NEWS The Kingdom of Love
Blogging has been light over the past several weeks due to the fact that I've been mediating deeply on a few spiritual books and articles I've read recently. One of the things that is becoming clearer as I continue walking the narrow path is how meaningless religion is in comparison with love.
I have been struggling with religion for a long time. Over the weekend, it dawned on me that Jesus did not come to start a new religion called Christanity. Rather, He came, as N.T. Wright observed in his book, "What St. Paul Really Said," to show us the way to the kingdom of love.
The kingdom of love. What an absolutely magnificent and magestic place Jesus has prepared for us! He wants us to join Him. He wants us to have a relationship with Him based on love. Tragically, many people appear to have gotten distracted by religion and religious things and have lost their way.
Many people seem to believe that Jesus came to start a new religion called "Christianity." But I believe this is mistaken. Man invented Christianity - not Jesus. Jesus didn't come to establish a new religion - He came to fulfill all of the prophesies and laws of Judaism. As Paul told the Romans:
Love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)
Jesus is the fulfillment of all Judaic law. He is all we need.
There has always been something profoundly disturbing about religion. It struck me not long ago that the reason I don't find religion to be of any value is precisely because it is often devoid of love. And yet love is the very essence of life itself. It is who God is!
God isn't religion. God is love. (1 John 4:8)
Jesus came to show us a path to the kingdom of love. And what did the religious people of the day do? They proceeded to persecute Him, spit in His face, and turn him over to the authorities (the Romans) to have him killed! Which just goes to show you that a religious heart is not the same thing as a loving heart.
I know plenty of religious people. Many of them call themselves Christians. They have lots of things and activities in their lives all based around Jesus. But, sadly, very few of them have hearts full of Christ's love. The fact of the matter is that you can't follow Christ unless you surrender your heart to Him. The only thing that matters, said Paul to the law-abiding Galatians, is faith expressing itself through love.
The truth is that a religious heart will never know Christ. Paul did not know Jesus until after he saw Christ and his heart was transformed by His love. The only heart that is truly entangled with Jesus is heart filled with God's love or what the ancient Greeks called agape.
As I have come to understand since being blessed with the Spirit, being a Christian and following Christ are two totally different things. I have no desire to be a Christian. I only desire Christ in my heart.
Paul told the Romans that love is the fulfillment of the law. He wasn't interested in starting a new religion. His sole aim was to illuminate the Messiah and place Him and His love at the rightful center of the universe.
If you want to a perfect description of who Jesus is, read 1 Corinthians 13. You will not find a better description of the Lord than what Paul wrote in that letter anywhere on this planet.
God is love. Jesus is the way to the kingdom of love.
May your heart be increasingly filled with God's love - a love that never fails.
Agape,
Steve
I have been struggling with religion for a long time. Over the weekend, it dawned on me that Jesus did not come to start a new religion called Christanity. Rather, He came, as N.T. Wright observed in his book, "What St. Paul Really Said," to show us the way to the kingdom of love.
The kingdom of love. What an absolutely magnificent and magestic place Jesus has prepared for us! He wants us to join Him. He wants us to have a relationship with Him based on love. Tragically, many people appear to have gotten distracted by religion and religious things and have lost their way.
Many people seem to believe that Jesus came to start a new religion called "Christianity." But I believe this is mistaken. Man invented Christianity - not Jesus. Jesus didn't come to establish a new religion - He came to fulfill all of the prophesies and laws of Judaism. As Paul told the Romans:
Love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)
Jesus is the fulfillment of all Judaic law. He is all we need.
There has always been something profoundly disturbing about religion. It struck me not long ago that the reason I don't find religion to be of any value is precisely because it is often devoid of love. And yet love is the very essence of life itself. It is who God is!
God isn't religion. God is love. (1 John 4:8)
Jesus came to show us a path to the kingdom of love. And what did the religious people of the day do? They proceeded to persecute Him, spit in His face, and turn him over to the authorities (the Romans) to have him killed! Which just goes to show you that a religious heart is not the same thing as a loving heart.
I know plenty of religious people. Many of them call themselves Christians. They have lots of things and activities in their lives all based around Jesus. But, sadly, very few of them have hearts full of Christ's love. The fact of the matter is that you can't follow Christ unless you surrender your heart to Him. The only thing that matters, said Paul to the law-abiding Galatians, is faith expressing itself through love.
The truth is that a religious heart will never know Christ. Paul did not know Jesus until after he saw Christ and his heart was transformed by His love. The only heart that is truly entangled with Jesus is heart filled with God's love or what the ancient Greeks called agape.
As I have come to understand since being blessed with the Spirit, being a Christian and following Christ are two totally different things. I have no desire to be a Christian. I only desire Christ in my heart.
Paul told the Romans that love is the fulfillment of the law. He wasn't interested in starting a new religion. His sole aim was to illuminate the Messiah and place Him and His love at the rightful center of the universe.
If you want to a perfect description of who Jesus is, read 1 Corinthians 13. You will not find a better description of the Lord than what Paul wrote in that letter anywhere on this planet.
God is love. Jesus is the way to the kingdom of love.
May your heart be increasingly filled with God's love - a love that never fails.
Agape,
Steve
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