Yesterday we considered the following quote:
“Tell me, I’ll forget.
Show me, I may remember.
But INVOLVE me and I’ll understand.”
(anonymous bulletin clipping)
Again, when I read this, I immediately thought of the greatest teacher to ever walk the face of this earth. That Master Teacher is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. God wants us to understand His great love for us. Do we fully understand it? From what we focused on yesterday we may glimpse it, but do we fully comprehend it? I believe to truly understand God’s love we must also become INVOLVED in it!
Jesus, the Master Teacher, in order for us to understand God’s selfless love, . . .
He TOLD OF IT!
He SHOWED IT!
And He sought to INVOLVE US IN IT!
God’s love was not to stop with the disciples or others with whom Jesus came into contact. That love was to be taken on and modeled in life. Jesus expected those who accepted His love to understand God’s love through the experience of sharing it with others.
Jesus said. . .
“(34) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. (35) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 ESV)
And. . .
“(12) This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (13) Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (14) You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:12-14 ESV)
My wife doesn’t just want me to tell her I love her. She also wants me to show her I love her. And the great mutual benefit is for us to share in that love, to experience it, and to become involved in it together. This ought to be the same within the church. The world also needs to be loved in this way. This is what God has tried to get us to see His love is all about. It is through all of this that love is truly understood. For how could one possibly ever question the depth and genuineness of such a love?
Through the telling, the showing, and then the acting out of such a love, we begin to understand its power more fully. We also reveal we understand the depth of God’s graciousness and mercy more completely. In living out that love we also gain the experience of seeing the response to its genuineness.
The world has its standard, but that is not to be the one to follow. I remember a show back in the late 60’s or early 70’s called “Love American Style”. We need to love “God’s Style!” For God’s love to be seen as understood by us, it must be acted upon as our standard for loving!
Have a great day INVOLVED IN LOVING “GOD’S STYLE”!
Carl
