“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matt. 22:36-40, NIV

Meditation 

James K.A. Smith profoundly stated, “You are what you love. You just don’t love what you think.” This observation is sharp, highlighting the distinction between the loves we profess and the loves we manifest. Love is more than words; it's evident in our actions. We all experience a disconnect between what we wish to love and what we actually love.

The Pharisees, when asking Jesus about the greatest commandment, loved the Law and assumed a true teacher would share that devotion. Yet, the Old Testament's true goal was not rule-worship; it was using the rules as a means to genuinely love God and people. In contrast, the Pharisees twisted the Law into a tool for control and manipulation, demonstrating a deep love for power and status. In other words, they used the law to love themselves. “You are what you love. You just don’t love what you think.”

Jesus, however, modeled a love for God and people. He utilized the Law to instruct people about God so they could love Him better. More importantly, he also used the Law to expose people’s inability to keep it. Romans 3:22-24 confirms this: “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” For Jesus, the Law served as a tool of love—a means to reveal human failure, thereby setting the stage to teach about God’s grace.

It is easy to twist Christianity into a vehicle for loving the wrong things, especially ourselves. Using the right "churchy" words and going through religious motions can become a subtle way of creating an idol of oneself. Though Jesus and the Pharisees shared the same religious language and activities, their ultimate outcomes were radically different.

Brothers and sisters, we must be vigilant not to use Bible verses or religious activities to merely build up ourselves. Be careful. “You are what you love. You just don’t love what you think.”

Question for Reflection

Examine the "churchy" words and actions in your life. What truly drives them? If you discover wrong motives behind some of your Christian language or activities, the words and actions themselves may not need changing. Instead, focus your energy on addressing and improving your underlying motives and heart.

Week 3 Day 2

“‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”

Revelation 4:8

Meditation 

Reginald Heber, born in 1783, was a man of both deep theological insight and poetic talent, which he honed at Oxford. Following his education, Heber took on the leadership of his family's church, where he faithfully served for sixteen years. During this time, he cherished a vision of publishing a book of hymns organized around the church calendar. However, this dream was initially thwarted by the Bishop of London. Undeterred, Heber continued to write for his local congregation, penning all 57 of his hymns during those sixteen years in England, none of which saw publication during that period.

In 1822, Heber fulfilled another lifelong aspiration by becoming a missionary in India. At the age of 40, he arrived in Calcutta and dedicated his life to this new mission for four years until his death in 1826.

His most celebrated work, the hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy," remained undiscovered until years after his passing. It was his wife, Amelia Heber, who, upon opening an old, dusty trunk, found the collection of hymns he had written at that small English church. Amelia's dedicated effort to get his songs published finally brought her husband's dream to fruition. Today, this profound song, which glorifies the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is sung by believers all over the world.

A life rooted in a profound understanding of the Trinity is a blessed life. This is because a strong grasp of the Trinity reveals the holy nature of God. When we comprehend God's holiness, it radically transforms our existence, leading us naturally into a life of worship.

You may not be a writer or composer, but if you truly understand the Trinity and God's holiness, your very life can become a poem—it can become a song. Worship is the bedrock of a life well-lived. This does not mean we are immune to hardship and heartbreak. Instead, a deep understanding of the Trinity, allowing God to be central in our lives, offers a powerful counteraction to the disappointments we face in this world.

Question for Reflection

How can the idea of the Trinity (there is one God who exists in three persons Father, Son and Holy Spirit) help you to deal with the current struggles you are facing in your life?

Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Luke 11:11-13

Meditation

Understanding God as Father is a foundational concept for grasping the nature of the God of the Bible. This particular attribute underscores a vital truth: we serve a God who is a generous provider, one who delights in caring for His children.

Jesus employs an illustration to teach this core concept: if an imperfect human father, despite his flaws, would not cruelly give his child something harmful instead of what they need, how much more certain is it that your perfect Heavenly Father will provide for you? The story is a radical contrast: if reasonably responsible and good earthly fathers are good, your Heavenly Father is great.

However, this positive illustration of an earthly father presents a serious challenge when your personal experience deviates from it. You might read this and immediately think: "My earthly dad was terrible. He was cruel, withdrawn, and abusive." The reality is, the list of painful experiences with an earthly father can be quite long.

For those who had a good earthly father, Jesus’s tale is comforting. But for others, the image of "Father" might not conjure warmth. Perhaps your father gave you a "snake" or "scorpion" in the form of trauma or pain. For you, the image of God as Father might even be repulsive.

While Jesus was a flawless teacher whose illustrations are perfect, our life experiences are not. Therefore, we must reconcile the truth of Jesus’s teaching with the reality of our experiences. The resolution lies in recognizing this fact: even if you had the world's worst father, God is a perfect and good Father.

Healing from parental trauma involves leaning into the truth of God as Father and owning that truth more deeply than past hurts. Sometimes, the most effective therapy is sound theology. Focus on God as Father. See His inherent goodness. Do not allow the evil and pain of your past obstruct your access to the goodness of the future found in God the Father.

Question for Reflection

How does your earthly father-daughter/son relationship shape your perspective of God the Father? If your past experiences evoke painful or negative feelings, how can you consciously reframe your understanding of God as Father over your past experiences?

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’

Exodus 3:14

Meditation

We all have various ways we identify ourselves. Sometimes, this identity is rooted in our occupation, leading us to say, "I am an accountant" or "I am a welder." Other times, our identity is tied to our passions or hobbies—"I am a skier" or "I am a guitarist." For parents, identity is often linked directly to their children: "I am Madison's dad" or "I am John's mother." Ultimately, what we do, what we love, or how others perceive us frequently forms the basis of our identity.

God's primary identity is established in his nature and character. The Hebrew phrase "Ehyeh asher ehyeh," often translated as "I AM WHO I AM" or "I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE," points to this. The root of the Hebrew word, hāyâ (הָיָה), signifies "to be," "to exist," or "to become." Therefore, when God declares, "I AM WHO I AM," he is anchoring his identity in the following attributes…

God is Self-Existent (Eternal). The term hāyâ signifies God's eternal nature: He has always existed, with no beginning and no end. As the God "who was, and is, and is to come," the God of the Bible is uncreated and self-sustaining.

God is Unchanging (Immutable). God remains constant and reliable in His being, character, purposes, and promises. While His actions unfold dynamically in history, His nature itself is fixed. As Malachi 3:6 states, "I the LORD do not change."

God is Active (Theistic). Biblical Christianity is Theistic, asserting belief in a personal God who not only created and sustains the universe but also actively governs it. This is in contrast to Deism, which holds that God created the universe but does not intervene after creation. By affirming that God is active, we declare that He is intimately involved in both the grand plan of redemptive history and the specific, day-to-day details of our personal lives.

You may be wondering, "Why do these theological terms matter? How do they relate to my daily life?" That's a valid question. The truth is, the phrase "I AM" holds immense importance for your life today because it reassures us that we serve a God who is both caring and completely in control. "I AM" is the very bedrock of our hope. Because of God's unchanging nature, we can navigate the toughest days and still wake up the next morning with genuine joy. God's character is far from being a dry, academic subject. It is the essential source of all the meaning in our lives.

Question for Reflection

What problems are you facing today? How can the fact that God is eternal, unchanging, and active in your life help you through your difficult situations?

If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:15-18

Meditation

The concept of the Trinity describes God as a single being existing in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. This term and its underlying doctrine developed over time within the early church. Theophilus of Antioch was the first to use the Greek word for Trinity, trias, around 180 AD. In the 200s, Tertullian used the Latin term Trinitas to assert that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are "one in nature, not three separate gods." The comprehensive teaching on the Trinity was later formally established at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD to correct false beliefs about the nature of God.

Why devote time to church history? Because immediately following the New Testament, the early church fathers grappled with the profound mystery of how God can be one yet three. They understood that all orthodoxy (correct doctrine), orthopathos (right affections), and orthopraxy (proper practice) spring from a correct understanding of God's multifaceted nature. Getting God right directly impacted what people believed, what they loved, and how they lived.

In John 14, Jesus highlights the Trinity. He is our Savior. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate. The Father is our Parent. Our Christian faith reaches its fullest and richest expression when we truly know, understand, and draw upon these distinct attributes of God. An experience of God that doesn't fully embrace this one God in three persons is impoverished—it's like having two perfectly good legs but choosing to hop around on only one. This seems foolish. The solution is simple: learn about the "leg" you're neglecting and start using it. Life is better when you run, not hop. The Trinity's application is vital:

• Jesus, the Savior: Through Jesus' salvation, we have hope, forgiveness, love, and acceptance, regardless of past, present, or future sins.

• The Holy Spirit, the Advocate: The Spirit defends us, ensuring evil has no final claim. We are sealed by the Spirit and belong to God.

• God, the Father: As our Heavenly Dad, God fulfills Jesus' promise, "I will not leave you as orphans." We are accepted and adopted, not fatherless.

Learn and love the Trinity. Stop hopping. Run.

Question for Reflection

As you think about the Trinity, which person is most challenging for you to understand or relate to? Ask the Lord to show you more about that aspect of Him.