Wondrous love, I

For the next few weeks, we are going to pause in our verse-by-verse study of  I  Peter . . . it seemed good to me to have a focus series leading up to the Advent season (Yes, it really IS getting to be that time of year!).

We've touched on God's love for us as we worked our way through the first chapter of I Peter, and I thought a "deeper dive" might be good preparation for the soon-to-be-upon-us Christmas activities and services. Many times, I believe that we rush into the hustle and bustle of the season, and don't take the time needed to fully appreciate all that Christmas means.

We focus instead on the fact that there are only a few shopping days until Christmas! (Forty-nine, in case you are wondering.)

In today's world, "love" is an over-used word.....we love bagels; we love our boots; we love candlelight; we love our newest favorite song; we love trips to the beach; the list goes on and on.

What is the true meaning of love? What is its essence? Its depth of meaning? It's used so carelessly today that we have lost the real meaning.

And then, what about the title up there? What is "wondrous love"?

Here's Merriam-Webster's take on it: "to be marveled at, extraordinary."

God's love for us is indeed "wondrous." To be marveled at. Extraordinary.

He gives it freely -- a gift.

In return, what does He expect from us?

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

No room for misunderstanding there, ay?
No need for a memo later to qualify.
No email thread necessary.
Nothing more needs to be said.

But what about believers today?
Did they get the message?
Do they need a memo or an email thread?

Sometimes when a manufacturer or supplier of services loses a piece of business, they do what is often called a "post mortem," or discussion of what went wrong. Why did their competitor, Company B, receive the purchase order, and it slipped away out of Company A's hands?
They begin a series of "what if" questions....
What if our price had been 3% lower?
What if our time to delivery had been 2 weeks (or two months) earlier?
What if?

Let's play "what if" regarding today's Christians......
What if, following the example of Jesus, we spent all of our time (in our church and in the world) loving one another?
What if when people walked into our church, they were blown away at how we acted toward them and toward each other?
The person who wasn't a member would notice that we are not like anyone else -- different through and through.
What if we didn't argue, only disagreed?
What if we didn't gossip about one another, only talked respectfully to each other?
What if we didn't assign ulterior motives to anyone, but only put the best possible "spin" on each other's actions?
What if we didn't point fingers and blame, but forgave and worked toward common goals?

Our community of believers would be unlike any other community -- we would be showing that we truly loved one another!
Unfortunately, those outside the church don't say that about believers. We usually hear that they don't go to church "because it is full of hypocrites and mean people. They fight, and argue, and ask for money. They're no different from anyone else!"

God has given us His wondrous love.....and the commandment seen above.
Are we complete failures?

We'll study more about this, this week.