9 January 2014 - because he first loved us

9 January 2014 - because he first loved us

For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.

Love of God is more than a feeling.  It is a whole life lived in a certain way and in accordance with a certain standard.  We worry that commandments are "burdensome", restrictive, designed without our best interests at heart.  But "his commandments are not burdensome" and in fact are the blueprint for a victorious life.  Living the commandments is "the victory that conquers the world" because they are the sine qua non for living the love of God.  When we live this love we are begotten by him.  The commandments are not burdensome for those with this life in them.  The commandments are not burdensome for those set free from the fear of sin and death.  They are all about love, love for God, and love for our brother.  This means that when we make even small acts of love toward our brother we are living the victory that conquers the world.

And possible the best part?  We don't have to do this on our own.  We don't have to stir it up within ourselves.  We don't have to rely on our own strength:

Beloved, we love God because
he first loved us.

Just as Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit in his baptism we too are filled with him in baptism and this before we can do anything to deserve it. 

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to live this love of God and brother and all its profound implications and miraculous consequences:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

We long to see this year that is acceptable to the LORD when all of the oppressed go free and live in the victory that conquers the world.  We long for that time  when "every nation on earth will adore" Jesus Christ and live out of love for him.  It starts with Jesus and the grace he gives.  It is marked by love throughout.  It ends in worship and adoration.  With the psalmist we pray:

May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.