the importance of the resurrection and how they ministered it to those who had no hope. He backs this evidence up with the scriptures, mostly the book of Acts. He discusses Bultmann and how his work has diminished the importance of the resurrection to modern man. Wallace believes that the resurrection is the greatest miracle that God performed even more than the creation. The resurrection proves that God is the God of the living. It fulfills the predictions of the coming Messiah. It is the essential part of the Gospel. It gives credibility to the deity of Christ. He explains how it gives hope for our bodily resurrection. Wallace believes if the resurrection did not happen then individual Christians would not have been filled with the Holy Spirit. He concludes that it connects to the forgiveness of sins.

Conclusion

    Dr. Wallace presents his arguments well and I agree with him that the resurrection is the greatest miracle that God performed. This miracle is a revelation of who God is. God is love and this is not just an attribute, he is love. All of his attributes reflect that. When he judges he judges because he is love. When he forgives it is because he is love, when he chastens and teaches, it is out of his being love. God is not only the God of the poor and disheartened, he is God of all and salvation has come to all through the work of Christ Jesus.

   One thing that he could have added to his article is the importance of the resurrection toward relationship with God. I believe that God is a relational God. Resurrection makes our relationship with God viable. I think that he represented the scriptures well in this article. I believe that it is the greatest miracle that God has performed because he loves us and wants us to share what he shares. God wants us to be apart of the relationship that is shared in the God head with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He has adopted us into this relationship by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

  We need to understand that the resurrection has given us great hope now for the future and we should express this when we relate to one another whether we are relating to a non- believer or a believer. The resurrection gives us revelation of the love of God toward man. It show God’s determination in bring us into relation with him.

  The resurrection is evidence of the deity of Jesus. If Jesus was not  God and man then there would be no need for a resurrection.

 

Bibliography

    “Daniel B. Wallace faculty page.” Dallas Theological Seminary. http://www.dts.edu/about/faculty/

     dwallace/.

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[1] “Daniel B. Wallace faculty page,” Dallas Theological Seminary, http://www.dts.edu/about/faculty/dwallace/.

God is a relational God and we see that through our understanding of the Trinity. There are three persons Father, Son and Holy Spirit that make up the one God. The relation to one another is so close that God is one. It is God’s desire to share that relationship with all of humankind.[1] God’s desire is to restore relationships. He wants to use us as instruments to bring that message of restoration to the world. Believers are part of a family of believers.

            They come together with God into a community of believers who have been restored from the severed relationship that once was. When we live in community with God his love flows out from us to people who we engage with in our daily lives. It is important to see people as God sees them. We are to love others as God loves us. We engage others to build loving relationships with them. When we go to work or to school or while we live our daily lives, we engage others in meaningful ways through the roles that we have. We let the spirit guide us in our effort to love our neighbors or anyone that may cross our paths.

           

            I think it is very important to be a good listener, to be an empathetic listener. When you listen to someone with empathy the person that you are listening to knows that you truly care for them.  I have always gone out of my way to be engaged with people on a regular basis. I know that God loves each individual I smile and say hello to others. I often hold the door open for people. I am always trying to affirm to people how valuable they are through my kindness. When I evangelize it is important to keep in mind how important the other person is to God. It is important to break down barriers. It is important for me to get out of my comfort zone for me to be an effective participate in God’s work. When we listen to others, we need to remind ourselves that they were made in God’s image. We also need for them to understand that as well.

            I need to be a better listener and open up my ears, eyes, and heart. If we want to be effective evangelicals then we must be better listeners. We cannot continue down this road of indifference we must get involved and be relational to all people that we get into contact with.

Bibliography

 McRaney, Will. The Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a Changing Culture.              Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman, 2003.

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[1] Will McRaney, The Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a Changing Culture (Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman, 2003), 17.

 

 (Expand) two natures. He chose not to use his divine power (John 18:36)

Philippians 2:6-8 (New Living Translation)

Though he was God,

    he did not think of equality with God

    as something to cling to.

7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; (Greek trans He emptied himself)

    he took the humble position of a slave

    and was born as a human being.

When he appeared in human form,

8 he humbled himself in obedience to God

    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

 

His humanity is an important part of our salvation. We are made perfect by Jesus’s perfect life. Jesus lived an obedient life. His righteousness becomes our righteousness

“For our sake, he made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

How did Jesus do all the things that he did? How did he follow the will of his father? How did he live a perfect human life? Jesus was obedient to the end. (Philippians 2:8)

Was it because he was God? No!!! He still had a divine nature he just did not flaunt it. Again (Philippians 2:7) (John 18:26). He chose to follow our path and in doing so he saved us. His perfect humanity saved us.

 

Holy Spirit in Christ’s life

It was the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the helper, the comforter who helped Jesus live an obedient life, Not his divine nature.

 

From the very beginning the Holy Spirit was involved in Jesus life. (Matthew 1:18, 20) He was baptized by the spirit (Luke 3:22) (John 1:32-33).

John tells us that God gave Jesus the Holy Spirit without limit (John 3:34).

(Luke 4:1) Jesus was led into the wilderness full of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus miracles were performed by the help of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28)

Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit which caused him to praise the Father. (Luke 10:21)

 

So, the Holy Spirit was a big part of Jesus’s life that he lived, died and rose for us. The Spirit helped Jesus become the perfect human being for us, his life was a substitute for ours.

 The Spirit in believers’ lives

That same Spirit convicts us to believe in the completed saving work of Jesus. The Spirit helps us respond to his work and share in it. With the help of the Spirt we need to accept what Jesus has already done.

 

“What Christ in Person and work accomplished for us in our human form (nature) was worked out in him in perfect fellowship and communion with the Holy Spirit. And now, what Christ accomplished for us in the power of the Spirit is being worked out for us and in us by the same Spirit who by indwelling us, unites us to the Person and saving work of Christ.” Gary Deddo

 

We participate in what Jesus has already done and continues to do through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the community and fellowship of the church. So, our response to what Jesus has done and continues to do is to love God with all our heart and all our soul and love our neighbor as our self. It is impossible to do this without the Help of the Holy Spirit.

 

Through the Spirit we participate in the saving work of Jesus when we share this Good News with others.

From the Bible, we know a lot about what the Holy Spirit does in and with Christians. For example, the Spirit dwells in those who belong to Christ (“there is a distinction between believer and non-believer”) There is a spiritual union between believer and the triune God (Romans 8:9). The Spirit regenerates us. (born of the Spirit) (John 3:5-6). The Spirit testifies that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16), guarantees our inheritance (Ephesians 1:14, 2 Corinthians 1:22), produces godly fruit in us (Galatians 5:22), sanctifies us (2 Thessalonians 2:13), and unifies us with other believers (We are a community of believers) (Philippians 2:1, Ephesians 4:3-4), etc. Scripture describes the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth (John 14:17), of life (Romans 8:2), and of grace (Hebrews 10:29).

 

“The Spirit’s ministry is directly connected to our responses to God. The Holy Spirit reveals, teaches, enables us to hear, to speak and proclaim, to love, to obey, to pray, worship, love, minister, rejoice, to confess Jesus as Lord, and confess Jesus has come in the flesh. He also leads, sends, guides, sanctifies, unifies and harmonizes the body of Christ, gives gifts of ministry and fruits of Christ- like character to the members of the body of Christ. In sum, he gives new life in Christ so that we live in the Spirit.” (Rom.7:6; Rom. 8:5; 2 Cor.3:6)” Gary Deddo  (Clarifying our Theology)

 

The Holy Spirit’s work is an important part of our salvation. We share in the substitutional life of Jesus by the spirit. It is not our effort that brings us to righteousness but the work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

        

The Modern Struggle with Fatalism and Faith

In the modern world, fatalism often manifests as a quiet “negativism.” When we seek ultimate happiness in “worldly things”—like wealth, social status, and material success—we eventually hit a wall. Because these things are temporary, the pursuit of them often leaves people feeling that life is a hollow cycle, ending in nothingness. This is a materialistic fatalism: the belief that we are just biological accidents destined to chase pleasure until the end.

As our culture shifts toward individualism, many have moved away from Christianity to base their morality on their own understanding. However, this departure is often fueled by a profound misconception of who God is.

The Misunderstood Father

Many see God as a distant judge on a remote throne, watching from afar to see who is “working hard enough” to earn His love. They struggle to reconcile a God who is holy and punishes sin with a loving Father who sent His Son to die for us.

​When the world views God differently from how He is revealed to us in Jesus, we then take on a fatalistic approach or a deterministic one. If God is just a cold force or a distant bookkeeper, then our lives feel “locked in”—either by a destiny we can’t change or a judgment we can’t escape.

But the Son is the perfect reflection of the Father. Through Christ, we see that God’s holiness and His love are not at odds. He does not hate the sinner; He hates the sin because of what it does to His children. His ultimate plan is not to “get” sinners, but to adopt them into His own life.

The Challenge for the Church

Ironically, much of the world’s skepticism is a reaction to the Christian community. People today are often more “spiritual” and look at theology through a much wider lens, making it more important than ever that we provide a clear picture of Christian dogma.

​The world often sees the church as hypocritical because we preach against sin while failing to acknowledge our own. We cannot deny that we are sinners ourselves. To reach a world looking for meaning, we must return to the example of Christ: loving sinners authentically and showing them a Father who isn’t looking down in judgment, but reaching out in love.

A Vision in the Midst of Violence

Today’s reflection is based on Acts 7:55–60, the account of the apostle Stephen’s martyrdom. It is a scene of intense contrast: on the ground, there is fury, shouting, and stones; in the heavens, there is perfect peace.

As Stephen faced his final moments, he looked up and saw the glory of God, with Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father. This vision wasn’t just a comfort; it was a testament to a man who lived—and died—seeing the “unseen.”

The Argument That Sparked a Movement

Before the stones began to fly, Stephen stood in the temple and faced the Pharisees. He wasn’t just arguing for the sake of winning; he was recounting the entire heritage of Israel. From the Exodus to the present, Stephen showed how the nation had a history of resisting the truth and rejecting the prophets.

Stephen’s message was clear: Everything points to Jesus. While the Pharisees clung to the physical Temple and the letter of the Law as their path to God, Stephen knew that the only true way to the Father was through Jesus Christ. Their stubbornness wasn’t just a lack of information; it was a refusal to see the spiritual reality right in front of them.

The Imagery of the Heart

The Bible often uses the “heart” as imagery for the human conscience—the place where our deepest truths and feelings reside. Similarly, our “eyes” aren’t just for the physical world.

Stephen was led by the Holy Spirit to use his inner vision. Even as he was being executed, he saw with his heart. He understood that because he was “born from above,” his true reality wasn’t the pain of the stones, but the welcome of his Savior.

A Tale of Two Men: Stephen and Saul

There is a striking contrast between Stephen and the man watching over his execution: Saul of Tarsus. * Saul’s Perspective: He believed in the nationalism of Israel. He focused on the physical promises made to Abraham, forgetting the spiritual weight of Genesis 12:3, which promised that all nations would be blessed through Abraham’s seed. Saul was spiritually blind.

The Turning Point: Jesus eventually used physical blindness to open Saul’s spiritual eyes. Only when his physical sight was taken away on the road to Damascus could Saul (who became Paul) finally see with his heart, just as Stephen had.

Why Was Jesus Standing?

In most of the New Testament, Jesus is described as sitting at the right hand of the Father, signifying His finished work. But in Stephen’s vision, Jesus is standing. Scholars suggest beautiful reasons for this:

 

• ​To welcome Stephen into His heavenly arms.
• ​To cheer him on as he finished his race.
• To sustain him, providing a peace that surpassed the physical anguish of the stoning.

Even in death, Stephen mirrored his Master. Just as Jesus prayed for His executioners on the cross, Stephen cried out for the Father to forgive those who were killing him.

The Call to See the Unseen

Stephen was the first martyr, but his death was not a defeat. The Pharisees tried to extinguish the message, but the martyrdom of believers like Stephen actually acted as a catalyst, spreading the Good News across the Roman Empire and eventually the world.

Our Challenge Today:

As you go out into the world, remember that Jesus is the Way. He is with us in our highest moments and our final breaths. We are called to be like Stephen:

• ​Be Led by the Spirit: Let God direct your steps and your words.
• ​Choose Humility over Stubbornness: Don’t be like the early Saul, focused only on your own needs and pain.
• ​See with Your Heart: Close your eyes to the distractions of the world so you can see the unseen—what Jesus has done, what He is doing, and the glory that is to come.

The weatherman called for rain by midmorning today. We all know the weatherman’s forecast is always right. I start work at 7:00 am so I convinced myself that midmorning should be 10:00 am. One of my jobs is to distribute our pallets to our customers. I had one delivery today and the plan was to go early before the rain started. The trip usually takes twenty-minutes. I got the truck loaded and was on the road by 7:30. Plenty of time to get there before it rains by 10:00, I thought. The morning sky was increasingly filled with rain clouds. I increased my speed to try and beat the rain. I prayed a small prayer to God, hoping he would hold the rain off before I arrived. Then it happened, a car pulled out onto the highway reaching speeds of nearly fifty miles an hour. You know how I was feeling and the frustration that was building. Doesn’t this always happen when you are in a hurry to get somewhere. A Sunday driver taking a ride on a Thursday. There were frustrated drivers behind me who could not wait another moment. They passed us like we were sitting still. So I am thinking, should I follow the others and pass the slow vehicle. Then the Heavens opened up, and it began to rain hard. It was about time to pass. I had followed this person long enough. Then the Spirit spoke and told me to be still and trust him. So as it rained, I stayed behind this person until I reached my destination. Reaching the Town’s edge, the rain began to stop thankfully. I made it to my destination and managed to stay dry while unloading. Looking around, it had rained hard. I asked the gentleman unloading the truck if it rained and he told me that it rained hard about twenty mins ago. If I didn’t listen to the Spirit, the rain that I ran into on the road would have been waiting for me when I was unloading the truck. God is always in the business of teaching if we would open our ears and hearts to listen. So I listened to the Spirit and did not follow the behavioral norms of our human nature. I participated with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in staying dry and answering prayer.

As many of you know my wife Anita is on a journey with Breast Cancer. We have many family and friends who are praying for her and we truly appreciate you participating with us in this journey. I work with special needs adult individuals and the other day at work one of the gentlemen stopped and told me he was praying for Anita. I told the man that I would go tell Anita that he was praying for her. I was excited to go home and tell Anita that he was praying for her. Anita was happy to hear how the special needs individuals were involved in this journey with her. These individuals have a lot of different disabilities yet they always seem to impress me with their good-heartedness and kindness. Most of the time they come to work with a smile on their faces and joy in their hearts. On one occasion, the gentleman that prayed for Anita was having a bad day. I was so excited to tell Anita that this gentleman was praying for her that I forgot to tell this man how much we appreciated it. So on his bad day, I could tell he was irritated about something and I didn’t know how I could get him back to his joyful self again. Finally, God got through my thick skull and told me to tell the man how much Anita appreciated his prayers. I wish you all could have seen how his face lit up and how his demeanor changed completely around. After God’s intervention, his day became a joyous one. I was just happy that I got to participate with my God in bringing a little joy to this man. God is always working for the good of mankind. God has blessed me with Anita. Through her and her journey, I have grown closer to him because of what I see God doing in her life. God is not the creator of cancer but he will and does bring good from it. Even in our time of need, God’s Kindness flourishes in us if we are willing to participate. I hope and pray that God will heal my sweat Anita in her time of need and I hope and pray that he will continue to use her journey for his will. I only hope that I get to participate with God in her healing and sharing kindness during times of trial.

There are Five Greek words used to describe the miracles or signs that Christ used to demonstrate his deity. Terata (Wonders), erga (works), thaumasia (Wonderful things), dunameis (powers), and semeia (signs). The synoptic gospels use dunameis because it emphasizes the power of Christ.

In John 2:1-11, we find one of the first of his sign/miracles. This miracle is where Christ turns the water into wine, and it is a clear picture of Christ having power over his creation. It also gave glory to God the Father and was a way to show the power of Jesus and the start for a new beginning. The water has no taste, and it cannot compare to the wine, a move from rituals and rules to a unique relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

These pots that they put the water in were made from stone, not clay, as John explains; they used them for ceremonial cleansing. The Jews would use them over and over again. We were cleansed by the blood of Christ once and for all. There now is no need for this ritual cleansing.

The second sign/miracle that Jesus performed was the healing of the Noble man’s Son.
Miracle two was a demonstration of power Jesus has over space. Instead of Christ going to Capernaum, he went ahead and healed the Son at that moment because of the great faith of the nobleman. It is an example of the power of Christ over death and is showing our freedom from it. It is a discourse of the divine Son, the living bread, and the life-giving spirit. He is the light of the world.

John 5: 1-9, talks about the healing of a lame man at the pool of Bethesda, where many afflicted individuals hoped for a cure. It is Jesus having power over time. The man had been afflicted for thirty-eight years and was still willing to be healed.

Jesus was willing to heal him even though his affliction lasted for such a long time. It shows his power and deity by healing him. It did not matter how long he had the affliction; it had no power over Jesus Christ.

Jesus was fulfilling the true purpose of the Sabbath by showing mercy to the lame man and healing him on the Sabbath. He was explaining to the Jews that they circumcise on the Sabbath, which is an act of concern for one body part; he was willing to heal this man’s whole body. It shows his lordship over the Sabbath and the claim for his deity.

The man had many excuses that we duplicate in our relationship with God during our daily life. The man blamed his condition, on circumstances, geographic place, and on other people.

The people were waiting for the Angel to move the water to heal their bodies, but Jesus proclaimed that if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture said, rivers of living water will flow from his inner being. Christ is higher than the Angels, and we should look to him for living water. He is the Son of God.

The fourth sign/miracle is written in John 6:1-15, and it is the feeding of the five thousand; Christ having power over food. There is a gathering of men coming to listen to Christ, and there was no food to feed any of them.

This sign/miracle is the only one that corresponds to the other books of the synoptic. Jesus recognized the needs of the people. We can see many principles in this miracle.

It shows God is the God of order. Jesus gave thanks before giving out the food, emphasizing the need to give honor to God. It shows the division of labor and reserves the things that only he can do with his power and shows his deity.

Jesus proclaims deity by using I AM; I AM the bread of life. Bread is the most important food for the people of that time, so it made the miracle and the message of this particular sign more meaningful. We need him more than the physical needs of our lives.

In John 6:15-21, we find the fifth sign/ miracle, where Jesus is walking on water. We can see the deity of Jesus through his power of controlling the natural law.

He calls out to them it is I, this is an Old Testament sign of the Jehovah; I AM. It could also be an example of salvation because when the disciples received him, the storm stopped. When we receive him, we trust him to calm our storms, and to be there when we go through them.

The sixth sign/miracle occurs in John 9:1-12. It is when Jesus heals the blind man. Neither the man nor his parents sinned; the disciples wanted to know why he was born blind.

Jesus explained that his blindness was to show his Father’s work through him. Jesus preached how imperative it was to fulfill his commission. Jesus wanted to bring glory to his Father and to follow his commands.

Jesus came as a representation of the Father, and what he did in his humanity is true for us, and what he did in his humanity is ours. He was acting in our place. Christ’s power and deity are visible in this sign/miracle having control over physical laws. Jesus is the light of the world, and he is the only one who can bring us from darkness into light, and this sign/miracle depicts this.

John 11:1-44 tells the story of Jesus resurrecting Lazarus from the dead after being in the grave for four days. It is the power of Jesus that triumphs over death. The disciples were afraid that Lazarus would die.

They did not have faith in Jesus to raise the dead. Jesus was not happy that Lazarus died, but he was glad that this would be an opportunity to build the disciples’ faith and glorify Him as the Son of God. Jesus’ statement I AM the resurrection and the life, shows his equality with God the Father, that he is God. It is the fifth I AM statement in the book of John.

The last and eighth sign/miracle is the story of the miraculous catch of fish. This sign/miracle is brought to our attention in John 21:1-11. It was on the sea of Tiberias; the disciples were out fishing, and Jesus appeared standing on the shore.

This sign/miracle was the chance to reveal himself to the disciples and to suppress some of the doubts and misunderstandings that they might have.

Jesus came to strengthen the disciples. While the disciples were in the boat all night, they did not catch a thing, and they were likely to be discouraged, depressed, hungry, and tired. They had lost hope and were backsliding possibly.

It pictures our union and communion with him and is a reminder of his presence during the tough times of our lives. He is always with us.

There are eight I AM statements in the book of John. In the Old Testament, Jesus new this signified the Jehovah, so he used it to show his equality with God the Father and for us to see his deity as God in the flesh.

The purpose of the book of John, in my opinion, is to explain the Trinity; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relationship and his deity. Each of the signs/miracles is proof of this fact that Jesus Christ is God. and that he is the second person of the Trinity.

It is a book that brings light to what God is. God is love, and this is the reason he became flesh and dwelt among us.

Ephesians 1:4 explains what the intention of God is for us before we even existed. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ.

What I think is interesting is that believers now believe in him without seeing these types of signs/miracles. I do not know why this is. Maybe it is because of the Holy Spirit and that Jesus sent him to be our helper. He gives us his faith to restore and strengthen ours. What are your thoughts on the miracles of Jesus? Are they signs for his deity?

I didn’t know how to swim when I was a young child. I was very fearful of the water, especially the deeper end of the pool. I would wade in the shallow end up to my neck, where there was a rope that divided the shallow end from the deep end. I never was able to cross that rope on my own.

My mother got this bright idea for my sister and me to take swim lessons. I made sure my Mom knew I would not be crossing that rope to the deep end of the pool, not realizing to pass swim lessons you had to jump off the small diving board into the deep.

It was time for the final test, which I didn’t know until that day. I was terrified and full of rage towards everyone who was trying to force me to jump off the diving board into the deep end of the pool. I was splashing around like a fish who was trying desperately to get out of the shallow water back in the deep water (except my position was to try and stay in the shallow end).

After screaming, I wouldn’t do it; I finally got the nerve to climb up on the diving board and slowly walk out to the end of it. Overcome by fear, I stood frozen on the board. My mother started to yell at me to jump off, but it was impossible. With a determined look in her face, my Mom got up from her chair and came towards the diving board, throwing me off the diving board at the deep end of the pool.

She did not know how I would respond, would I sink to the bottom, or would I start to swim. She didn’t know what I would have thought of her after she did it either. She just did it knowing that it was the right thing to do, even though I had the right to deny her the love that she deserved.

I had the freedom to choose whether to receive this as a learning experience to overcome my fear or a mother trying not to be embarrassed. Since I knew my mother well and knew how she felt about me, I knew it was for my good, and no, I didn’t sink to the bottom of the pool.

How did I know the heart of my mother? How did I know she loved me? We spent time together, and she enjoyed being around me. My Mom wanted to know me, and being together, I got to know and respect her. She was compassionate and a good listener. Even though it didn’t look like it at the time, my Mothers heart was hurting with me. Does my Mother remind you of anyone?

Love isn’t always easy, and it doesn’t feel right or good sometimes. There are times when love doesn’t feel kind. In love, sometimes you don’t get what you want, but you get what you need.

How do we get to know a person, what they have been through in their life? If we don’t spend time together and listen to one another and grow in our relationships, we will stay suspicious of one another, fearful, and unable to trust.

Our person to God relationship isn’t any different than our person to person. Jesus became a man for all of us to know the Father’s heart. He did this by fellowshipping with his fellow man, living a perfect life, dying a horrible death, rising again to eternal life, and ascending as a man. We all know how hard it is to live a perfect life. He did it because he loves his Father and us. He died knowing how difficult and painful it would be because he loves us.

Jesus’ life was hard, but he continued to live it because of grace and love for us. He confronted the Pharisees and leaders of his time because he loved them and those they oppressed. He knew loving us would cause his death. It was important for the world to know the Father then, and it is important to know him today. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one. God loves us, spend time with him in prayer, in reading his word, and be with his people.

Love isn’t easy at times. Sometimes our needs are not easily seen, and we need someone who loves us to give us 20/20 vision to grasp what we can’t see and to push us off into the deep. We also need to self-evaluate our selves in every situation when it comes to relationships. We sometimes need a push or a hit on the head by someone to get started on that journey.

When we look at ourselves first, we begin to see what holds us back to listen, to build relationships without fear, and to trust. Love goes deeper than just being kind. Sometimes it requires sacrifices, sometimes discipline, and a willingness to put away our pride and be humbled. Sometimes the hurt can’t be healed, and the relationship has to be severed to save one another.

The problems we have in relationships today, including race and racism, are deep, and jumping in to solve it can be scary and painful, but it is necessary for the healing of both parties involved. We should never forget being hurt by someone, but we need to forgive. We can’t forgive without knowing the deepest pain, anger, and fear that we have in our hearts. This is why prayer and self-evaluation are important.

The first humans lived in unity and harmony with each other and with God until the Devil tempted them with the idea of power. They ate the fruit so they could be like God and have independence from him and have power over one another. Here is a quote from Thomas Torrance’s book Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ.

“Then we discover that the bond of fellowship between God and man is broken by rebellion and sin. It belongs to the nature of sin to divide, to create disorder, to disrupt, to destroy fellowship. What are the consequences of sin? Not only is the bond of communion between God and man broken, issuing in man’s guilty fear of God, but the bond between man and woman is impaired: guilt and shame come in between them, and even the symbol of wearing clothes is interpreted in terms of the hiddenness of man from woman and of woman from man” (pg. 39). 

So, division in our relationships, between Man and Woman, Parent and child, and even between black and white are caused by sin. Both parties are to blame because of our sin nature.

Torrance also says, “With the bond between them broken, man and woman are individualized, and each is turned in upon himself or herself” (pg 39).

We are turned inward in a negative way. Our needs become the focus when we look inward.

A lot of times in relationships where there is a conversation, (some don’t have any), but when there is, there is no empathic listening. We are so turned in upon our selves that the only thing we can think of is our response to the person and not to hearing or feeling what they are going through.

I could have sunk but I chose to swim that day with my Mom. She helped me to overcome my fear and to develop the courage to fight the good fight, the courage to know myself and my God. The courage for me to look at myself and say I was wrong and I am sorry.

Thank you, Jesus, for showing us the Father and for putting people in our lives to teach us about love and relationships. Thank you for giving us ears to hear Amen.