Family Values

In some ways, this is a continuation of a previous post, but I think it also stands on its own:

In the beginning God's love overflowed into an action: the creation of others for Him to love. Because of His love, we are continuing to learn how to love. But rebellion entered the world when those He created for love sought to become their own god rather than remaining in the peace and grace of His Presence. The rebellious forsook His provision and protection (as well as obedience to His divine direction) and pursued inflated self-gratification in all its myriad forms. So sin entered the world, and the would-be-gods became victims of each other, pawns of a great deception because a rebellious heart tends to use everyone and everything for self-gain… and because there is and can only be One True God, Who is all-powerful, all-knowing and fully good. 

God is love, and while He has loved us from the very beginning, He existed before “the beginning”. Since love only exists when there is both a Lover and a Beloved, God (Who is love) exists as both Lover and Beloved. In a way we can’t totally understand, the One True God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit: 3 persons in one God. And because God’s very nature is love, even in the midst of man’s rebellion, the Father reached out through His Son with Good News: He desires a relationship with us... we have ever remained the object of His affection! Those who embrace this message are transformed. They are no longer children of the Rebellion; they have become children of the Kingdom, children who return and promote the love of God. No longer do these people accept the values of the Rebellion, but as adopted members of the Royal Family, they embrace the Kingdom values. They have become the Church, a Remnant of people faithful to the divine order of a heavenly family.

We, the Church, are messengers of His love, only capable of communicating this message as we are frequently reminded of the life-giving gospel ourselves. Through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, Christ commissioned His Remnant to proclaim through action this Good News (a.k.a. – “gospel”): Love God, love others, and cultivate the same. Through our actions and words, we promote this gospel message for all those He has predestined for love. 

This is our all-encompassing purpose: to love God, love others and cultivate the same. We love as a reflection of His love. We work, joining Him in the work He is already doing. We live as travelers in this world, strangers to the Rebellion, and ambassadors of the Truth, a reality that is often hidden by the lies of the Rebellion. We seek to speak the truth in love, trusting in God for the outcome, never knowing the outcome ourselves but trusting that He will be true to His promise to work all things together for our good. Even adversity has been remade as an instrument for our good. Every adversity will be overcome as a demonstration of His power and love and to build up God’s people, even the great adversity of death… because at some point, each of us will leave this world to see our heavenly family clearly and to know Love fully. And that will be very good.

But until then, we seek to live in His love, extending that same love and grace to others and promoting the values of our Father.

To do this, we need to Abide in Him. 

copyright ©2013 Mitchell Malloy (http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/)

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