For Christ's love compels us

“For Christ’s love compels us...”

— 2 Corinthians 5:14, NIV

Both Jesus and the Apostle Paul had deep insight into the nature of love. Two of the biblical highpoints that bring revelation about the nature of God’s love can be found in John 13:34-35 & 1 Corinthians 13.  

In the former, Jesus told his disciples that love must be the distinguishing mark of their lives. The ‘new command’ He gave them used the command of Moses, which teaches we are to love God with all our strength and our neighbour as ourself, as a springboard to deepen these commands. Jesus even taught we are to love our enemies…

The command to love one’s neighbour was not new; the newness was found in loving one another just as Jesus had loved His disciples, even if it meant giving one’s life for another! [John 15:13]

In the later, Paul teaches that love is a doing thing, something that is expressed in actions. However, he also teaches in an earlier passage in the same epistle that love cannot be measured by actions alone; motives must also be assessed to determine what is loving. In doing so, he points to the fact that Jesus will disclose the purposes of the heart when He returns to judge the living and the dead. [1 Corinthians 4:5]

When we do a kindness for someone, why we are doing it is as important, perhaps more so, as what we do. Of course, our motivation is helped when we truly live with a deep appreciation of the love God blesses us with. As Paul discovered, God’s love can compel us to do far more than we ever imagine. 

Peter Thompson

Where is your sufficiency found?

“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.” 2 Corinthians 3:5”

Here in the Southern hemisphere January often offers us an opportunity to slow down a little. Even for those with lives not driven by the school calendar there is an option for a slightly slower pace. Perhaps you have had the opportunity over January to consider the coming year, taken the opportunity to get away, or to spend more time with family and friends. At Vision we intentionally cultivate a quieter January for the purpose of rest. 

And now February….. back to school, resuming activities and groups, the ramping up of work commitments. I feel anticipation and excitement and I feel a little tentative.

Towards the end of last year the Lord allowed me to feel the weight of my fatigue. In His loving kindness He drew my attention to the connection between my physical and emotional exhaustion and some of the habits and patterns that had crept into my life management.

You know the ones…self reliance, self sufficiency, drawing on my own resources, too busy to rest… I’m sure you can add to your own list.

January has indeed been a time of reflection, and with it has come a recognition that there are things that need to change in me, a re-calibration and the calling out loud my need and utter dependence upon the Lord. My tentativeness comes from the knowledge that change is needed and if I rush into February I might fail to listen and respond. 

Can you relate?

So how are you approaching February?

Are you ready to hit the ground running? Are you filled with excitement and anticipation for the restarting of a fuller life, and the getting on with things? Or maybe you are a little tentative like me?

So how to manage this tension? A tightrope walker maintains their balance and poise not by stopping and looking at their feet but instead placing one foot in front of the other and keeping their eyes steady on their destination. As believers, our starting place, our here and now and our destination is all found in Jesus. Scripture makes it clear our sufficiency is found in Him. 

I read this phrase in my devotional…..“You “do” from life in ME, and you strive in life without Me”

So as we head into the fullness of the year with anticipation for what the Lord has for us let us fix our gaze on the all sufficient one, the founder and perfecter of our faith, Jesus.

Kathryn

Community

The place God has chosen to display His glory is always within a covenant He makes with a community of people.

It seems like such a strange paradox that we live in the most inter-connected generation in the history of humanity (you can fill the world in on your every move, every time you go to the bathroom, and take photos of the potato skins you ate for dinner) yet despite this, sociologists tell us we are now also the most dis-connected generation in human history.

How exactly has this happened? I would suggest that one contributing factor is the emphasis on self. My life, my rights, my choices ... isn't this all about me?

This stands in stark contrast to what Scripture proclaims. The Bible is all about community; from the Garden to the City. God is a community and the place God has chosen to display His glory is always within a covenant He makes with a community of people. When Jesus commissioned His disciples He gave them a blueprint for His Church so vast, so marvellous and innovative, a living breathing expanding community that would permeate and transform the whole world.

The New Testament uses a specific word to describe this unique relationship between believers;  ‘Koinonia’. Nineteen different times it is used and on each occasion it refers to this unique and special relationship. We don't have one word in English that fully encapsulates its meaning, but it could be translated: friendship, fellowship, community, partnership and much more. Koinonia is much deeper than pot-luck suppers, social activities, programs and services. It is a group of people deeply connected and committed to one another and partnering together to see the purposes of God released upon the Earth. The Lord’s desire is that we would become this unique company of people. We must return to Koinonia—but you can’t download it. There’s no app for it, and you can’t fake it.

Join us this month as we begin the year discovering from the Scriptures God’s heart for and the purpose of, true community.

Andrew