Is Christianity Only About Love?

Introduction

            Some Christians believe that Historic Christianity is only about love. (When I refer to Historic Christianity, I preclude all other flavors of Christianity that contradict the core essence of Historic Christianity.)

            These brothers and sisters consistently harp on verses that communicate love: ‘God is love, ‘love your neighbors’ etc. Love is the only lens through which these Christians assimilate Christianity. Hence, their beloved slogan is love, love, and more love.  

            Is this the most perfect understanding of Christianity?

            Let’s examine the following aspects:

            (1) If Christianity is only about love, then there should be NO room for ‘hatred.’ But if Christians are mandated to hate someone or something, then Christianity is not only about love. So is Christianity only about love or is there room for hatred?

            (2) The command to love our neighbor is with a qualifier. The qualifier is this: you love your neighbor as you love yourself. We are not called to love our neighbors, but we are to love them as we love ourselves. What does it mean to love our neighbors as we love ourselves?

Should Christians Hate?

            If you study the verses that mandate love, you would learn that the verses mandating love in the Gospel of John and in the letters of Apostle John, the author defines a boundary for love. The love mandated in these writings is between fellow believers. These verses do not necessarily mandate love between the believers and the unbelievers of the God of the Bible. Consider a few verses:

            John 13: 34-35: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

            1 John 2:9-11: “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.”

            1 John 4:20: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”

            But when Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31), HE had already annihilated the boundary that limits love. In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37), Christ defines a neighbor as anyone we would come into contact with – be it Christian or non-Christian. Therefore, Christians are mandated to love our neighbors (anyone) as we love ourselves.

            Although Christians are called to love everyone, there is still room for hatred. For instance, God, who Christians are to primarily love, obey and emulate is not all about love. Yes, God is not all about love; God hates certain actions and certain people. Consider these verses:

            God hates wicked people (Psalm 5:5: “You hate all who do wrong”).

            God hates wicked deeds and wicked people (Proverbs 6:16 -19 (MSG): Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family.).

            God’s hatred is unlike human hatred. Although the wrath of God is upon all those who do not believe HIM (Matthew 10:28; John 3:36; Romans 1:18), God sends rain and sunshine upon the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:43-48). Because God loves both the believers and the unbelievers, HE has provided ways and means for the unbelievers to believe in HIM and be saved. Therefore, God’s wrath is only upon those who consciously reject HIM.

            God does not mandate Christians to merely love. Christians are mandated to hate evil. Here are a couple of verses for your consideration:

            Psalm 97:10: "Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked."

            Romans 12:9: "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."

            Believers of God are to hate evildoers as well. But this is a righteous hatred. This is not a hatred that seeks harm upon the subject of our hate.

            Significantly, Christians are called to hate Satan. We are mandated to perpetually battle Satan (Ephesians 6:10-18).

            The Psalmist says, “I hate double-minded people…” (Psalm 119:113). And elsewhere the Psalmist says, “Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.” (Psalm 3:7). Does the Psalmist, out of his abundant love for his enemies, plead to God to break their teeth? Or would you say that the Psalmist had not understood God adequately?

            If your child is kidnapped, would you not pray for deliverance? Of course, you would! Do you realize, at times, the only means to deliver your child is by killing the kidnappers?

            Any Christian, who claims that he would forget his child and not take any action against the kidnappers because he is mandated to love his enemies a.k.a. the kidnappers must be obtusely insane and acutely ignorant of the Bible.

            To those of you who say, hate the sin but love the sinner, I ask, just as how you may accommodate a needy person in your home, would your sacrificial love for a pedophile motivate you to accommodate him at your home with your children, thereby endangering your children’s lives? Or would your amazing love for your fellow neighbor and enemy – the ISIS – prompt you to fund their intents?

            Only an insane Christian would intentionally accommodate a pedophile at his home, thereby endangering his own children, whom he should only nurture and protect. Only a stupid Christian would fund the ISIS (thereby placing many innocent lives at risk) just because the Bible says that he is to love his enemies.

            Believe it or not; there is room, in Christianity, for righteous hatred! The prison is the most appropriate location for a pedophile, terrorist, and all evildoers. The primary expression of your love for your enemies should prompt you, as a responsible Christian, to inform the police upon sighting an evildoer.

            What about your colleague who misappropriates funds at your workplace? Isn’t he your neighbor and your enemy? He robs the company of its financial resources, an outcome of which could jeopardize your job. Would you, in your abundant love for your dishonest colleague, not inform your managers of your colleague’s misdemeanor, so to deceive your organization?  

            Christianity allows for righteous hatred! Upon your report, if your dishonest colleague gets fired, your love for him could motivate you to serve him by striving to transform him and alleviating his financial needs, if he is needy. But love for our neighbors does not entail Christians to promote evil in any size, form or manner.

            Here’s another articulation of righteous hatred, “…if the love is real, it must include hate…We hate evil because it is wrong. But on the other hand, if this hatred is part of loving our enemies, we must hate the evil of our enemies because of what the evil means for them…ISIS does evil and is evil — and our love for them means we hate both. We hate that they are blinded by darkness, that they are trapped by Satan’s schemes, that they are following the course of this world and ignorant of it all (Ephesians 2:2; 4:18). But that hate, if we are obeying Jesus, means that we hate them not only because of their disgusting injustice, but for what that injustice means for their souls…Love for our enemies means, fundamentally, that we hate our enemies for wholeheartedly joining in the evil that will ultimately cause their damnation (John 5:29). That is the kind of hate — the kind of love — that might look on them and say, in the spirit of our Savior, Father, forgive them for being so oblivious to what they’re doing. Open their eyes.”¹

How To Truly Love?

            Loving your neighbors as you love yourself is easier said than done. Quite a few of us scream at the top of our voices that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

            Really?

            I love myself and my family so much that I give us the best my money can buy. Does your life reflect this statement?

            True love is not visiting orphanages and elderly care homes once or twice a year. True love is not to help a senior citizen cross the road or offering a small portion of what’s in your wallet to your neighborhood beggar or the homeless.

            As long as there are needy people in your vicinity who are unable to eat three proper meals or afford appropriate healthcare or education, and as long as you and I continue to enjoy all these benefits, we do not truly love our neighbor.

            It’s not true love when we refuse to part with our money, but we assure our neighbors of our prayers. The Bible depicts this situation wonderfully well, “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:15-17). Make use of all your resources (financial and non-financial) in such a way that you and your needy neighbors are never in need.

            What then is true love? It is to give and give graciously and freely until our giving hurts us. I am not saying that we should become poor. Moreover, we may not be able to alleviate poverty in our neighborhood. But we can certainly make a strong difference in people’s lives by graciously and sacrificially giving what the Lord has graciously and freely given to us.

            Finally, true love is not to encourage the sins of our fellow Christians. Some Christians claim that Christianity is all about love only to legitimize their own sins or the sins of their fellow Christians (E.g. Endorsing homosexuality).

            Sins are an assault on God. God has defined and determined sins in the Bible. Let us not strive to embark on a futile journey to legitimize sins under the false pretense that Christianity is all about love.

Conclusion

            Christianity is not all about love. Righteous hatred has its place in Christianity.

            When we claim to love others as we love ourselves, let us truly love others without any semblance of hypocrisy or political correctness.

Endnotes:

¹https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/do-you-love-your-enemies-enough-to-hate-them

Scripture references are from the NIV unless otherwise mentioned. 

Ungracious Christians

            Philip Yancey, in his classic “What's So Amazing About Grace?” describes ungraciousness as, “Ungrace does its work quietly and lethally, like a poisonous, undetectable gas. A father dies unforgiven. A mother who once carried a child in her own body does not speak to that child for half its life. The toxin steals on, from generation to generation.” Around us, ironclad in their pristine saintly attire, are ungracious Christians.

            A pastor requested prayer for an 80 year old pastor who was beaten up. Instead of sympathizing or offering his prayer support, a Christian responded by asking if the beaten up pastor was living a good Christian life or not.

            Isn’t it fascinating that we love to judge the spirituality of our fellow Christians? We are experts in ignoring the plank firmly lodged in our own eye while we rabidly bark at the speck in our brother’s eye (Matthew 7:5).

            How quickly do we forget that grace is the spirit of Christianity!

            If not for God’s grace, we would be doomed to eternal dungeon. Christ is the embodiment of grace and Christians are called to be Christlike – to be loving and gracious to each other.  

            If grace is at the heart of Christianity, why do Christians morph into ungracious beings to irrationally judge their fellow brother and sister? Who is responsible for this malady in Christendom?

            But unjust judgment and harsh condemnation is common in Christianity. The Bible amplifies this predicament. Even the Lord was not spared. Christ was condemned by the religious leaders.

            Philip Yancey, in “What's So Amazing About Grace?” captures this thought wonderfully, “Having spent time around "sinners" and also around purported saints, I have a hunch why Jesus spent so much time with the former group: I think he preferred their company. Because the sinners were honest about themselves and had no pretense, Jesus could deal with them. In contrast, the saints put on airs, judged him, and sought to catch him in a moral trap. In the end it was the saints, not the sinners, who arrested Jesus.”

            The religious leaders condemned Christ because they assumed greater knowledge. They not only assumed greater knowledge, but they believed that their knowledge was inerrant and infallible. Those religious leaders were proud and egotistic.

            Spiritual pride is the cause for ungracious and judgmental attitude. The super-spiritual Christian basking in spiritual pride thinks more highly of himself than he ought to (cf. Romans 12:3). When sober judgment of oneself is eclipsed by spiritual pride, he condemns his neighbor at every given opportunity.

            Recently I had the privilege of hearing a friend tell me that she lives a perfect Christian life. I was shocked to hear this statement from an ostensibly spiritually mature woman, who is well respected in her church.

            Did she not read her Bible that says that there is no one righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10) or that “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1: 8-10, NIV). These super-spiritual Christians think that they do not and cannot commit sin.  

            This super spiritual Christian forgets that it is because of God’s grace that he is able to live a righteous life. In this context, he forgets two very important aspects.

            First, his life is a gracious gift from God. Because God offers him life, he is able to live righteously.

            Second, this person is able to live a righteous life because God has placed a fence of protection around his life (cf. Job 1:10). If God had allowed Satan to inflict veridical damage upon this person’s life, this person, even if he had genuinely lived a righteous life, could have suffered under people around him. They could have suspected him of some offense or the other. They would have then showered inordinate malice upon him.

            So the so-called super spiritual Christian cannot be super-spiritual if not for God’s grace. Although he is a product of God’s grace, he remains ungracious to his brethren.

            Who is responsible for this malady?

            There is no dearth of sermons on living a Christian life. The church should not be blamed for emphasizing a holy lifestyle, for Christians cannot be hypocrites. But when we meagerly succeed at living a morally upright life, we, with all guns blazing, condemn sinful people.

            How often do you hear sermons on being gracious to your sinful neighbors? For every sermon about living a Christian life, there should be ten sermons about being a gracious Christian. This is the responsibility of the church.

            The church should take responsibility for the prevalent malady of spiritual pride.

            Being gracious is not to approve the sins of our neighbors. Grace does not encourage sins (cf. Romans: 1-2).

            But God loved us while we were unrepentant sinners (cf. Romans 5:8). So we should love our neighbors while they remain unrepentant.

            How can we share the love of Christ if we do not love our neighbors? Would our neighbors be receptive to a gospel message from people who disrespectfully condemn their sinful lifestyle?

            There is a huge disparity between disapproving a sinful lifestyle and disrespectfully condemning a sinful lifestyle. A sinful lifestyle can be lovingly disapproved.  Condemnation is usually accompanied by hatred towards the person committing the sin.

            If a friend lives a blatantly sinful life, we should continue our friendship with him. We should be kind to him and his family, encourage him in his other noble endeavors, visit, dine with him etc. Yet we should lovingly disapprove of his sinful lifestyle and try to gently talk him out of that sinful lifestyle.

            Christ did not crucify the woman who was caught in adultery. HE empathized with her and lovingly counseled her to not sin. Christ did not disassociate HIMSELF from sinners but HE entered their homes and fellowshipped with them.

            Condemnation raises its ugly hood when our friend commits a sin. We immediately break our friendship with him and vilify him in public and private. This is not an appropriate Christian practice.              

            Here is an intriguing factor while we criticize our fellow Christians, which is wonderfully revealed in the Bible.

            On one hand, Christians are capable of glorifying the blatantly sinning Christian. As a case in point, the Corinthian church was proud of their member who was sleeping with his father’s wife (1 Corinthians 5: 1-2).

            On the other hand, Christians could condemn those who may outwardly appear as sinners but who are faithfully living a holy life, “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’” (Matthew 11: 18-19, NIV).

            If Christ the Lord and John the Baptist were victims to such condemnation, what prevents you and me from being condemned? Persecution is native to Christianity.  

            We will be condemned by our own family. Our dearest friends would flee from us when we are in difficult situations. When we stand for the Lord and HIS word, we will be condemned and persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). But let us continue to remain in the Lord, love and obey HIM despite the harsh condemnation from our fellow Christians.

            How do we remain gracious?            

            Step into the shoes of those who need grace. First, judge ourselves with a sober judgment. We are as much as a sinner as he is.

            Second, consider our neighbors at par with us or better than us. If we are no greater than him, we have no business to venomously judge him. Instead, love him just as God loves him and us.  

            We will be gracious if we are humble. The fast track to humility is to experience soul-wrenching pain. Unless we experience soul-wrenching pain, it is very difficult for us to remain humble.

            If a friend or an acquaintance asks you for prayer either pray or don’t pray. It is even acceptable if you do not pray, for God will care for HIS people. But please do not insult either the person asking for prayer or the person to be prayed for.  

Trashed for not Walking the Talk!

Love, in my opinion, is an overrated emotion with an underrated performance, at least in Christendom. If it weren’t, surely there wouldn’t be as many divisions in the church of Jesus Christ.

In his work ‘Four Loves,’ C.S Lewis mentions two forms of love: Gift-Love and Need-Love. He describes them as, “The typical example of Gift-love would be that love which moves a man to work and plan and save for the future well-being of his family which he will die without sharing or seeing; of the second, that which sends a lonely or frightened child to its mother's arms.” God’s love is Gift-Love. HE lacks nothing, so HE expects nothing from anyone for HIS satisfaction. Man’s love can be either of these, depending on a given situation. However, we fail at times and it is that failure I want to highlight, but with a prayer for an enriched Christ-like life in yours and mine.

When those unaware of biblical truths know and teach love, shouldn’t Christians, by virtue of our supernatural transformation (cf. John 3:5-8) and knowledge of Bible’s lofty standards, pave way for the world to love? How genuine or Christ-like is christian love? Pardon me if this hurts; I have often seen the Lord Jesus Christ in the love of a non-christian than a christian.

The heart of love of some christians is, ‘if you love me, I will love you; if you hate me, I will hate you.’ Or, ‘if you do what I say, I will love you; if you rebel, I will hate you.’ Aren’t these thoughts similar to, ‘if you gratify me, I will gratify you’ or ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours?’ Yes, love is involved in these acts, but hate is equally involved due to selfishness.

A powerfully creative human mind can manufacture fascinating rationale to un-love or trash another (I use the term ‘un-love,’ for ‘hate’ may be too hard an antonym to ‘love’ in this context). Let me elaborate. We live in the digital realm - email, twitter, facebook et al - where one can quite easily trash a friend. One instance of trashing, an expression of scorn, is un-friending on facebook. Of course there are other novel ways to express our scorn.

A holy rationale for trashing a friend could be that he isn’t walking his talk (practicing what he preaches). Let me dwell in this subject for a few moments of your time.

When we accuse a friend for not walking his talk, we make certain presuppositions. Common knowledge states that misunderstanding frequently arises through controversial situations. One presupposition in accusation is superior knowledge of all aspects of the controversial situation. Another presupposition is superior knowledge of the theme of accusation (anger, misappropriation of finances, adultery etc.), especially the biblical interpretation. If the unceremonial trashing has occurred while the controversial situation was under way and none implicated conclusively in the controversy, the trasher presupposes a superior predictive knowledge of the character of the trashed. In a nutshell, the trasher claims superior knowledge of his friend’s walk, talk, and the theology of it all. But that’s not it, when one trashes another for hypocrisy; the one who trashes claims a holier life devoid of hypocrisy.

While worldly and spiritual maturity, discernment and wisdom lead to superior knowledge, one should be wise and diligent to exercise judgment over another, especially in the event of destroying or interrupting a relationship. Any incorrect move on the part of a trasher will position him in the realm of having sinned against the second greatest commandment of God, which is to love the other as oneself. A spiritual man can judge another (cf. 1 Corinthians 2: 15, NIV), but as we know the spiritual man is entirely reliant upon the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2: 9-10, NIV). When a christian decides to trash a friend for the sake of apparent or actual hypocrisy, he claims revelation from God about hypocrisy. Thus, in trashing he invokes God’s presence and judgment upon himself. A mighty ramification to an unnecessary action!

Look at this from another perspective. Why should Christians choose un-loving /trashing as the only way to confront relationships? Is it not possible to dialogue? If the dialogue gets rough and shoddy, is it impossible to continue to love, rather than un-love or trash the person? Eventually, ‘un-loving’ morphs into ‘hatred.’ This is a dangerous situation for man, let alone Christianity.

This verse always renders me speechless, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NASB; emphasis mine). The holy God loved me when I was constantly and consciously abusing HIM. Can u digest this? When we are overwhelmed by God’s love, why can’t we love one another with HIS love, especially when we claim that God lives in us? God allows man to depart from HIS presence only when man chooses to reject HIM through unbelief. However, if a man seeks and believes in God, then God, by no means, will reject or trash man from HIS presence.

My response to rejection is not to disturb those who reject me. If a friend disbelieves me, then I would rather stay away from him, instead of trying my best to prove my credibility. This by no means implies that my door is closed. My door is always open to the one who rejects me, but I neither have the patience nor strength to run after him to prove my credibility. Of course we can dialogue, I am there to talk, or if you prove my guilt, I will willingly apologize. But I am much rigid if I am faultless in that particular context.

Ravi Zacharias narrates how Sammy Dagger, a Lebanese evangelist, was instrumental in leading Franklin Graham (Rev. Billy Graham’s son) to Christ.¹ Rev. Billy Graham led multitudes to the Lord, but his own son was led to the Lord by another evangelist. Does this imply a failure of the acclaimed evangelist? Do we interpret that Rev. Billy Graham’s walk of his talk was inconsistent that he was unable to lead his own son (who was witness to Rev. Billy’s private life) to the Lord? I definitely do not think so! No situation is adequate or justifiable to trash another.

Walking the talk is pivotal to a christian life, for belief determines behavior, and behavior is the manifestation of belief. However, one can always find sin in another’s life, which would render his walk imperfect. This is precisely why we are called to mind our own business before we mind another’s business. Alternatively, we are called to remove the log from our eye before we help remove the speck from our brother’s eye (Matthew 7:3, NASB). Let us remember that Christ states that we have a LOG in our eye whereas our brother has only a SPECK in his eye. Our sins are much worse in comparison to our brother’s.

Let us be mindful of walking our talk, and be right in God’s eyes, before we trash others for their apparent or actual inconsistencies. Trashing should be removed from the vocabulary of a Christian. Love should replace trash and its synonyms.

If you have been trashed or forsaken by your friend, then let the wonderful words of the hymn, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus,’ comfort, encourage and direct you:

“Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee, Thou wilt find a solace there.”

Our friends may trash us, but Christ will always heal and will never ever trash or reject the one who seeks and believes in HIM. Amen.

Over the next few weeks, I will endeavor to dwell on topics such as abortion, embryonic stem cell research, reproductive technologies, biotechnology and human cloning, euthanasia and physician assisted suicide, sexual ethics, war et al. Christian response to these subjects would be the theme of these blogs.

References:

¹“Sammy Dagger was instrumental in bringing Franklin Graham back to the Lord, the son of Billy. Franklin was in Beruit, a loser and a lost, hanging around with a life completely confused, and Sammy was instrumental in bringing Franklin to Christ, and Sammy didn't even know who Billy Graham was.”

(http://www.hlrse.net/Qwerty/transcriptions/RZIM_IsThereNotACause/RZIM_IsThereNotACause_Transcript_20111213-2105.txt )

Are we a Jealous Saul or Loving Jonathan?

There should be no jealousy in love (1 Corinthians 13: 4, NASB), but God, the source and model of love, is a jealous God (Exodus 20: 5). Understanding love without jealousy and understanding the love of a jealous God is the theme of this blog.

To begin with, God cannot be understood through the human paradigm. God is not made in our image; it is we who are made in HIS image. We cannot err by bottling God into a limited human framework. Significantly, because God is perfect, HE is not deficient. So, God cannot be jealous as we are in general. Thus, jealousy should acquire a different meaning in God, and our jealousy should transform into godly love.

J.I Packer describes two types of jealousy among men – vicious and zealous.¹ Vicious jealousy is a negative attribute. Vicious jealousy is associated with fear, loss, suspicion, anger, low self-esteem, uncertainty, inferiority, and mistrust. The common basal factor for a negative emotion is ‘deficiency.’ When we are deficient of something, we are jealous of something or someone. When the husband lacks trust in his wife, he is jealous of her. When a brother lacks security from his parents, he is jealous of his sister. The poor are jealous of the rich since they lack wealth. The common cause of vicious jealousy is deficiency of something in the subject of jealousy.

When we are urged to not be jealous or envious (1 Corinthians 13: 4), it implies that we should be filled with God. When God fills a man’s life, HE continually fills every void or every deficiency of man. So, man finds his security in God. This is a reason behind Christ’s teaching that loving God is fundamental to loving man. The first and the greatest commandment is to love God (Matthew 22: 36-38). This commandment is fundamental and foundational to loving our neighbor, which is the second greatest commandment. If man loves God, God will fill him, and he will love his fellow man without vicious jealousy (cf. 1 John 4: 7-21).

When man loves God, he remains in God, thereby finding satisfaction and contentment from God’s presence in his life. Thus, a godly man is not jealous. But not every jealous man is godless. Those who are jealous should primarily seek God’s presence in their life. When God fills that particular void in life, man remains sane to love his neighbor. Only God can eradicate jealousy. 

In other words, there is no enduring cure to jealousy if we seek a solution outside of God’s presence. Man could attempt to resolve jealousy in a surplus of variant means, but these solutions will not be holistic, but will be partial, leading to partial cure.

Perfect love drives out all fear (1 John 4: 18a, NASB). When man loves God, he receives the blessing of being fearless under any circumstance. Lack of fear drives away jealousy.

In 1 Samuel 18, we observe King Saul’s jealousy of David, for people recognized David’s proficiency (v7). It became abundantly clear that the Lord was with David (v12, 28). The Bible ascribes two allied emotions to Saul – anger (v8) and fear (v12, 29). Because he was angry and fearful, Saul connived against David, which is another outcome of jealousy. Vicious jealousy is a dangerous beast, for it drives people to sin against God.

The Bible presents a contrast through the life of Jonathan – the son and legal heir of King Saul. Jonathan was fond of David although he knew that David was anointed by God to replace Saul as king (cf. 1 Samuel 16: 1). In other words, Jonathan had a good reason to be jealous of David, for the Lord chose David as king instead of him. Instead of being jealous, Jonathan loved David (1 Samuel 18: 1) and spoke well of him to his father (1 Samuel 19: 4-5; 20: 32).

For reasons best known to God, Jonathan’s life in God is greatly limited in the Bible. His brief account is terminated by his tragic death at the hands of the marauding Philistines (1 Samuel 31: 2). A short yet glorious life lived for God’s glory by loving without vicious jealousy.

Another aspect from Jonathan’s life is to be observed and followed. When Jonathan took David’s side, he intentionally went against his father’s will and pleasure. Saul desired to kill David, but Jonathan defended David in the presence of his father. Angry at Jonathan’s defense of David, Saul attempted to kill his own son. When the Bible mandates us to not be jealous, it exhorts us to stand for the truth, as Jonathan did. David was not at fault, but Saul certainly was, so Jonathan loved David and actively supported David even in the presence of his own father, and at a risk of being killed. If we stand for truth, love will defeat jealousy.

Man is viciously jealous if he lacks God in his life. Presence of God drives out fear and anger, which are allied emotions to jealousy. If we go through pangs of jealousy, we ought to actively seek God and plead for HIS presence in our life. God is the only cure for jealousy.  

How do we comprehend a jealous and a loving God? Love (positive emotion) and vicious jealousy (negative emotion) cannot coexist in God. As said before, we cannot comprehend God from human perspective. God is not made in our image.

Think this through please; our sadness in life implies a loss of something. I am sad if I am sick (I have lost my health). I am sad if I lose my wallet. I am sad if I am late for an engagement (I have lost my credibility). This is sadness in human beings. On the contrary, when God is sad, it does not mean that HE has lost something. A perfect and eternal being cannot lose anything. Losing anything entails imperfection. Then how do we understand God’s sadness? God is not sad because HE has lost something; God is sad because we have lost something.

Packer states that zealous jealousy seeks to protect a love relationship or to avenge the broken, and attributes this jealousy to that of God’s (cf. Numbers 5: 11-31; Proverbs 6: 34).  Jealousy mentioned in Numbers 5 punishes an adulterer (v20-22, 27, 31) but releases the innocent (v19, 28). Similarly, God’s jealousy punishes an adulterous creation, who seeks Satan. The essence of Packer’s description of godly jealousy is in his quote of John Calvin, “As the purer and chaster a husband is, the more grievously he is offended when he sees his wife inclining to a rival…” Jealousy and punishment intensifies when the accuser (husband or God) is purer in his character. God, the purest of all beings, is jealous when his creation discards HIM to the one who destroys them – the Satan.

The Thomist thought is that love causes jealousy – love of that which cannot be shared or simultaneously possessed causes envy / jealousy.³ When God is jealous, HE asserts that HE cannot share us with any entity that opposes HIM, namely Satan. But when man refuses to believe in God, the jealous and just God lovingly respects man’s decision and allows him to have his way. A jealous God cannot share his creation with an opposing entity, but the same God who is jealous is also loving and just, thus in HIS love and justice, HE allows the unbelieving man to discard HIM. Thus, God’s love and justice allows the unbelieving man to depart from HIS holy presence. 

Packer advises that God’s jealousy requires us to be zealous for God (love HIM and HIS commands).⁴ Jonathan’s zeal for God was displayed through godly love devoid of vicious jealousy. You and I are called to be the Jonathan of today, and by the grace of God, we shall. Amen.

References:

¹ J.I Packer, Knowing God, p153-154.

² J.I Packer, Knowing God, p155.

³ Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Human Life as a Journey to God, p207.

⁴ J.I Packer, Knowing God, p156.

Miraculously Blinded Church

Many state emphatically or imply succinctly that a church is dead if God fails to manifest Himself through ‘signs and wonders.’ Further variations to this statement are: “God is not present in a church where there aren’t any ‘signs and wonders,’” “the Spirit’s anointing is missing in this church,” or even “signs and wonders are needed in this church.” Such bewildering utterances! These statements do not implicate God for failing to manifest, but they placate God and implicate man. They accuse the faith and/or holiness of man and his church and deem him/her spiritually inadequate. Are these statements competent, and do they possess comprehensive biblical wisdom? Is God present in a church devoid of signs and wonders? Is the church where God manifests in ‘signs and wonders’ superior to the church devoid of such manifestations?   

Here is a quick understanding of ‘signs and wonders.’ Mark 16: 17-18 states, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. (NIV)”  “Sign” indicates God’s activity and power in reference to miracles. “Wonder” is an event that astonishes people. “Miracles” are a display of great divine power. ‘Signs and wonders’ is often used interchangeably with ‘miracles.’¹

It’s a fact that miracles have their place etched in the local church. But what’s puzzling is when Christians claim that miracles are the only evidence for God’s presence in the local church. Some accentuate a church or a person with the gift of miraculous powers as superior or holier. Such a claim stem from the speaker’s arrogance and it further depicts his exceedingly constricted biblical knowledge! (Let’s not even consider those who glorify the agents of signs and wonders more than the source HIMSELF!)

        

    Please observe the table below which features the spiritual gifts:

SPIRITUAL GIFTS
ROMANS 12: 6-8	1 CORINTHIANS 12: 7-11, 28-30 (SPECIAL ABILITIES)	EPHESIANS 4: 11	1 PETER 4: 11
Prophecy	Wisdom	Apostles	Speaking
Service	Knowledge	Prophets	Service
Teaching	Faith	Evangelists	BASIC FUNCTIONS PERFORMED IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
Encouragement	Healing	Pastors
Giving	Miraculous Powers	Teachers
Leadership	Prophecy	OFFICES OF THE CHURCH OR PERSONS WHO ARE GOD’S GIFT TO THE LOCAL CHURCH.
Acts of Mercy	Discernment (distinguishing of spirits)
BASIC FUNCTIONS PERFORMED IN THE LOCAL CHURCH	Tongues (various kinds of)
	Interpretation of tongues
	1 CORINTHIANS 12: 28-30
	Apostles
	Prophets
	Teachers
	Workers of Miracles
	Gifts of healing
	Helping others
	Administration
	Tongues (various kinds of)

            Spiritual gifts are gracious gifts of God for the unity of church, equipping the saints for works of God’s service thus leading to the growth of the church. Miracles are not the only, but one among the many gifts God has given HIS people (1 Corinthians 12: 14-21). All gifts are not equally conspicuous; but equally important (1 Corinthians 12: 22-26). The Holy Spirit distributes these gifts to those HE wills (1 Corinthians 12: 11).

Miracles should build up the church, not destroy her. If a member has a gift of miracles, he should be encouraged by the church to use this gift. But if the church has no member with the gift of miracles, then the church will surely have other spiritual gifts (Romans 12: 6a).

 ‘Love,’ the supreme ethic, is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is available to everyone in the church. The church should use this ‘gift’ in abundance. 1 Corinthians 13 is termed as the chapter of love. But Paul’s emphasis on love is in the context of spiritual gifts. Paul compels the church to be united amidst the existence of varied spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:12 – 13:13). Love, as the greatest gifts, should be used to accommodate and encourage the diverse spiritual gifts. But when statements of arrogance are uttered, Christ is dethroned and Satan is exalted in the church of Jesus Christ!

While answering a question pertaining to miracles at Georgia Tech University, Dr. Ravi Zacharias said, “we live dangerously when we think we can only depend on HIS activity because of the miraculous that is invading our lives and I think one of the things church does unwisely is always banking on another miracle, that is a kind of an insatiable desire. The miracle of a life transformed is a miracle that takes place everyday somewhere in this world. That is the greatest miracle of all, then there is the miracle of conquering over the suffering and the great miracle where people can live in trust knowing God even though the temporary circumstance do not seem to have HIS presence that manifests, but they conquer that. I think there are marvelous stories if you read what happened in Romania and in China…” (emphasis mine). He also recollected the miracle in Russia where the nation is being spiritually transformed.

Ravi’s thrust is vivid and profound. We unashamedly desire the so-called eminent miracles of healing and exorcism, but shamefully ignore the supreme miracles of life born-again, life well lived by conquering suffering, and life lived victoriously amidst the temporary silence of God (cf. Hebrews 11: 1). This is a sad reality in the church of Jesus Christ.

Miracles serve at least three purposes: to glorify God (to credit the miracles to God and not man - a mere channel), to establish the supernatural basis of revelation, and to meet the human needs as a measure of compassion for the needy and hurting people who approach God.² Fracturing the church is not among the purposes of miracles.

The wind blows where it pleases. God cannot be boxed on account of miracles. Leaders of churches should stop playing spiritual games with people by using God or HIS people as their pawns.

The Bible mandates us to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). This is a matter of HIM possessing more of our lives. We should desire to give the Spirit a complete control of our lives. Since this is an ongoing process, our lives will manifest whatever gift God sovereignly endows us with. It’s also abundantly clear that no one gift is for all Christians, nor is any gift more significant than others.³

Is God present in a church devoid of miracles or signs and wonders? The answer is YES, for God has bestowed the church with other spiritual gifts. Is the church where God manifests through ‘signs and wonders’ superior to the one without them? The answer is NO, for all gifts are equally significant.

I have scratched the surface here, and volumes have been written elsewhere. Please enlighten me if you disagree. Amen.

References:

¹ Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p356.   

²  Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, p434.

³ Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, p896-97.