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, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8,9
Love is one of those words that everyone uses but has different definitions for. Actually, that’s wrong. People don’t just have different definitions; they have wildly different definitions.
When it comes to love, we’re all over the place. People love their dog. They love their car. They love their great-aunt’s beef stew with gravy. They love to study history. They love their kids. They love watching football. They love to play cards. They love their spouse. They love their job. They love to drink coffee first thing in the morning.
I know that there are people who have experienced love at first sight. For some, love is a long, slow-moving train that eventually arrives. For me, it was a combination of fast and gradual. Speed followed by slow. Actually, it was more slow then speed. Sometimes stopping altogether. Up, then down. Right, then left.
Mary Ann and I had been dating for a while. We had dated, broken up, and got back together a couple of times. But now things were really going well between us. We were having lots of fun together. But did I love her? I didn’t think so. But then again, how would I know.
All that changed when I stopped to make a left-hand turn from Loch Raven Boulevard onto Hillen Road one evening. I was just sitting there, waiting for the traffic to clear so I could make the turn on my way to play basketball. I was happily just sitting there, thanking God for how good he was.
I don’t know if you do this or not, but I pray out loud when I’m alone in my car. As the words came from my head and my heart while waiting to turn, I wondered where they came from. They weren’t just new, they were revolutionary. They were wild. I heard myself speak words that I’d never said in my life.
The words that came out of nowhere sounded like this. “I was OK when I was alone. But I was always happier when I was with Mary Ann. I wanted to be with Mary Ann all the time. For the rest of my life, I want to be with her. Dear Lord, I love her.”
But no matter how love arrives, love never just gets there. Love isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. No matter how love comes, it must continue as a process that moves along in steps. Each step is different than the next. Steps can come slow or fast. Some move us forward, others backwards. Sometimes one way, then another.
When it comes to faith in Jesus, Peter’s saying something very important to us and these people. He’s telling us that personal experience doesn’t make someone special. More important.
Peter knew Jesus while on earth. He heard the call from Jesus to follow him and to become a fisher of men. He watched as the miracles changed people’s lives. He heard the sermons and the way people responded. He received the Lord’s Supper from him. He saw Jesus arrested and taken away with his hands tied up. He also saw the resurrected Christ and saw him rise up into heaven.
The people that Peter was writing to didn’t experience any of these things. They never met Jesus as a person who walked on this planet. They only heard the stories and saw the changed lives of people who believed in Jesus. They believed even though they had not seen.
Then Jesus told him (Thomas), “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:29
These people were second generation Christians. They had never experienced Jesus in this world, but that didn’t stop them from believing in him. By meeting with and listening to people who knew Jesus, they heard the truth and gave themselves to Jesus also.
And the really good news is that this is exactly what Jesus predicted and wanted to do. He knew that for the Good News to spread beyond Israel, that it had to be done without him being here on Earth. He told his disciples that it was better for him to go instead of staying around. After he left this world, Jesus would send the Advocate, the Comforter, the Helper, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit[1].
So, to be living in God’s steps of love, we don’t need some great personal meeting with Jesus. We don’t have to shake his hand or give him a fist bump. We don’t have to hear his words in his voice. The world doesn’t need great and powerful miracles to come to faith in Jesus. If we love Jesus, we’ll keep his commandments[2]. The world will be convinced by the way we love one another[3]. There’s a watching world out there looking for how Christians treat one another and everyone else. Will we take the steps of love like how Jesus stepped up for us>
Noodling Questions.
How have you received steps of love in your life? Explain.
Why are many steps better than one great leap of love?
What ons step of love is the hardest for you? Why?
[1] John 16:7
[2] John 14:15
[3] John 13:35
Comments