During the six years I lived in Campbeltown I became good friends with a young man who worked at the American Airbase at Machrihanish. We met at 6.30am each Tuesday for bible study and prayer. On a number of occasions he placed a small card in the pulpit which I got when I stood up to preach. I still have one of the cards. On one side it has the words of the singer Michael Card: “He loves you with passion, without regret. He cannot love more, he will not love less.”
On the other side it simply says, “Love them!”
The card reminds me of a central tenet of the Christian life and one that has blessed me as I read Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians in the early part of the week. In 1:2-3 he writes:
“We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we talk to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NLT).
What Paul especially remembered about the Thessalonians was the three primary Christian graces which characterised their lives: faith, love and hope.
Faith, love and hope are the evidences of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Together they completely reorientate our lives, as we find ourselves being drawn up towards God in faith, out towards others in love and on towards the Lord’s coming in hope. The Christian life means little or nothing if it doesn’t pull us out of our own fallen self interests and redirects us towards Christ and our fellow human beings.
John Calvin, the great second generation reformer, referred to this verse as ”a brief definition of true Christianity.” It is a classic description of what a truly authentic Christian life looks like. We find here the principles which form our character as Christians.
The faith in Christ that changes our lives and shapes our destiny is also the one that shapes our attitude to others…“Love them!”
(Picture, On a walk near our home)
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