"Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy."
(1 Peter 1:8, NIV)
We don't "see" Jesus, but we love Jesus. We don't "see" Jesus, but we believe Jesus. This is craziness to those who are, "of this world." Most people believe in and "love" what they see. Have you ever noticed how much of an economy is based on what people see, e.g., cars, clothes, houses? I don't go to antique vehicle shows to listen or touch; I go to see. And so much "attraction" between people is based on the outward, i.e., what they see. I wonder how popular Elvis, the Beatles, Stones, etc., would have been if people could not see them, only hear them? Sight rules.
You and I love Jesus. We love Him because, as the Scripture says, "He first loved us." This is key. We can read about Jesus; we have responded to the Gospel Message of Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and the promised result of surrendering our lives to Jesus and receiving Jesus. But upon what is our love based other than, "He first loved us"? Hence, "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him...and believe in Him," still stands as an amazing "act" of faith. There is little room for a "reasoning" maneuver here, a Spockian "provable, the graphable." The "scientific method" just does not work when it comes to a relationship with the Living Triune God. One either believes The Word of God or one does not. We don't "see" Jesus; we don't "hear" Jesus; we cannot "touch" Jesus. Even so, "Though you have not," any of these experiences, "you love Him...and believe in Him."
I recently read in Jeremiah what happens to a people who only live by what they see. "We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine." These people were in the same vein as Satan said to God about Job. In essence, "Touch his body, and he'll sing like a bird."
You and I are not of such a people. We have chosen to side with Peter, "Though you have not seen.., you love...." Keep walking in this reality, and we will continually say as did Peter, "[we] are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
Father, in Jesus' Name, though I do not see You, I love you and believe You. Amen.
*********************
* We never see nor hear from most on our devotional mailing list, but we love you
* Berlin/Bosnia Mission: May 1-20, 2014
* News, Commentary: jhs58.blogspot.com
(1 Peter 1:8, NIV)
We don't "see" Jesus, but we love Jesus. We don't "see" Jesus, but we believe Jesus. This is craziness to those who are, "of this world." Most people believe in and "love" what they see. Have you ever noticed how much of an economy is based on what people see, e.g., cars, clothes, houses? I don't go to antique vehicle shows to listen or touch; I go to see. And so much "attraction" between people is based on the outward, i.e., what they see. I wonder how popular Elvis, the Beatles, Stones, etc., would have been if people could not see them, only hear them? Sight rules.
You and I love Jesus. We love Him because, as the Scripture says, "He first loved us." This is key. We can read about Jesus; we have responded to the Gospel Message of Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and the promised result of surrendering our lives to Jesus and receiving Jesus. But upon what is our love based other than, "He first loved us"? Hence, "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him...and believe in Him," still stands as an amazing "act" of faith. There is little room for a "reasoning" maneuver here, a Spockian "provable, the graphable." The "scientific method" just does not work when it comes to a relationship with the Living Triune God. One either believes The Word of God or one does not. We don't "see" Jesus; we don't "hear" Jesus; we cannot "touch" Jesus. Even so, "Though you have not," any of these experiences, "you love Him...and believe in Him."
I recently read in Jeremiah what happens to a people who only live by what they see. "We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine." These people were in the same vein as Satan said to God about Job. In essence, "Touch his body, and he'll sing like a bird."
You and I are not of such a people. We have chosen to side with Peter, "Though you have not seen.., you love...." Keep walking in this reality, and we will continually say as did Peter, "[we] are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
Father, in Jesus' Name, though I do not see You, I love you and believe You. Amen.
*********************
* We never see nor hear from most on our devotional mailing list, but we love you
* Berlin/Bosnia Mission: May 1-20, 2014
* News, Commentary: jhs58.blogspot.com
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
