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True Love Indeed At age thirteen, while on vacation with her family, actress Betty Davis had her first crush—on the young boy working the refreshment counter at the drugstore. Each day, she walked in, sat down at the counter, and stared at the handsome young man. By summer's end, he would be her first kiss. In August, the family left for home, and Betty never saw him again—until about fifty years later. She was doing a show in Boston, when she heard someone from the audience yell, "Do you want a soda?" She knew the voice and immediately invited the man to come backstage. "I was so nervous waiting for him," she remembered, "and when he came into my dressing room, I didn't even recognize him—there stood this little old, old man. Maybe that's my biggest regret—not that I remembered his voice, but that after fifty years, I asked to see him again. In seeing the man, I lost the first boy I ever loved." But it works both ways, too, doesn't it? He wasn't the only one who had changed dramatically over the years. Oh, how her comments make clear the difference between infatuation and true love! A couple married that long and in true love would look past the aging affects of time and appreciate the life, the heart, and the soul. Instead of being unbearable, the astonishing reality would bring delight. As St. Valentine's Day approaches, and the world's efforts to redefine true love are even more in focus than usual, we certainly need to be reminded of this truth. Today, love is portrayed as romantic feelings that find their fulfillment in sex, whether within marriage or without. It is seen as a way to get your own "needs" met for as long as you can. In one wedding, the traditional vows concerning being married "as long as we both shall live," were changed to "as long as we both shall love." Let's get back to what God says about these things. John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." But that isn't the end of it, or, should I say, it isn't the beginning of it. We all know that God came down in the flesh on the very first Christmas, but did you know He had made the trip many times before that? God so loved the world that His Spirit—the second person of the Trinity—came down many times throughout the Old Testament, often as "the Angel of the Lord," to reveal His love long before He did so in Jesus. A note in the Cambridge Bible puts it this way: "There is a fascinating forecast of the coming Messiah, breaking through the dimness with amazing consistency, at intervals from Genesis to Malachi. Hagar the slave girl, Abraham, Moses, the impoverished farmer Gideon, even the humble parents of Samson had seen and talked with Him centuries before the herald angels proclaimed His birth in Bethlehem." You see, it isn't "Jesus" that is appearing all these times—He wasn't born until about 4 BC. These appearances are of the Spirit of God that would fill Jesus later and make him the "Christ." This is true love indeed. And I mean that in two ways—"indeed," in the sense of a surety, and "in deed," referring to far more than just self-satisfying feelings, but a love that is lived out—in deeds. Repeatedly, God lived out His love for us in that He sent His Son many times throughout His encounter with His people, and that would empower His people to do the same thing—true love "in deed." We see this very clearly in Genesis 22. When God calls out to Abraham by name, the response is, "Here I am." (vs. 1)—a response we will see throughout the story. God Himself would later tell Moses that He is the Great I Am, and now, God's chosen man Abraham makes clear his willingness to be obedient, no matter what. True love, indeed! God then said, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." (vs. 2) On the surface, it sounds cruel, but God has a plan—He would be willing to give up His only Son for Abraham; would Abraham be willing to give up His only Child of Promise, Isaac, for God? Would he, or we, be willing to surrender all to have all of the Lord? Early the next morning, Abraham, his son, and two servants, packed up and headed in the general direction. On the third day—sound familiar???—they came to the specific location, and Abraham told his servants to wait there—he and Isaac would go worship and return shortly. Remember—God has a plan. Centuries later, David would buy a threshing floor located on this very mountain, and use it for worship. After that, the temple in Jerusalem would be erected on this very spot. Why? For worship! Later, Jesus would clear out the perversions that had made their way into the temple, and He declared it to be a house of prayer—not a den of thieves. And He is doing the same thing today, as He calls His people away from all of the charismatic foolishness, fleshly antics in the House of the Lord, and stupid unbiblical prosperity-oriented theologies. God, in His true love, will not put up with these lies, and Abraham wasn't lying when he told his servants that the two of them would return. Francis Siewart, the editor of the Amplified Bible, writes, "He (Abraham) believed God, who had promised him that this young man's posterity was to inherit the promises made to Abraham." The Book of Hebrews also expresses Abraham's confidence in what God was about to do. (Heb. 11: 17-19) Praise God—true love, indeed! As the two traveled up the mountain, Isaac remarked, "My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he, (Isaac), said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (vs. 7) Praise God—Abraham's "Here I Am" relationship with the Lord had also permeated his relationship with his family. Don't be in a quandary over the lack of submission in your household when you won't be surrendered first. The call of God and Abraham's response is what produced the fruit of obedience. You see, Isaac is not a young child or even a teenager—he is about 25 years of age, and has to know what's up—and yet, there is no argument, no struggle, no rebellion. If relationships are lived in true love, and not legalism, God's authority will be the standard. Abraham's response? "God will provide Himself a lamb for the burnt offering…"(vs. 8) Adam Clarke wrote concerning this, "We must not suppose that this was the language merely of faith and obedience. Abraham spoke prophetically, and referred to the Lamb of God which He had provided for Himself, who in the fullness of time would take away the sin of the world, and of whom Isaac was a most expressive type." In other words, he is not just looking for a way out of this dilemma; he knows this whole thing is pointing to Jesus. How do I know this? Jesus Himself told the Jews, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." (John 8:56) Praise God—as the knife is raised over Isaac, the Angel of the Lord speaks—"Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I." (vs. 11) The Christ—the Great I Am—is now calling, and Abraham continues to listen. Twice this 2nd Person of the Trinity would reveal Himself. First—He called Abraham to not go any further in this critical proof of his faith, trust, and obedience. In a very real sense, Isaac was already sacrificed. And notice the clear picture of this "Angel's" divinity—"…I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me." FROM ME, not just an angel, but from God Himself! This is when Abraham looked around and spotted a ram stuck in the thicket—the provided sacrifice! Then, Praise God, it happened again—the second calling from the Christ—"In blessing will I bless you and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore. And your Seed (Heir) will possess the gate of His enemies, and in your Seed (Christ) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed and (by Him) bless themselves, because you have heard and obeyed my voice." (Amplified Bible; vs. 17) Adam Clarke asserts, "We have the authority of the apostle Paul (Gal. 3:8, 16, 18) to restrict this promise to our blessed Lord, who was the Seed through whom alone all God's blessings of providence, mercy, grace, and glory should be conveyed to the nations of the earth." No wonder the place of such blessing would be called Jehovah-jireh—"In the mount of the Lord, it shall be seen." (vs. 14b) It all points to Jesus—true Love Himself! In these days, when many are so intent on redefining love, let Love define it—surrender to His Spirit, for even this He provides. May He truly be conspicuous before your eyes, within your heart, and in everything you think, do, and say. See the man, the Son of God Himself, and never lose His love! Copyright (c)
2005 Christ Our Rock Bible Church. |
