“Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.” (Isaiah 43:4, NLT)
I have heard it said many times, “The God of the Old Testament is very different from Jesus. The God of the Old Testament is all judgment, where Jesus is all about love.” I completely disagree with that line of thinking. When Jesus spoke of God the Father, Jesus often spoke lovingly. Even in the famous verse of John 3:16, Jesus taught that His mission was because “God so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten Son……”.
God is the ultimate Judge of the universe. You and I will face Judgment Day before we see eternal life. But even Jesus is called the one who will “judge the living and the dead” (John 5:22, 2 Timothy 4:1). Why is it that many Christians see Jesus as loving and the Father as judgmental? I see both the God of the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament as branches from the same tree. Both are judges as well as loving.
Today’s scripture shows the loving side of the God spoken of in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 43:4, the prophet Isaiah mentions that God considered Israel “precious” and “honored”. The very end of our verse even reveals God telling Israel, “I love you”. At the time these words were uttered by God, Israel was in shambles. In the previous forty some years, Israel had lived through a lost war, tumult, death, and exile. Sinful living brought about that war. God had to watch as Israel suffered greatly. In these bleak times, what was God’s message to suffering Israel? “I love you” (Isaiah 43:4).
Those three words… “I love you” meant so much to the people of Israel. I’m sure they mean a lot to you! The words “I love you” are at the heart of feelings of mercy, grace, forgiveness, commitment, and so much more. When a husband and wife share those three important words, “I love you”, they can bring healing and hope and encouragement like nothing else.
When was the last time you said, “I love you” at a very important time to a very important person? Do you hold back your love? Are you afraid to commit to love? Are you afraid to utter those words out of insecurity or fear?
A couple came to my office for marriage counseling. They had been married fifteen years, but their relationship was unraveling. After more than a month of counseling, where husband and wife tossed out blame and ridicule, the wife asked a crucial question. After thirty minutes of back-and-forth yelling, the wife looked into her husband’s eyes and said, “Do you really love me?”
I sat there in silence. I knew these words could change everything in their marriage. The husband thought for a second or two and said, “On the day we were married I said I loved you. That hasn’t changed. I’ll tell you when it does.”
The wife immediately retorted, “And when was the last time you said you loved me?” With a raised voice, the husband replied, “On the day we were married. Why? Do I need to say it again?”
The husband had no clue what the words “I love you” meant to his wife. The husband could not see that his wife craved to hear those three big words much more often. His wife needed to hear them regularly. She wasn’t sure her husband loved her, because for years he never said, “I love you”! He didn’t realize how necessary those words were for their life together.
During the weeks of counseling after that, I learned that the husband was afraid to say the words, “I love you”. The person who had spoken those words to him in his youth beat him ferociously. He thought people who said “I love you” did it to manipulate, said those words to enforce a way of life. That husband couldn’t love his wife completely until he learned what love really meant. In time, he learned of God’s love, learned to talk about love, and learned to say to his wife, “I love you”.
God was not afraid to tell Israel, “I love you”. God did not hold back those words. When they were important, God used them. And God meant every word.
Do you realize how people crave those three big words? Are you stingy with them? Do you, like that husband, hold back those words? Are you also afraid to utter them when needed? God doesn’t hold back words of love. Jesus often spoke of love. Paul dedicated an entire chapter of 1 Corinthians to the concept of love. 1 John 4:7-8 states that true love comes from God. True love is godly. Words of love should come easy for a child of God. They should be commonly shared from your lips. Are they?
Did you know that one of the four Sundays before Christmas is traditionally called “Love Sunday”? Love is supposed to be a common theme in the church. An old and familiar hymn states, “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love….” I have witnessed much love from Christians in churches. However, I have also seen anger, resentment, competition, envy, jealousy, and grievous sin among religious types.
Thirty-two years ago, I was asked by a fellow pastor to sit in on a meeting with his church leaders. He asked me to pray for him and his family, as well as his church. The pastor assumed the meeting would be an ugly one. And he was right.
The treasurer of that church had great animosity toward the pastor. He was constantly giving critical words about the pastor and pastor’s family in the church. He looked for ways to turn members against the pastor. Also, for two months prior to that church meeting, the church treasurer had withheld the pastor’s paycheck in order to force the pastor to leave the church. The pastor’s young family was suffering. His children were fed food from a food pantry. The pastor had to hold off paying for his vehicle. The pastor and his family burned through all their meager savings. At the meeting, the pastor asked why his pay was withheld. The treasurer immediately spouted a reason the pay was withheld by his own discretion. It was unbelievably flimsy.
I asked, “Even if you felt the need to withhold the pay from the pastor, why didn’t you take care to meet the needs of the pastor’s family so that they didn’t go hungry?”
The treasurer replied, “That’s not my job.”
I looked right into his face and said, “Sir, I believe it is your job. It is the job of every child of God to care for and help those in need.” The treasurer turned to the leaders and said, “Why is he here (pointing to me) and allowed to talk?” The other leaders were too afraid to answer him. Out of fear, they’d rather let the pastors in that room suffer and be silenced than show love.
It is no surprise to me that the church is closed today. I’d say it died of a heart attack. The church lost its heart of love. Thereafter, it was a breeding ground for animosity, resentment, envy, and more. Members fought with other members. Founding members thought they “owned” the church and could run their church as a family business. IT WAS GOD’S BUSINESS!
The loss of love destroys churches and marriages and friendships and more every day. Love is vital for your relationship with God. It is foundational to God’s character. It needs to be at the center of church life. Don’t ever lose it. Jesus gave this commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus commanded love. Jesus knew that when love went missing, so did faith, commitment, marriage, and so much more.
Even today, many people talk about love on social media. But their idea of love is not the same as God’s idea of love. Their love is conditional on who you vote for, who you know, whose side you are on, what philosophies and ideologies you believe, and who your friends are. People label others in order to foster hate instead of love. Don’t ever look to social media to understand true love. Don’t trust Hollywood to teach about love. Look to God! Look at Isaiah 43! Look upon Christ Jesus! Remember the cross!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
I love You, Oh Lord! I cherish those moments when I feel Your presence! I thank You for the grace and forgiveness You have shown me. In Jesus Christ, I come before You!
Forgive my thoughtlessness. Forgive those moments I did not respond in love. Forgive me for the petty jealousies and angry utterances that defined certain periods of my life. I have not loved others as you would have me do. I have even withheld my love from others in order to get my way. I need to not only trust in Your love but live it myself!
I pray for churches where the love has grown cold. I pray for Christians who have lost their way. I pray for our world, which is full of bitterness and resentment and divisive maneuvering. Our world needs You, Oh Lord! But will they ever realize it?
In the name of Jesus Christ, I have hope. In his name, I have prayed. Amen.
God is the ultimate Judge of the universe. You and I will face Judgment Day before we see eternal life. But even Jesus is called the one who will “judge the living and the dead” (John 5:22, 2 Timothy 4:1). Why is it that many Christians see Jesus as loving and the Father as judgmental? I see both the God of the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament as branches from the same tree. Both are judges as well as loving.
Today’s scripture shows the loving side of the God spoken of in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 43:4, the prophet Isaiah mentions that God considered Israel “precious” and “honored”. The very end of our verse even reveals God telling Israel, “I love you”. At the time these words were uttered by God, Israel was in shambles. In the previous forty some years, Israel had lived through a lost war, tumult, death, and exile. Sinful living brought about that war. God had to watch as Israel suffered greatly. In these bleak times, what was God’s message to suffering Israel? “I love you” (Isaiah 43:4).
Those three words… “I love you” meant so much to the people of Israel. I’m sure they mean a lot to you! The words “I love you” are at the heart of feelings of mercy, grace, forgiveness, commitment, and so much more. When a husband and wife share those three important words, “I love you”, they can bring healing and hope and encouragement like nothing else.
When was the last time you said, “I love you” at a very important time to a very important person? Do you hold back your love? Are you afraid to commit to love? Are you afraid to utter those words out of insecurity or fear?
A couple came to my office for marriage counseling. They had been married fifteen years, but their relationship was unraveling. After more than a month of counseling, where husband and wife tossed out blame and ridicule, the wife asked a crucial question. After thirty minutes of back-and-forth yelling, the wife looked into her husband’s eyes and said, “Do you really love me?”
I sat there in silence. I knew these words could change everything in their marriage. The husband thought for a second or two and said, “On the day we were married I said I loved you. That hasn’t changed. I’ll tell you when it does.”
The wife immediately retorted, “And when was the last time you said you loved me?” With a raised voice, the husband replied, “On the day we were married. Why? Do I need to say it again?”
The husband had no clue what the words “I love you” meant to his wife. The husband could not see that his wife craved to hear those three big words much more often. His wife needed to hear them regularly. She wasn’t sure her husband loved her, because for years he never said, “I love you”! He didn’t realize how necessary those words were for their life together.
During the weeks of counseling after that, I learned that the husband was afraid to say the words, “I love you”. The person who had spoken those words to him in his youth beat him ferociously. He thought people who said “I love you” did it to manipulate, said those words to enforce a way of life. That husband couldn’t love his wife completely until he learned what love really meant. In time, he learned of God’s love, learned to talk about love, and learned to say to his wife, “I love you”.
God was not afraid to tell Israel, “I love you”. God did not hold back those words. When they were important, God used them. And God meant every word.
Do you realize how people crave those three big words? Are you stingy with them? Do you, like that husband, hold back those words? Are you also afraid to utter them when needed? God doesn’t hold back words of love. Jesus often spoke of love. Paul dedicated an entire chapter of 1 Corinthians to the concept of love. 1 John 4:7-8 states that true love comes from God. True love is godly. Words of love should come easy for a child of God. They should be commonly shared from your lips. Are they?
Did you know that one of the four Sundays before Christmas is traditionally called “Love Sunday”? Love is supposed to be a common theme in the church. An old and familiar hymn states, “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love….” I have witnessed much love from Christians in churches. However, I have also seen anger, resentment, competition, envy, jealousy, and grievous sin among religious types.
Thirty-two years ago, I was asked by a fellow pastor to sit in on a meeting with his church leaders. He asked me to pray for him and his family, as well as his church. The pastor assumed the meeting would be an ugly one. And he was right.
The treasurer of that church had great animosity toward the pastor. He was constantly giving critical words about the pastor and pastor’s family in the church. He looked for ways to turn members against the pastor. Also, for two months prior to that church meeting, the church treasurer had withheld the pastor’s paycheck in order to force the pastor to leave the church. The pastor’s young family was suffering. His children were fed food from a food pantry. The pastor had to hold off paying for his vehicle. The pastor and his family burned through all their meager savings. At the meeting, the pastor asked why his pay was withheld. The treasurer immediately spouted a reason the pay was withheld by his own discretion. It was unbelievably flimsy.
I asked, “Even if you felt the need to withhold the pay from the pastor, why didn’t you take care to meet the needs of the pastor’s family so that they didn’t go hungry?”
The treasurer replied, “That’s not my job.”
I looked right into his face and said, “Sir, I believe it is your job. It is the job of every child of God to care for and help those in need.” The treasurer turned to the leaders and said, “Why is he here (pointing to me) and allowed to talk?” The other leaders were too afraid to answer him. Out of fear, they’d rather let the pastors in that room suffer and be silenced than show love.
It is no surprise to me that the church is closed today. I’d say it died of a heart attack. The church lost its heart of love. Thereafter, it was a breeding ground for animosity, resentment, envy, and more. Members fought with other members. Founding members thought they “owned” the church and could run their church as a family business. IT WAS GOD’S BUSINESS!
The loss of love destroys churches and marriages and friendships and more every day. Love is vital for your relationship with God. It is foundational to God’s character. It needs to be at the center of church life. Don’t ever lose it. Jesus gave this commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus commanded love. Jesus knew that when love went missing, so did faith, commitment, marriage, and so much more.
Even today, many people talk about love on social media. But their idea of love is not the same as God’s idea of love. Their love is conditional on who you vote for, who you know, whose side you are on, what philosophies and ideologies you believe, and who your friends are. People label others in order to foster hate instead of love. Don’t ever look to social media to understand true love. Don’t trust Hollywood to teach about love. Look to God! Look at Isaiah 43! Look upon Christ Jesus! Remember the cross!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
I love You, Oh Lord! I cherish those moments when I feel Your presence! I thank You for the grace and forgiveness You have shown me. In Jesus Christ, I come before You!
Forgive my thoughtlessness. Forgive those moments I did not respond in love. Forgive me for the petty jealousies and angry utterances that defined certain periods of my life. I have not loved others as you would have me do. I have even withheld my love from others in order to get my way. I need to not only trust in Your love but live it myself!
I pray for churches where the love has grown cold. I pray for Christians who have lost their way. I pray for our world, which is full of bitterness and resentment and divisive maneuvering. Our world needs You, Oh Lord! But will they ever realize it?
In the name of Jesus Christ, I have hope. In his name, I have prayed. Amen.