ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
May 13, 2022
This Sunday I plan to continue my look at Luke and Acts, companion volumes telling the story of Jesus and the story of the early church. Here at Cypress Creek Christian Church, we speak so often of God’s unconditional love, a love that is self-giving by nature and relentless in its character. In John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of this love when he says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus appears to spend less time explaining what love is and more time telling parables and stories of how this love is lived. In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd is willing to leave behind the safety of the group and seek out the one that is lost at any cost. In John’s Gospel, I know exactly what I am commanded to do, but with Luke’s stories and parables, I have memorable examples of how this expectation of love is lived. Sometimes we need the what, and other times we need the how. To be honest, I find there are plenty of folks who claim to know exactly what Jesus wants them to do, but so far they have demonstrated a complete lack of the how.
Continue to inspire me with your love, O Lord, as there are many opportunities around me where this love is needed. Let me have a clear understanding of what this love is all about, but then provide me with the capacity to know how the concept can be shared in my daily life. Amen.
