A leTter from the pastor
A letter from the Pastor: Spring 2010
“God made people to receive His love; the degree to which you do is up to you.” I had such a strong sense of the Holy Spirit whispering this to me on the 23rd August last year, that I wrote it down. What do you make of it?
How would you respond if someone asked you, ‘how do you know God loves you?’.
I guess the standard answer is, ‘Cos it says so in the Bible’, or ‘Because Jesus died for me!’. Both are true……but can we expect more? Whattttt!….what more could you possibly ask for than to have Jesus die for you!!!? Well, I don’t know about you, but I want more (bear with me). If someone loves me, I want to know it and feel it. When my children go to bed, they refuse to accept a half hearted, ’Goodnight, love you’ called out from the confines of my office. They call out, or make repeated requests in person until they can have time cuddling in my lap, or better still, for me to cuddle them in bed. And when I’m not there, they insist on me giving them a kiss upon my return, even if they are asleep.
Is this normal behaviour, or are the insecure and over-anxious? Surely they must know I love them because I’m their dad. Well, yes and no. They are secure, but only if they receive the loving contact they need. If I were to withdraw from them, it probably wouldn’t take long for them to lose their sense of security, and even begin to doubt my love for them, which in turn would cause them to question their own lovability. However, I‘m no psychotherapist, so we shall stop there; but I do want to make another point: What if, whilst still withdrawn from them, but to ease their anxiety, I told them about their first hug, when I held them for the first time in the hospital. And so every time they called out at bedtime, I could call out, “You know I love you kids, remember your first hug in the hospital!” Do you think that would work?
I guess it might cause a warm fuzzy glow occasionally, if really pondered upon with real enthusiasm and imagination. But if I really do love them as much as I say I do, and I know they need to KNOW my love in a way that is real and can be experienced, wouldn’t I do my best to make this happen?
You know what. Father God has too. He loved you so much as Creator God, that he died on the cross for you, so that you can call him Abba (Dad). But, knowing your human need receive and experience his Fatherly love, every day, lest you become insecure and over anxious, he did this: ‘God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us’ (Romans 5:5) and then over the page, ‘but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father”. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children’ (Romans 8:15-16). Our Father God knows that words alone, or even a wonderful one-off life changing act of self-sacrificial love are not enough to sustain a loving relationship. We need more, and he desires more - every day! The kind of love that my children crave, the kind of love we all crave; the kind of love that reaches and nurtures our spirit, soul and body; the love we were created to receive, has, through trust in Jesus, by his Spirit, been shed abroad in peoples hearts - your born again, Jesus-trusting heart to be precise. Here’s the thing, ‘The purposes of a persons heart are deep waters, but a person of understanding draws them out’ (Proverbs 20:5). If you have not already, determine now to be a person who understands how to draw his wonderful love out. This is the message for BCBC. Hungrily study what the Bible has to say about your heart; pay close attention to what the LORD is saying through the Sunday services, weekly Bible study and prayer meetings; and watch this space!