Love Actually

Although there was a lot talked about in this chapter, the bottom line is that God love each and every person in the world. No matter what people may say love is, God actually loves us and His love for us is actually true love. In today’s world there are many different ways people think of love. Love is a word that is so over used in the English language. The same word we use to talk about how much we like pizza is the same word we use when we have the deepest relationship with someone. How is that? I think this leads to a lot of confusion and misunderstanding. When we say God loves us, this isn’t like God loves pizza kind of love. When God says he loves us it is a love that surpasses any love ever imaginable. There is no love greater than that of God for His children. I find it so hard to wrap my mind around. Even through time as I’ve seen His love in my life, I start to understand it but then it is so far out of reach to understand. Even from what I do understand of it, it is the greatest thing in the world, and then I realize that it is even greater because I don’t fully understand it. There is never a time where I have not been in awe at His love for me.

Now take a step back and remember that we are called to love as He does. This is hard. When thinking about the way He loves how are we even to come close to loving the way He loves us. It’s something that we all struggle with but something we must do. As Christians we must share the love of Christ with others. We must make sure that it is a true reflection of His love. We are not God so I understand that there will be times that we fail, but it is something we need to be striving to do all the time. Through His love and mercy we are saved. We are called to spread this good news to everyone around us. I’m so thankful for the love He has for me. He has shown it to me time and time again. I try everyday to do the same for the others around us. One of the biggest things Christians are called to do is simply love others. Why do we make it harder than it needs to be? We must realize the love God has for us and act the same towards others. God’s love is the greatest gift we have ever been given and everyone deserves to be treated with that love.

God in Company

In this chapter Williams had a large focus on community. Community is very important for the Church and in our culture today. I forget who I heard say it but I once heard someone break the word community down and it was explained as a “common unity”. Community is created when there is a bond over something common to one another. When think about how this applies to churches we should want that common piece to be the love of Christ. With love at the center of everything we do, we will be able to connect with others and impact their lives. In a Christian community there must be times and places for worship, prayer, fellowship, and spiritual growth. There has to be a balance of all of them and focusing on just one can lead to problems. Also in the community we must understand the bigger picture. We must know the goals and plans for the future. We also must be careful. We must never let our guard down and know that evil is always trying to destroy or distort community. As Christians we cannot turn the community just into a safe place to hide and we cannot turn our fellowship into just a social club. As a community we must reach out to others and invite them in. We have to spread the love of Christ to others and be the hands and feet of God. By doing so we allow the community to grow and allow more people to have the same common unity of God’s love that started the community in the first place. Through community we connect people with Christ and we should always be trying to connect other communities with that same love.

           At MVNU I love the focus on community. It’s nice to know that there are people surrounding me that love and care for me. I know people that I don’t even talk to on a regular basis that would still be there to help me out in a heartbeat when I need it. Being a senior this coming year, I know that it is something I will greatly miss when I graduate. That being said I think it is a way that MVNU has prepared me for my future. By setting such a great example of community I know what to expect in a good community. I know what it takes to help create that. Through life, no matter where I am at I will have the skills to help establish a healthy community with those around me. No matter where I am, MVNU has taught me how to live in a community. Everything won’t always be what we want or expect it to be but I have learned how to take on those situations and how to handle them in a way that is in love to everyone.

            As the Church we must strive to create a healthy community that helps others grow in their relationship with Christ. I love the mission statement at my home church. It is “Connecting our community with Christ.” I think it is very fitting for what the Church has been called to do. By connecting the community with Christ and welcoming them into a Christian community we are sharing God’s love and helping others grown in Christ.

"The Peace Dividend"

"Only a human word, a human act will heal the process of human history; it isn't ideas and ideals that will do this, but some moment in history when relations are changed for good and all, when new things concretely become possible." (Tokens of Trust, pg. 83)

I had to read this quote more than a few times and really think about what is being said here. The first few times I read it I wasn’t sure what exactly to think. Initially I was a little confused because I thought it was saying basically that only a human could solve human problems. I knew that wasn’t what it was meaning but then why is it worded the way it is. I think this quote is trying to get at the point of why God sent His son to live as a human here on earth. As humans we connect best with humans. We can have a relationship with God but because we are not gods ourselves there are a lot of things we don’t fully understand. By having the Son of God in human form God was giving us a way to better understand Him. When it says “Only a human word, a human act will heal the process of human history “ I believe it is talking about how humans fell captive to sin. God sent His son as a human to save us and pay the price for the sin of our human world. When the quote says “…. some moment in history when relations are changed for good and all” I believe it is talking about the relationships that were made with God through Jesus. Jesus was sent to earth as God in human form for us to better understand His love for us. Through Jesus’ example we are also shown how to live and what our relationships with other humans should be like. The final part of this quote “…. new things concretely become possible” is seen in the life we are given after Jesus paid the final price for our sin. We are freed from the sin of our past and are given a new life in the love of God. It is also seen the endless possibilities of relationships we create with others. The relationships we create with others open up opportunities to share the love of God with people. It is a cycle that will never end. We are open to creating new relationships with others because we are living in the love of Christ. When we show God’s love to others then hopefully they are changed and do the same to others. Through God’s love and the relationships created by it, new things and opportunities possible. Christ did the human by changing relationships for the good of all yet did it as God because he did it perfectly as an example for everyone to follow.

Man for All Seasons

When first thinking of Jesus as a “man for all seasons” I thought it applied more to the seasons of life that humans go through. There are times that are more relaxed, enjoyable, and happy. There are times that bring sadness pain and weakness and then there are times that have everything in between. No matter what season of life you are in God is with you during all of them no matter what. God’s constant presence through theses seasons if what I thought it was talking about as Jesus as a man for all seasons. Although that is still what I first think when I hear Jesus described that way, the reading for this week gave a little different interpretation of it.

Instead of the changing seasons being about our lives as humans, it seems the texts focuses more on the seasons being everything Jesus faced in his life. There were times Jesus was loved, thanked, believed, praised and then there were times that he was hated, betrayed, abused, humiliated. Even with everything he faced, Jesus remained true and faithful to God. By doing so Jesus set the example for how we as Christians are to live our lives. Will God always be there for you no matter what? Yes, I believe so. However, as Christians we are to follow Jesus’ example and always be faithful to God.

If we think of  “man of all seasons” as I originally thought (that God is there for you in the good times and bad) it seems to only focus on what God will do for it. With that thinking it is easy to minimize our part of the equation. Jesus the “man for all seasons” was faithful to God though everything. After the reading I look at the “man of all seasons” of something Christians are to strive for in our lives. Jesus was a man of all seasons but we can be too. Instead of just expecting God to be there for you through everything in life, we need to be actively seeking Him through those times. When we do this we are becoming more like the example Jesus set for us while he was here on Earth. Jesus was a man for all seasons and I think we can be too and then when we are, we can be an example for others around us just as Jesus was and is for us.

The Risk of Love

With the title The Risk of Love it was easy for me to automatically start thinking about times where time and effort was put into a relationship and then that all thrown away. There are many times that I’ve see friends, family, and even myself get hurt all because of “love”. I liked the Merriam-Webster’s definition of love which states love is “unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.” So if this is the definition of love, why does love hurt people all the time? I think some of the problem might be created by an under importance of the word love. I mean think about it. The same word we use to express feelings towards a person we use to describe how much we like coffee. I love my family. I love Starbucks. We use the same word yet they have two different meaning, at least I hope. I think in a way this minimizes the meaning of love. It distorts the meaning to something less than what it is and what is should be.

While reading it really made me start to think about God’s love for us, a love greater than any love for pizza or coffee or your favorite candy bar. I have thought about this love before and I am so thankful for it. What was new for me this time was thinking about the risk God takes by loving us. This quote stuck out to me from the text “Each one of us is already in a relationship with God before we’ve even thought about it.” Before we even have thought about it, God loves us. So what is God risking? I mean he’s God right, so is he really risking something or is that just what God does? I think he is risking something. I think he is risking that acceptance from us. Not that he is looking to be accepted like when we what to fit into a certain group of friends at school but he wanting us to accept His love for us. Think about when you like something but you’re afraid to tell them. You’re afraid to tell them because you don’t know if they like you back. It might make things weird between the two of you. In our relationship with God, He did that for us before we even knew it. All we have to do is accept His love. When we don’t and we turn away from Him it hurts him. Just like when you lose a close friend and wish you could have them back, He want you to come back to Him.

I think that with love there always will be risk. Even in loving God there comes risks for us. That is why I really liked the definition of love that I found. It is the unselfishness and loyalty in true love that makes it true love. No matter what risks there are or what hard situations you have to face, being unselfish and loyal shows the true love that you have for whatever it may be.