Careful to Love

"So be very careful to love the LORD your God" (Joshua 23:11).

Be careful to love. This is so different from our culture's view! So often love is proclaimed as something that just happens, something to celebrate while it lasts and to mourn when whatever happens that causes the magical bits to go away. Genuine love, though, is a decision which results in action. It is nurtured and, by the grace of God, it grows. Deep, lasting, genuine love does not just happen. We must be careful to love.

Mark and I are privileged to have families who are careful to love. My parents, for example, are quite different from each other. They have different personalities, different perspectives, different styles. But each chooses to honor the other, to respect those differences and see them as completing rather than competing within their marriage. They are committed to each other. They are careful to love.

As love for each other is nurtured by commitment and action, so is love for God. When we choose to engage in actions which strengthen such love, Christianity calls it "spiritual disciplines." We are careful to love God when we choose to celebrate His goodness, rely on Him in prayer, engage in service for His kingdom, read His story and share His character with the people around us.

Joshua was an experienced and influential leader. He couldn't know all the details of what they would encounter in coming years, but he'd seen enough to realize the temptations involved. He recognized that God had chosen them for relationship, not just religion.

We don't know what we'll encounter in the coming year, or even in the next twenty minutes, but we do know our human tendency to wander. I want to be careful to love, knowing that my commitment to God can stand strong, and God's commitment to me will never fail.

Why Did You Do That?

"And Abimelech asked Abraham, 'What was your reason for doing this?'" (Genesis 20:10)

God's call to Abram is recorded in Genesis 12:1-3. The very next verse reports that Abram packed up and left, as God had instructed. It gets funky, though, just a few verses later, as they were about to enter Egypt. Abram told his wife that she was so beautiful that she should keep him safe by claiming to be his sister and not his wife. Not realizing the relation, Pharaoh took her as his wife. After calamity in his household, Pharaoh confronted Abram: "What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?" (12:18) Sarai was returned to Abram, and they went on their way.

Something similar happens again later. Genesis 20 records that they stayed awhile in Gerar. Abraham again claimed Sarah was his sister, and she was taken into the king's household. Like Pharaoh in Egypt, the king of Gerar also eventually found out about the deception -- this time by encountering God in a dream -- and confronted Abraham. "What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done. What was your reason for doing this?"

It appears that Abram/Abraham wasn't learning very quickly.

The names are significant in this, too. Between these two incidents, God had changed Abram's name (see Genesis 17) when he promised, "You will be the father of many nations... I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you..." God had also clarified again with whom this would happen, after Abram's detour with Hagar: "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." God had been quite clear that Abraham and Sarah, together, would be parents, and their offspring would make a huge mark on the world. They had God's promise.

So, back to the question from the king of Gerar: "What was your reason for doing this?"

And Abraham's answer? "I said to myself... they will kill me because of my wife." As if that were relevant.

Admittedly, Abraham's fear makes sense, and fear is a powerful motivator. But God calls us to something far greater. God calls us to courage -- to face and recognize real risks, and to choose to do what is right despite the cost.

What does that mean to us, today? It's probably safe to assume I won't claim to be my husband's sister and be taken as another wife of a foreign king somewhere. You can probably say something similar. But the question is still for us in other situations, times when we rely solely on our own power and wisdom and effort to accomplish what God intends instead to bring about through His power working through us. "What was your reason for doing this?" We have a lot of perhaps very true -- and yet still very wrong -- answers to this question. My co-workers won't like me if I take a stand. My spouse will be mad if he/she finds out. I didn't think an attempt at reconciliation would be accepted. Others would be disappointed if they knew the truth. And on and on and on.

There are so many things waiting to trip us up. Let's grab hold of Paul's instruction to Timothy, who faced all sorts of challenges as a leader in the early church: "But you, man of God, [are to] pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith...." (1 Timothy 6:11-12a) "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7).

Advent Discipleship

Advent means 'coming' and it is a season of preparation for the coming of the Christ-child.  This is a great time to intentionally disciple families.  Every church has a different method for helping people to stay focused on the real meaning of the season.  At Ontario First, we are bringing our kids into the services each Sunday and modeling family devotions.  Then we are handing out packets to parents that they can use with their children at home.

What are you doing during Advent in your home, a small group, or as a congregation?  We'd love to know!  You can add your thoughts by clicking on "Comments" at the end of this post.