Weekly Bulletin

Monthly Lookout

Click here to join the lookout mailing list

Bible Sunday

John 5: 36-47

The testimony of the Scriptures.

Here in Today’s readings we discover the importance of the Scripture for us and the reason the scriptures were given.

What’s the point of the Scriptures

2 reflections

1. The Scriptures communicate God’s passionate Love and desire to heal us and save us

 We will not love God until we understand how much he loves us

The first is in verse 42, which literally reads, "I have known you that you do not have the love of God in yourselves." This could refer to love from or to God. Initially I read this as love for God. This is consistent with the most fundamental commandment given to the Jews, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God." But when we look at vs 20, Jesus says that the Father loves the Son. This is the foundation and basis of their relationship, and the cross was the outpouring of the reciprocal love between the Father and Son. Jesus could have never gone to the cross, never emptied himself, never given himself if he had not been grounded in his Father's love. Jesus sought to please the Father because of the Father's love for him. He obeyed his Father and loved him in return.

Knowing God's love is foundational in our lives also. The Scriptures are of no value to us if we do not encounter in them a living God who loves us and wants to save us. If we do not know the love of God, then we will rely on religion and rule-keeping. We will seek to exalt and glorify ourselves. We will not be able to take up our cross and die to ourselves for the sake of others. We will not be able to follow Jesus and be conformed to his image. We will not be able to grow into the sons and daughters that God has designed us to be. That is what happened to the Jews, and that is what will happen to us.

But if we know God's love and if that love is foundational to our lives, then we will love him in return. We will submit to him and obey him out of a heart of gratitude. We will seek his glory and not our own. We will be able to die to ourselves for the sake of others. We will become life-givers and not life-preservers. We will become a blessing to others. This is what Paul prayed in Ephesians 3: "that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God" (Eph 3:17-19).

I spent many years as a father doing things for my children. I thought that was the best thing a father could do. I tried to help them in school, encourage them in sports, discipline their behavior, and take them on ministry trips. But I have since realized that although these are all good things they are not the best thing. The most important thing I could do for my children is to communicate to them how deeply I loved them and that that love would never change. At various times I have written things for them so that they might always remember my love.

This is an essential question. Do you know the great love of God? Have you heard him shout it from the heavens? If Jesus needed to be grounded in that love in order for him to go to the cross, don't you think that we do as well? There is no formula to this kind of relationship with the Father. It is a matter of prayer and the word and honestly opening up our hearts to God.

2. People don’t want to come to God. VS. 40

Jesus says, "You do not want to come to me, in order that you might have life." The Jews refused to come to Jesus despite all of the testimony to his claims. He offered life, but they turned down the offer. The same thing happens today. People refuse to come to Jesus, despite all the evidence to support his claim that he is the Son of God, the Messiah, the promised one who died a horrible death on a cross so that we could have life. Jesus says, "Believe in me and have life." Yet people turn him down.

 

Why do people turn him down God’s offer of love and salvation revealed in the scriptures?

Pride: We think we don't need God, that our life is pretty good and we can manage on our own. Pride keeps us from admitting that we need help.

Shame: We feel we have messed up so bad we can never really get right with God, God doesn’t really want us.

            People say things like I’m afraid of going to church because the “roof might fall in on me” But we see in the gospels that Jesus associated with sinners and ate with them and loved them.

Too Costly: We don’t think we will be able to do what Jesus requires of us. The fact is all that Jesus requires is that we come to him and receive his love. It is his love that changes us. Not religious duty.

Or maybe it's a matter of procrastination. We think we will have plenty of time when we get older, but right now while we are younger we want to live it up and get some things for ourselves before we come to Jesus. Then we will turn our life over to God and offer our possessions for his use. The problem is 1. we are not promised another day on earth, So today is the day of salvation, and 2. The longer we choose to live apart from God the more set in our ways we become.

 We get very impressed wit ourselves, and what we can do or what we think we know. How much money we have made etc. Which goes back to the number one reason. Pride it’s a vicious circle.

 Another problem is that we tend to view religion as consumers. We look at the materials, we weigh the pros and cons, how much it costs, what is involved, whether we understand it wel. But see God’s Kingdom doesn’t work like that.

 In God's kingdom we believe, and then we understand. Then we will know, we will see, we will hear, and the word will abide in us. Just come to Jesus.