Joelene and I had the privilege of being the speaker at the Couples Retreat in Waupaca this weekend. Great time. I thought I'd just spend the next few days downloading very brief excerpts from the four sessions, starting with this one ...
It was Thomas Aquinas, whom some argue was the greatest theologian in Christian history, who proposed that it might be more theologically correct to grammatically render the word “GOD” as a verb rather than a noun. In other words, we could all ask ourselves: 'Has GOD become the driving activity in your life?' God is LOVE - so - is 'GOD' what you DO every day? Because LOVE doesn’t take WORDS as much as it takes ACTION – because love is a verb, not a noun.
John 13:34 says: 'Love one another as I have loved you.' In other words, He's saying: 'I don't want you taking your cue from culture ... I don't want you taking your cue from reading the newspaper ... maybe you don't want to take your cue from your parents or in-laws.' Jesus says, 'When you think about what it means to love like a VERB, I want you to take your cue from Me.'
And then there is 'SUBMIT.' It’s the very same thing JESUS said when He told us to ‘love one another,’ but Paul adds that BARBED WORD, ‘submit,’ instead. He says – 'Submit to each other out of reverence for Christ.' In the very next verse, Paul says, 'WIVES ... submit yourselves to your husbands as you do to God,' but isn’t it interesting in the verse preceding it that Paul tells us ALL to submit to each other --- ALL of us.
So the bottom line -- the starting block -- for people who are in relationship is mutual submission … and that’s VERB stuff – it’s something you DO.
All life forms have a genetic code – a DNA. DNA gives each life form specific expression. Your DNA largely determines your physical and psychological traits. Since the church is organic, it too has DNA. Spiritual DNA. We believe in a triune God - the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God - yet there are not three Gods, but one. The Godhead is a community of three - a "Trinity." When a group of believers follow their spiritual DNA, they will gather in a way that matches the DNA of the triune God -- because believers possess the same life God Himself possesses. We are 'made in His image.' Consequently, the DNA of the church is marked by the very traits we find in the triune God --- mutual love, mutual fellowship, mutual dependence, mutual ministry and face-to-face community, mutual submission.
So when we do this in relationships --- when we give MUTUAL SUBMISSION --- when we make love a VERB by DOING it --- we are very much a reflection of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And be blessed.
9 comments:
Hi, This is Cherlyn and Jim Jensen
Thanks again for an awesome weekend. Jim Jensen
JIM:
It was our pleasure. Thanks for attending.
This blogging is new for me...it is a good thing I have a wife who is computer literate.
It was nice to hear many comments from folks from other chuches when they found out we were from KFA...like you are blessed to have Kevin and Jolene as your Pastors
I'm not exactly sure, but that sounds like a pretty tall order. The people I am in a relationship with, I lavish with love. However, I don't have the time or inclination to do that with every person I come in contact with...I have to love them a bit from a distance...but treat them kindly and with compassion.
Just out of curiosity, is this command to be between believers? Does it include non-believers, because my thought is that it might make me into a doormat. People with secular worldviews often just look for "What's in it for me?" and might take advantage of someone who bends over backwards to be there for them. I was just curious what your thoughts were.
ANON:
"Doormat" is a frame of mind. Nobody makes you into a doormat unless you are inclined to be one. This "DOING LOVE AS A VERB" thing is where we say, "I will if you will but you have to go first." If we just take our cues from JESUS rather than from the world, some of these questions will automatically be answered for us.
Thanks, PK. Yes, it feels good inside when I think more like Jesus. I just wish I actually did it more often than I do.
I really do trust the things you say, too. I'm glad you have incorporated this blog into your ministry. :)
I loved the way you set up the CR messages, a little moore food in each one. We were blessed to be there but of course we went to hear the two of you! We came away happy for our decision to attend.
be blessed
d
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