+ The Good Life

Christian Body Building

Tertullian, an early church leader known as a Patristic, wrote about an ancient tradition of giving new Christians a cup of milk. It was the practice of Christian communities around Tertullian in Northern Africa to offer “a mixture of milk and honey” to new believers immediately after their Baptism. This practice is described in his work The Crown (De Corona), written around 200 AD.

Milk for new Christians was also described by the Patristic, Jerome; whose ministry stretched from Rome to Jerusalem in 400AD. He wrote of Baby Christians being offered “milk and honey in representation of infancy.” (Liber Contra Luciferianos)

Babies need milk, but babies also need more than milk as they grow. Saint Paul encouraged the Corinthian Christians to grow up to more meaty matters in 1 Corinthians.  I appreciate the  JB Phillips translation of Paul's words:

I had to talk to you as unspiritual, as yet babies in the Christian life, And my practice had been to feed you, as it were, with “milk” and not with “meat”. You were unable to digest “meat.” (1 Cor. 4)

Christian Body Building requires more than milk.

Christ's Mind in Me

The gospel provides the audacious admonition to Love Everyone Always.   In the opening chapters of 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul teaches that if we truly want the loving life that God calls for us to have, then we will orient ourselves around Jesus, who is the very embodiment of God’s Love. We are to let nothing separate us from the life of love that Jesus has for us.

In chapter 2 of his first letter to the church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul says: “I am determined to know nothing except Jesus.” Paul was a very smart guy, but here he admits that his powerful intellect and brilliance of speech have their limits.  Here we hear him confess that he cannot impress anyone with the latest philosophies or polished oratory. Here he declares that he doesn’t want throngs to be enthralled by the fancy mental footwork from him or anyone else. Paul desires for us to rest our faith and hope on nothing less than Jesus and the power of God’s love that comes through him. 

Help to Love Everyone Always

The Book of First Corinthians was originally a letter written by the Apostle Paul to admonish people in the Greek city of Corinth to become more loving. The Apostle Paul deals with great themes like faith, hope and love in his epistle, but the “greatest of all”, he says in Chapter 13 “is love.” When he reaches the end of this book, he sums up his theme of love saying: “Let all that you do be done in love.”

Paul teaches that a relationship with the living Jesus Christ is integral to the demonstration of love. Jesus is the perfect expression of love in the flesh. The character of Jesus is so completely defined by the quality of love that you can easily substitute the word JESUS in many of the places Paul uses the word love in 1 Corinthians. Jesus is patient and kind; Jesus does not envy or boast; Jesus is not arrogant or rude. Jesus does not insist on his own way; Jesus is not irritable or resentful; He never rejoices at wrongdoing, but Jesus rejoices with the truth. 

Though hate seeks to destroy him, Jesus never stops loving. Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Even when he is put to death on the cross, Jesus continues to love. With the help of the living and resurrected Jesus, we can love everyone always.

Love Everyone Always

I left directly from church for Santa Barbara on Sunday afternoon before Memorial Day. I went to see our grandson and his parents. When I pulled up to their home, I saw a church sign posted in their yard. On the sign in small letters is the name of their church. Then in bold letters is the word: LOVE. Under that, in mid-size print, are the words: Everyone and Always.

Love Everyone Always. This gospel message has rumbled through my brain ever since. God is Love. God so loved the world that he gave his son, Jesus. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love,” Jesus said. “Love even your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Love Everyone Always.

These words beautifully express a key message the Apostle Paul seeks to convey in the book we know as 1 Corinthians. Paul talks a lot about faith, hope and love in this book; but the “greatest of all”, he says, “is love”. I will be studying his inspired words in the next few weeks, exploring how each of us in his church can use our unique shape to share God’s love with others.

To review how God uses our unique shape to offer God’s loving kindness to others, you may link to the following messages:

Why am I Shaped this way?

Meaningful Service

Follow your Heart

Using what you have

Personality Plus

The Difference Experience Makes

Funny Valentine

I was listening to some Frank Sinatra music with my wife the other day.  That’s not something we do very often. I mean listen to Frank Sinatra. We usually listen to other music. One song on the album was: MY FUNNY VALENTINE.  I was intrigued by the song and wondered how anyone could sing in a loving way: "Your looks are laughable and you are so unphotographable."  

To our Lord Jesus Chirst, our looks are sometimes even worse that laughable. But he loves.  He forgives. He gives redeeming grace.  Our unique shape is a blessing to him, and he invites us to join him as a blessing to those around us.