Eternal Love - John 8:48-59 - The Holy Trinity

 

John 8:48-59 NIV

⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

⁴⁹ “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

⁵² At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

⁵⁴ Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. ⁵⁵ Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷ “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

⁵⁸ “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” ⁵⁹ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Eternal Love

Bluntly, Jesus IS God, the Father IS God, and the Holy Spirit IS God.

As I studied, pondered, and reflected on the Gospel passage for this week, I was led into eternity. Yes, I was led into eternity. All something beyond my comprehension. Eternity is something I can’t grasp as a sinful man. I can’t understand something so impossibly larger than myself. I can’t grasp space and time beyond what I can see and feel. No, it’s all beyond me. I can’t even grasp God. God is beyond my understanding. The only thing that this leaves me with is to accept. But accept what?

So, I can see and understand why people question Jesus. Who are you Jesus? What do you mean that You and yours’ will NOT die. You know God? Well, just how is that?

I along with so many people, past and present, have always attempted to pull down God to my level. Why? We try to make sense of God, to satisfy the desire to know God from our level of logic, perception, science, and proof positive that God really exists. BUT, if this is so, THEN, we have made US God and we are rulers of ourself.

To make sense of God, many people throughout the ages have drawn God close to themselves. To make sense of the Bible, people tend to throw away eternity and the impossible for a blind faith of trust. But that even falls short. It may make us feel better and give us reason to NOT believe in any of this “God” stuff, but it leaves me empty, speaking for myself.

I’m not alone in my feelings on this. As I pondered this passage, I couldn’t help but to recall Luther’s Explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed…

Let me remind you…

The Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed is…

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Look at that! Stuff beyond my understanding and maybe yours’ as well. Stuff that I can’t bring into my thinking on my own. First off, the Holy Spirit, how can I believe in that?

Then the catholic Church. That’s not the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, or Baptist, Methodist, Orthodox, or anything we have today by itself. It’s God’s Church throughout and beyond all time, perfect and without flaw or error. Well, when I look around at all of these Churches I see today, I sure see many flaws and errors! Yet, God has chosen all of these to make the holy catholic Church come forth from them.

And then go on to the forgiveness of sins. Come on! I can’t, on my own, excuse or even forgive everything I see and have had done to me, let alone all the things that I have done to God and to other people that I live with and around!

Now, the resurrection of the body? I’ve, not once witnessed this in my own life. How can I believe that!

And finally, everlasting life, COME ON!

Here’s Luther’s Explanation:

“What does this mean?

I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and kept me in true faith.

In the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it united with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

In this Christian church day after day he fully forgives my sins and the sins of all believers. On the last day he will raise me and all the dead and give me and all believers in Christ eternal life.

This is most certainly true.”

You see, it’s not about my own ability to comprehend, or even my own ability to believe, because all of this “God” stuff is too far beyond me. This IS about an eternal LOVE that God freely gives to His creation, even before the creation. Well, I can’t grasp that!

So, when Jesus said in verse 56…

⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

Abraham was able to look beyond himself in time TO SEE God in Jesus. Impossible! Yet, these are the words of Jesus.

It throws out time as we know it.

So, when we ponder this idea of the “Last Days” --- well they came with Jesus. The Word, the Logos, and Jesus HAS now spoken. Yes, the “Last Days” are NOW!

Look back in the Gospel of John to the beginning of the book…

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Think about that. Jesus, incarnation, as God, coming in flesh AS God did not change God. God was always Jesus. Jesus DID NOT make God loving and forgiving. God IS ALWAYS loving and forgiving. AND, God comes to us always and forever. Even before Abraham. So, Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit always exists as the I AM.

God didn’t change; we changed. And we ARE changed by God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God was, and is, always the same. We are not.

The absolute existence of Jesus IS eternal.

But, through God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, God has come to us, to you and to me, to make US better. As we have turned away from God in our sinfulness and rejection of God and believing in God, God spins us around to face Him and in repentance for our turning away, God forgives us.

These are all actions of God, not our own efforts. God didn’t become better. God never needs to become better, because God is always God and God displays for ALL people and Eternal Love.

It’s NOT up to me or you to understand Eternal Love. It’s a gift of grace, free love, of, and from, God for all His creation. It’s NOT our effort or understanding that brings us into God’s grace!

So, why fight it? Why try to make sense of it? Why try to draw God down to our level?

God, comes to us, you and me and all, with an everlasting, eternal Love… today… tomorrow… and forever. Thanks be to God!

I enjoyed this hymn as I reflected this week… Enjoy!

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlbnP4_yj18&list=RDMlbnP4_yj18&start_radio=1

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

 

The Door - John 14:23-31 - Pentecost

 

John 14:23-31 NIV

²³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

²⁵ “All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

²⁸ “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. ³⁰ I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, ³¹ but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

“Come now; let us leave.

The Door

A Story:

There once was a young boy, around five years old. He lived in a small to medium size town in a middle-income household. He was small and, would get in trouble from time to time, for simple stuff, like fighting, or punching his sister or wrestling with his brother. And yes, even at this young age, he hid in the bushes with some of the neighborhood kids and smoked cigarette butts. He would sneak out on Saturday mornings and go downtown, or to visit his grandma. And of course, there were those times when he would play in the creek that ran under the streets, opening up to a corner store with candy and such. He would meet up with some hobos behind the billboards and vines to swing on. His mom and dad weren’t aware of all that he did, but I have a notion they knew more than he expected. His school work and grades were average at best, sometimes below average. And he was forced to attend Sunday School and Church every Sunday, like it or not. This little boy had to wear a suit to church out of respect. He liked Sunday School and Church but playing was the best thing at his age. Playing was always fun and adventurous.

One day the small boy had a dream of some sort. It was unusual. In the dream, at the door daily, Jesus would come by and knock on the door. When this boy would answer the door, there would be Jesus, Moses, Elijah and someone no one ever knew. Jesus would say to the boy, “Can you come out to play?”

Each day Jesus would come to the door. And as this little boy grew, he began to realize that this Jesus trend was something different for him that many other people did not experience, at least in this way. There were times that the boy would doubt his dream and try to forget about it, try to deny it, try to abandon his dream. But it always came back. Jesus always arrived at his door with the same cast of characters.

As the boy got older and older, he would notice his mother at the coffee table reading her white zip up Bible for a small amount of time each day. Sunday School would take on meanings that he never realized. Things with this dream of Jesus at the door grew deeper and deeper. Was the door an entry into his heart? Was the door becoming the home of God for this now adolescent boy? Was his heart not his own any longer? Was his heart, his door becoming God’s door?

As the now young man looked around at his friends, family and strangers in his life, the boy came to see, that when Jesus comes to the doors of their hearts, many never even hear the knock at the door. Others decide to ignore Jesus’ knock at the door, and still a few more come to believe that there is plenty of time left in life to answer Jesus’ knock at the door of their hearts.

Yet for this young man, he knew that it matters, especially when you know Jesus is at the door. This young man, ran to the door to throw it open. And yes, this young man would gladly choose, on his own, to follow Jesus. How could you not?

The invitation was always to come out to play in the world each and every day with Jesus and His friends.

Yet, even so, this feeling would fade, as the young man aged into a young adult. The man would now go out his door day after day and seek other things. Things that seemed to bring joy to him. He made money to spend on nice stuff and to do fun things. He hung out with some people that had similar interests. Some of these interests were NOT what Jesus would lead him to do in his younger days. Most of these newfound interests took advantage of others, like stealing, drugs and drinking alcohol. This was not the life this young man was to have. It’s like, when Jesus came to the door, the young man ran outside with Jesus and Jesus’ friends and took an about face away from Jesus.

Yet, Jesus just kept coming to that door daily.

As a young man and finally a husband and father now, the man realized that many miss the opportunity to run out the door with Jesus. They believe that all they need to do is open the door to Jesus and that’s that. They move no further than the open door. They think that this is all Jesus would have them do.

But no! This young father and husband, now, knew that he was meant to go out the door and follow Jesus, like he once did as a young boy. Follow Jesus and His friends out into the world, to play. Sometimes the play got rough. Sometimes the play took on some bold tasks that even, now as an older father and husband, he didn’t want to do. But there was always this level of trust and faith the Jesus would tease out. Jesus offered this older father more than a glimpse of Himself at the open door of the heart of this, now older father.

Then one day, at this older father, became an old man himself, Jesus told him that he wouldn’t be coming to his door any longer. That he, Jesus, was going to be with his own Father in heaven. Well, by this time the old man was having a good time, going out to play in the wide world with Jesus and His friends. Yet, Jesus promised something to the old man and the friends. Jesus promised that He would give them the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is not limited by a physical body, but was everywhere. It was time to be happy for Jesus leaving to be with His Father. Sure, the old man would miss Jesus at his door every day, but Jesus’ friends would still come by and we would all still go out to play each in their own ways, with their own gifts, and doing what God sends them to do in so many different ways. Day after day as the Holy Spirit would lead and guide them.

Yes, now to the old man and his friends the Holy Spirit came into the world. Into the world of the old man and the world of all people. And the old man and his friends were led to listen to the Holy Spirit, be guided by the Holy Spirit, and to go out into the world. Deeper and deeper into the world went the old man and his friends as the Holy Spirit led them deeper and deeper towards TRUTH.

The Holy Spirit was a good reminder kind of thing. The Holy Spirit would remind the old man of the Word, that is Jesus, the Word that creeps out of the crevices of the old man’s mind. This was Jesus Word through the Holy Spirit that pops into memory after long years to make the old man remember all that Jesus had said to him as he went out to play with Jesus’ day after day in the old man’s youth. Yes, it was like, now, with the presence of the Holy Spirit that this old man really was still going out to play.

Now, as this old man was drawing near to his last days on this earth, this daily visit at the door was a time to rejoice with the Holy Spirit. Soon it will happen, the old man will likewise return to God the Father and God the Son, Jesus. And now this old man, would wish and hope that all those God has given him in his life, will at that day, rejoice with him. And the old man will say to all his friends, family, neighbors and even enemies, “May God be with you! Peace! Rejoice for me! May each of you experience the Peace that passes understanding. This is not a Peace of self-indulgence, like he tried to acquire when he was a young man. No, this Peace is a letting go peace, a letting go and rejoicing Peace, like when Jesus left earlier in his life to go to the Father. This was a Peace that gives the Holy Spirit to lead and guide, out the door of all of our hearts and into the Kingdom of God. A Peace that goes deeper, deeper into Truth, where Jesus makes His home with us each and every day that he comes the door of people’s hearts.

It's time now to let go of the old man to be with the Father and Jesus. It’s better for the old man even if it will be lonelier for all those the old man leaves behind.

Jesus willfully went to the cross, not fighting it, but voluntarily offering Himself for a lost world and for this old man. Yes! Go out that door, follow Jesus, Point to Jesus, day after day after day after day. Each day you will be greeted with ALL you ever need.

Little boy-Young Adult- Father-Husband-Old Man

A story ---A Life--- All with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit today… tomorrow… and forever…

Thanks be to God!

I leave you with this favorite of hymns regarding God’s care

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki5XGHVrBSA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki5XGHVrBSA