Pastor's Pen
by Pastor Jimmy Sharp
February 2004
February is often
called the love month. I suppose that is because we celebrate Valentines
Day on the fourteenth. Love is a subject that has elicited much writings
in books and songs. Philosophers and Poets have immortalized the subject
through all of human history. We have come to understand that love is a
word that can be used from the trash novel to the Holy Bible. The word
really has little meaning until it is put in some kind of context. I
mean, we have to have a setting in which we are developing the word, a set of
circumstances that puts this word on stage so it can perform for the designer
or director.
We are very aware
that circumstances change. Does this mean that love changes every time
the circumstances change? I believe that we have to look at whether the
circumstances are external or internal. The external circumstances are
the ones that tend to capture our attention. These are the ones the
shape and color our day. This is usually whether or not the sun is
shining or it is raining, whether or not I feel good or I feel bad. The
internal circumstances are the ones that often are overlooked or ignored.
These are the ones that determine our outlook on life's experiences.
These circumstances are the lenses through which we see the experiences of the
day. These are the circumstances that determine our attitudes.
External love has
an appeal. It is usually a feeling or an experience that brings
pleasure. We like these feelings and experiences and often expend much
energy and money to repeat them as often as we can afford it. All of
these experiences are not bad or evil or sin for that matter but what is quite
clear is that they are temporary. For these feelings and experiences to
be repeated we have to continually manipulate the circumstances.
Internal love is
much more stable than external love. Internal love has much more to do
with relationships with persons. These relational circumstances offer
more security than external circumstances. The more secure the person
with whom you are in relationship with the more secure you are in the
relationship. For instance, if this relationship with someone is as
secure as with our Creator God, then we can be very secure in this
relationship. When we choose to seek security in a relationship with some one
like ourselves then we need to understand that instead of one variable (me)
there are now two variables, me and the other person like me. God offers
us the reliability of God self when we choose to be in relationship with God.
The way we choose to be in relationship with God is through Jesus, the Christ.
When we accept the work God accomplished in Christ Jesus on the cross at
Calvary, God makes God self available for a full time relationship with us.
This is when Jesus places within us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is
God living in us. This is an internal thing and not an external thing.
Through this person of the Holy Spirit we see the external circumstances
differently. They do affect us, but we are not at the mercy of the
circumstance. We are in control of ourselves in these circumstances and
that makes the difference in whether or not the circumstance negatively colors
my day or not. This is the difference between the circumstance
determining our attitude toward life or our attitude determining the
circumstance. With a relationship with God, I may not be in charge of
circumstances, but I am in charge of my attitude about the circumstances. I
may not be able to determine circumstances, but I can determine my attitude.
What kind of stage
are you setting to describe love? Are you allowing external
circumstances to determine what you mean by love? Or are you allowing a
relationship with God to determine the way you love in circumstances?
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