I recently read a book called The Shack. Chuck read it years ago and it was tucked away in a drawer, untouched. A co-worker was sharing with me how much she loved the story, so when I got home, out of the drawer it came. The author was a Trinitarian and many times I wanted to put the book down, but I was curious where the story was going. I would like to give some background about the book that blessed and inspired me.
The story focuses on "Mack," a waning Christian who loves to talk about God, yet has a love/hate relationship with God. Mack took his three children on a camping trip for the weekend. On the final day of the trip, the two older children, Josh and Kate, went for their last canoe ride. Mack and Missy, the youngest daughter, stayed back at the campsite. Missy was busy coloring and Mack was packing up.
A short time later, Mack heard Kate calling him from the lake. Mack quickly ran to the lake. The canoe had tipped over. Kate resurfaced, but Josh did not. His life vest was caught on the canoe, preventing him from resurfacing. Mack jumped in and was able to free him, all ended well.
Mack remembered Missy back at the campsite. He wasn't worried but did pick up his pace to get there. Missy was not at the campsite, she was nowhere to be found. Missy had been abducted and brutally murdered by a serial killer, who had previously murdered four other young girls.
Throughout the book this event is referred to as "The Great Sadness." The book revolves around God helping Mack deal with "The Great Sadness" through visions and dreams. My motivation for this sharing came from four small words that I needed to read over and over. A little scene setting is necessary.
Here Mack is conversing with Jesus regarding "The Great Sadness." "But why do we keep all this crap inside?" Mack asked.
"Because we believe it's safer there." Jesus replied. "So how does that change, you know for somebody who's lost in the dark like me," asked Mack. "Most often pretty slowly," Jesus answered. "So what do I do now?" Mack asked. Jesus replied, "What you are already doing, learning to live loved."
I read this several times. I think at first I read "learning to live love", then "learning to live and love" then, I realized it said "learning to live LOVED". Wow, what a concept, what everyone wants. Living each day knowing you are loved and living like you are!
Who is the greatest lover? God is and He is our Father. We are beautiful in His sight. To quote Dr. Wierwille at this time seems appropriate. "Kids, if we can only wake up and believe this." Every moment of every day we are loved with a love that is limitless! We have to learn to live like we are.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
This is love! This is agape love. It is a new kind of love, introduced to us by the new birth. It is a selfless love, undeserved and unmerited. We are born again by God's love. We have been rescued and made whole. We have God in Christ in us, the hope of glory!
Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Without God we had no hope. We didn't know God's love for us.
Ephesians 2:13-14 13But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14For he is our peace, who hath both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us:
Jesus Christ was given for us because God so loved. Jesus Christ gave Himself for us because He so loved. We now have peace and love in the midst of the evil of these present times.
Ephesians 2:22 In whom we are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Yes we have God in Christ in us. The creator of the heavens and the earth resides in us. Why? Because God so loved. We have to learn to live LOVED!
When a child is born that baby learns every day that they are loved. Every time Mom feeds him or Dad changes a diaper, the baby learns a little more that he or she is loved. So it is with God's Word. Every time you read it, think it, live it and speak it, God is telling you that He loves you. We have to believe what the Word says, allow God to love us, then experience His love. Learn to live LOVED!
One Sunday at fellowship Kim held up a box and encouraged us not to keep God in a box. We need to take the lid off and allow God to love and care for us. Better yet, give God the whole box.
Nick taught us that we have to let Jesus be Lord in all areas of our life. We have to put God first, not ourselves. When we let condemnation, fear, anxiety etc. rule our thoughts and actions or hang on to those monsters in the closet, in plain, simple English, we are not believing the love God has for us.
Isaiah 26:3-4 3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.4 Trust in the Lord forever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Reckon is the Greek word "logizomai". It means to take into account, to consider. It deals with reality. If I reckon my bank account has twenty five dollars in it, it does have twenty five dollars in it, otherwise I am deceiving myself. This word "reckon" deals more with fact than opinion.
We are to "reckon" ourselves dead to sin but alive unto God. To enjoy real, true life we have to reckon ourselves alive unto God. These are not just words typed in our Bible's, they are God's Words to us and they are a fact and every time we speak in tongues we prove the truth and validity of these words.
Romans4:20-21 20He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able to perform.
Abraham never doubted, never separated his thoughts from what God had promised him, he was firm in his believing, he was sure of God. He lived knowing he was loved by God and knew God was faithful and fully capable to bring to pass what He had promised.
Romans 4:22-24 22And therefore it was imputed (logizomai) to him for righteousness. 23Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed (logizomai) to him: 24But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed (logizomai), if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
Righteousness, the condition acceptable to God, is imputed to us when we confess Jesus as Lord in our lives and believe God raised him from the dead. God gave His son for us. He was delivered for our justification. We are guilt-free, acceptable to God, able to stand before God and be loved!
Romans 5:1-5 1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Here we see that we are justified, we have peace with God. We have access, by our believing, into God's grace. How many days can we get through without God's grace? We stand in God's grace and glory in Christ's return. God loved us into His family. Learn to live loved as God's child!
The pressures in our life bring about patience or steadfastness. When we remain steadfast to the Word, God's faithfulness to His Word is proved thus making the hope live more for us. The love of God was poured into or flooded our hearts by the new birth. We have to learn to live loved NOW!
Once again we go back to The Shack. Here Mack is going to walk on water. Thankfully when he took his next step, instead of going deeper he rose up a little and with each succeeding stride he came up even more until he was on top of the water once again. Jesus joined him and they both continued walking toward the shack. "This always works better when we do it together don't you think?" Jesus asked smiling.
Life certainly does work better when we walk with Jesus Christ, our brother, our savior and our Lord. Remember the old commercial for coke? "Things go better with coke." Maybe we need to change it. "Things go better with Christ."
Luke 5:4-7 4Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
Jesus asked Simon to launch out into the deep and let down his nets for a draught. Simon, the expert fisherman here replies, "we've been out here all night, working hard and those fish just aren't biting. But because it's you I'll do it, I'll let down the net." Jesus spoke the Word of God, God's Word was to let down the nets, but Simon only let down one net.
We know what happened next. There were so many fish the net broke. They needed help from the other ship. Both ships were filled with so many fish that they began to sink. Simon acted on a little bit of God's word and still got results. What would the result have been if he let down the nets?
Simon never literally carried out the Word. When you carry out a little bit of God's Word, you can still get results. But you can miss the abundance of God. Are you letting down all your nets, are you giving that box to God?
Are you letting yourself be loved by God?
1 John 4:15-19 15Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in Him. 17Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as He is, so are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19We love Him, because He first loved us.
Love never fails. We are loved by God Almighty, the creator of the heavens and earth. He authored the plan to have us as His children. He gave His only Son for you and me. Let the Word of God dwell in you richly, allow it to saturate every facet of your life. Hide the Word in your heart and learned to live LOVED!
Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation, NAU means the American Standard Version, 1995 Edition, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.