The True

Love Letter

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

The idea of a love letter is a romantic one. Love letters form the foundation of countless books, movies, plays, art, and poetry. They invoke feelings like few other things do, and God’s Word is the greatest love letter of all. Consider just these few examples of God’s profession of love for you:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3)

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us” (1 Jn. 3:1)

“My beloved is mine and I am his” (Song of Songs 2:16)

That last one just scratches the surface of the intimacy that is the love letter of Song of Songs. If you have any doubt about the depths of God’s love for you, or of the underlying assertion that scripture is a love letter between your God and you, spend some time reading Song of Songs today. It is clear: Your God is madly in love with you, and He invites you to be madly in love with Him!

All the above is unequivocally true, and wondrously beautiful. You can and absolutely should live from a place informed by the romantic truth of God’s great love for you!

But the love letter of God’s Word goes much deeper than this romantic level, and the love letter that is your life lived back for His purposes is invited to be much deeper and much more robust than just a romantic love. When Jesus says to love one another “as I have loved you,” and declares it is that love that will make us true disciples, what does He mean? How did Jesus love His disciples?

Was he affectionate and nurturing? Certainly. We have already outlined several examples of this type of love, and in fact, in John 15:9, Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.”

But the love of Jesus for His disciples, and His love for you, goes so much deeper than just affection and nurture. The love Jesus modeled for us included, and I would argue even centered on, service and sacrifice.

Because Jesus loved His disciples, He served them by washing their feet (Jn. 13:1-17).

To drive this point home, and to underscore that the disciples were to emulate Jesus in this type of love, Jesus told them they were to be the “servant of all” (Mk. 9:35).

Because Jesus loved His disciples, and because He loves you, He made the ultimate sacrifice by laying down His life for you at the direction of God the Father.

This is very easy to gloss over because it has become so familiar to us, but I invite you to really lock in here for just a moment more. I want you to ask, “Why?” Why was it necessary to go to this extreme? Why did God choose this method for providing redemption? He could have done it another way, which lends great importance to understanding why God chose this path of maximum pain and suffering.

We find the answer plainly stated in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God chose the sacrifice of His only Son because it was the ultimate demonstration of His love for you. It was the difficult and sacrificial part of His love letter to you.

So today, how do you love others as God has loved you? How can your life be a love letter to others in a way that follows the example of Jesus?

The love letter of your life should be affectionate. It should be nurturing. It should be beautiful.

And to fully follow the example of Jesus, and to love as He loved, it should also be filled with service and sacrifice. By this, the world will know you are His, and by this—your service and sacrifice—the world will take notice of your love letter to them.

World

Warfront Update

A week ago, it seemed as though a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was possible. That feels like a distant memory as numerous escalatory developments have occurred:

1) Israeli troops took control of the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah.

2) U.S. President Joe Biden announced the U.S. would not supply Israel with “offensive weapons,” but would continue supplying “defensive” assistance.

3) The United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state. The matter now goes before the U.N. Security Council, where the U.S. has traditionally blocked its passage.

Analysis and eternal perspective: This week’s developments raise more questions than provide answers. For example,

1) How should a nation balance the need to track down an enemy who has repeatedly attacked its citizens with concern for the civilians amongst whom that enemy is embedded?

2) How can a nation be expected to respond to an attack using only “defensive” tactics and weapons?

3) How strong is the longstanding U.S. support for Israel at the U.N. Security Council?

There are no neat and tidy answers to the questions above, but we as Jesus followers can and should continue to return to, and implement, several core scriptural principles. The Jewish people have a special covenant with God and continue to face unparalleled hostility and persecution. It is appropriate to ask whether any other nation would face this level of scrutiny for responding to a lethal attack of this magnitude inside its borders. For those of us living in the U.S. and participating in the experiment of self-governance, we should be attuned to how our elected officials support our allies, and should engage in sincere efforts to promote responsible decision making. We should also have compassion for all who are suffering as a result of the war, and encourage our leaders to pursue a true and lasting peace (Ps. 34:14).

U.S.

Gold, Cash, and Corruption

Yet another high-profile U.S. elected official is now on trial, as jury selection began in a corruption case against U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez. It is the second time Sen. Menendez, who is the former Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has faced corruption charges, and the current case alleges the Chairman accepted bribes in the form of gold bars, cash, and luxury vehicles in exchange for exerting his influence on behalf of foreign governments.

Analysis and eternal perspective: As we have for every other criminal proceeding against an elected official, we should begin with a reminder that Sen. Menendez is entitled to the presumption of innocence. The legal burden of proof lies with the prosecution, and we should refrain from jumping to any conclusions.

Next, we should commit to an honest evaluation of the facts presented in the case, regardless of our personal views about the Senator’s politics. While most of us will not have any official interaction with the judicial proceedings taking place, each of us should take care to prioritize the facts presented over the political ramifications. It is also worth noting that the Senator’s presumption of innocence in the criminal proceeding does not extend to his membership in the U.S. Senate, and it is possible he will face expulsion before again facing voters for reelection.

As Jesus followers, this story is a reminder for us to walk uprightly (Ps. 84:11). It is so easy for each of us to be led astray by the things of this world that are attractive for a moment but threaten to ensnare us. Let us be resolute in our desire for heavenly treasure that is free from the temporal and corruptive power of Earthly pursuits, and that set our hearts on the things of our God (Matt. 6:19-21).

U.S.

Tabled

The gavel in the U.S. House of Representatives is still held by Speaker Mike Johnson, as Members voted in a bipartisan fashion 359-43 to “table” the Motion to Vacate the Speakership offered by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. It was not immediately clear whether Rep. Greene plans to offer additional motions to remove Speaker Johnson, nor whether Democrats would continue to protect him from removal in future votes.

Analysis and eternal perspective: As we discussed last week, this story was always more about a loud headline than a productive way forward, so we would do well to avoid dwelling on it. That said, the razor-thin partisan divide in the U.S. House will continue through at least the remainder of this Congress, and very likely into the next (no matter which party is in the majority), so it behooves us to be mindful of the dynamic and to be actively on the lookout for ways to inject flourishing into it.

Luke 11:9-10 reminds us, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Similarly, Jeremiah 29:13-14 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you.”

The common thread here is that we so often find exactly what it is we are looking for. If we are looking for rancor and division, there is plenty of it to be found, and it can easily mark our lives. But if we are resolute in searching for our Lord and King, He too is readily found, and He is eager to mark our lives with His presence and power.

Ask. Seek. Knock. You will find what it is that you are after, so take care to be in pursuit of the One who rescues your soul.

The Beautiful

Green

Green. Everything in our neck of the woods (literally woods) is green. Its beauty makes me think of the green pastures of Psalm 23, and its promise of life and flourishing is the reason its hues form the color scheme of The Equipped. But as you notice the beautiful green around you this week, I invite you to consider the promise made to Noah in Genesis 9:3: “Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.”

Everything.

Look around. The beautiful green is everywhere. And it should remind you that everything belongs to God, and He has invited you to share in all of it!