GOD IS LOVE Devotion 13 of 34 JESUS SETS THE TONE This is no strange doctrine – that is, a preference for the children of God even over flesh and blood kinships. Jesus revealed this was His own manner, which is the only acceptable manner. On one occasion, He was told that His mother and brothers were standing outside of the house in which He was ministering. There, "while He yet talked to the people, behold his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with Him." Somehow, the word of their presence got to one of the people near to Jesus. Thoughtfully, he said to the Lord, "Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with Thee." THE MANNER OF GOD HIMSELF And what of God Himself – our heavenly Father? Whose company does He prefer, and with whom does He dwell? Considering much of what is said in the behalf of the Lord today, the answer is not as apparent as one might think. Not a few times I have heard believers chided for spending a lot of time with fellow believers. With great vehemence they are told they should be out in the world, winning them to the Lord. How about God? Who are the people He prefers? He will speak to us for Himself. "For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, WITH HIM WHO HAS A CONTRITE AND HUMBLE SPIRIT, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (Isa 57:15, NKJV). And again He states the target of His attention. "But on this one will I look: On him WHO IS POOR AND OF A CONTRITE SPIRIT, and who trembles at My word" (Isa 66:2). Let Him testify again. "The secret of the LORD is with THOSE WHO FEAR HIM, and He will show THEM His covenant" (Psa 25:14). THE CURRENT CHURCH SCENE With some exceptions, loving and preferring one another is a strange phenomenon in the average congregation. Camaraderie, if present at all, is generally in the flesh rather than the Spirit – at an institutional level rather than a spiritual one. The infrequency of meeting together in the name of the Lord confirms the people do not share a preference for the things of God. – Tomorrow:
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love . . . God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:8,16)
" . . . we ought also to love one another." (1 John 4:11) stood without, desiring
There is an underlying truth behind this exhortation – a major premise upon which it is built. Our PRIMARY earthly associations are to be with our brethren in Christ. Men should be able to perceive this by the very nature of our new life in Christ. Our preference for the saints of the Most High God WILL be apparent. Our closeness to them and desire for their benefit WILL stand out. If it does not, it simply does not exist. In fact, just as God's love for us could not be hidden, nor Christ's love for the church, so a genuine love for the people of God cannot be concealed. That is involved in the saying of Jesus, "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). Yet, I fear, this reality has apparently eluded many professed believers.
Our Lord's response was immediate, and is arresting – worthy of the most serious deliberation. "But He answered and said unto him that told him, ‘Who is My mother? and who are My brethren? And He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples, and said, Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother" (Matt 12:47-50). Jesus was certainly not inconsiderate of His mother, as seen in His care for her while upon the cross (John 19:26-27). His primary associations, however, were those who heard His word.
Another example of this is seen in our Lord's activities on the evening of His betrayal. As He drew near to the time when He would make His "soul an offering for sin" (Isa 53:10), He preferred to be with His disciples. He had ministered to the multitudes, healed their sick, and even fed them. But now He withdrew from the multitudes, choosing to be with His PRIMARY associates – not even with the general multitude of disciples who followed Him. Do you remember His words to them? "With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with YOU before I suffer" (Lk 22:15). Although He had often been found with "publicans and sinners," He did not prefer their company on this night. Of course, there is no record that He ever PREFERRED the company of those needy souls. His contact with them is consistently said to be the result of them coming to Him, and not vice versa (Matt 9:10; Mk 2:15; Lk 15:1). The other occasion in which Jesus was among them was after Matthew (Levi) had left all to follow Jesus. He made a great feast in his own house, "and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them" (Lk 5:10). But on the night of His betrayal, our Lord "desired" to be among those closest to Him.
Just where has God placed His attention? Who is He carefully beholding, and toward whom is His ear bent. "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry" (Psa 34:15). Peter confirms this is still the Divine posture. "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil" (1 Pet 3:12).
Is there any question about whom God prefers? Whom he blesses? Those with whom He fellowships? Those to whom He gives exceeding great and precious promises? To whom does He give His Holy Spirit? For whom has He provided a faithful Intercessor? Of whom does He say, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (2 Cor 6:16)? And if this is the manner in which God and Jesus conduct themselves, how is it that some professing identity with them think less of His people, and prefer those of the world? Who is the professing Christian who will be able to satisfactorily explain to God why their closest friends, their constant associates, and their social preferences, were those who are actually the enemies of God?
It certainly should not be necessary to say, but the religious climate of the land demands that something more be said. This does not mean the children of God are to withdraw themselves from the world in which they are "salt" and "light." It DOES mean their closest and preferred friendships are to be found in the household of faith. If that is not the case, they are not in harmony with God and Christ, for that is Their people of choice.
I do not say these things to be critical, but to point out their total unacceptability before the Lord. A failure to love one another is nothing more than a confession that the Spirit has been quenched, the things of God are not desired, and the soul is aloof from God. There is no place for NOT loving and preferring one another. As it is written, "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another" (Rom 12:10). Brotherly love is bestowed upon the children of God, for they alone are our "brethren."
Salvation does not allow for failure in this area. The New Covenant makes no provision for such an omission. This is a key element of spiritual life. Poignantly the Word tells us that the person who does not love "his brother" is "not of God" (1 John 3:10). The one who says he loves God, yet does not love his brother "abides in death" (1 John 3:14), does not know God (1 John 4:8), and "is a liar" (1 John 4:20).
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, deliver me from all influences that dull my love for Your people. I do not want to treat with disdain those upon whom Your eyes are fixed and Your ears are open.