Controlled by Love

One of the beautiful scenes in the Christmas story is that of the angels visiting the shepherds the night Jesus was born. Last year I wrote two articles (Part 1 & Part 2) on the last phrase of their announcment, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.” (Lk. 2:14). I emphasized that this statement reveals the two foundational reasons for the Savior’s birth: to bring (1) glory to the Father who is in the highest and (2) peace to favored men who are on earth. I want to discuss the second here (peace), considering what peace Jesus brought to earth and to whom on earth.

Man sinned and broke His peaceful relationship with God. He hated God and rejected His authority and laws (Rom. 1). God was angry with man, waiting to pour out His righteous wrath upon us rebels. But while we were yet enemies of God, Christ accomplished reconciliation. He restored our relationship with God, erasing all hostility between us. He did this by His death (Rom. 5:10). The God-man hung on the cross, shedding His blood to bring us near to His Father (Eph. 2:13). He became the final peace offering, absorbing our punishment to bring us peace (Is. 53:5). This is why the Prince of Peace came, visiting us from on high: to guide our feet into the way of peace (Lk. 1:78-79).

As puritan Thomas Watson said, “He came into the world with a song of peace: ‘On earth peace’; He went out of the world with a legacy of peace, ‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you.’ Christ’s earnest prayer was for peace; He prayed that His people might be one. Christ not only prayed for peace, but bled for peace: ‘Having made peace through the blood of His cross.’…As He prayed for peace, so He paid for peace.”

He brought peace to earth, but not to every person on earth. He brought peace only for those who receive Him, or as the verse states, “among those with whom he is pleased.” The Father chose a select group whom He loved and delighted in, and to these He gives peace. What beautiful love and grace is displayed through the gift of peace!

My brother, my sister, you who follow Jesus, you have tasted the sweetness of this gift of peace. You know the joy of forgiven sin, the deep satisfaction of walking with your Father, the contentment of His remaining Presence, the nourishment of His precious words, the rest of anxiety-casting prayer, and the edifying fellowship of His people. We share in all these blessing because Jesus has come and given us peace. Let these truths fill your mind with a meditation and ignite your heart with a burst of thanksgiving to God for such a Gift of peace.

God is so good to me. He richly provides me with everything to enjoy.  When I stop and consider what he has done, my hearts thrills with a song of thanksgiving. He made me; He saved me, and daily sustains me!

Yet my  song was drowned out with the noise of the world’s cravings. Lovers of self, money, and pleasure all sang of self-getting. Their song seemed so fulfilling, and I almost joined in.

But then I remembered the words of my Friend, “You have food; you have clothing, and with these be content.  A longing for riches will lead to your ruin, so flee from these cravings and seek after Me. I am your fountain, leave the puddles to be.” (cf. 1 Tim 6:8-11)

Now, in the stillness and peace of the night, my heart is still singing with thanks to my God. “Thank You for being so all-satisfyingly good.  I’ll sing on in unceasing thanksgiving to You.”

Luke 5:29-32
In this story Jesus blows the religious conceptions of the day out of the water. Instead of hanging out with the religious people, He eats meals, a main social event of the day, with those people from whom the religious leaders had distanced themselves. He hangs out with “sinners.”
But before we immediately criticize the Pharisees, we should recognize that their motives weren’t all bad. They were interested in ritual holiness and wanted to be free from the contamination of sin.
But their logic was terribly flawed. And in fact, whenever we seek to distance ourselves from non-Christians in order to protect ourselves, we expose a heart that agrees with their philosophy.
Why do we not hang out with non-Christians? Let’s explore some of the reasons.

1) Fear: Deep down, we still believe that our holiness is dependent on our circumstances instead of our hearts. When we fear being contaminated by the sin around us, we must remember that the problem is never around us; it is always inside us (Mark 7:20-23). Should we still fear sin? Yes (Jude 23), but the fear must not push us away from those in sin; rather, it should push us closer to the cross and a living awareness of our death to sin. Isolation from “sinners” never guarantees our holiness. The only guarantee of our holiness is the redemption Jesus purchased for us at the cross. And that is claimed by faith, not by manipulating circumstances.

2) Laziness: We simply don’t want to take the time to plan and strategize to build relationships with others. We like the social comfort of not having to purposefully live and speak the gospel. And we love this comfort because we don’t really believe that Jesus is worth everything we have and are. We are not driven to enter peoples’ lives for the sake of the gospel because we don’t believe that Jesus is better than our social comfort.

3) Disobedience: We think the mission of the gospel is something optional, something for those who “have it together.” We isolate the mission to events such as church activities. But God meant the mission to pervade even the most mundane moments of our lives—like eating! We just don’t see the good news of Jesus as really that good. And our isolation is just plain sin.

4) Self-righteousness: Here’s the heart of Jesus’ teaching. By even calling non-Christians “sinners,” we subtly agree with the Pharisees’ philosophy. They saw themselves in a different class; they assumed that their ceremonial holiness had made them different. When we place non-Christians in a different class and then distance ourselves from them, we deny the gospel. The gospel levels everyone at the cross because everyone brutally murdered Jesus. We like to hide behind a wall of self-righteousness because it makes us feel better about ourselves and keeps us from facing the dark realities of our heart. The reality of our sin destroys every inclination to superiority and gives us humility in our interactions with others. Jesus’ death and resurrection is such good news that we dare not pervert it by self-righteous isolationism.

I’m writing this primarily because I needed this wake up call. When was the last time I purposefully ate with non-Christians? How deeply am I willing to be involved in their lives in order to call them to repentance? I sit in my safe house surrounded by all my theology books, read Christian blogs, hang out with Christian friends, and then make reconnaissance missions into the world to salve my conscience. But where is the heart of love for non-Christians that is willing to befriend them and love them into the kingdom?

So, how will we plan to “eat” with non-Christians today?

“[Paul & Barnabas] returned
to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
strengthening the souls of the disciples,
encouraging them to continue in the faith,
and saying that through many tribulations
we must enter the kingdom of God.”
Acts 14:21-22

We who follow Jesus desperately need our souls strengthened in suffering. Like weary soldiers we’ve battled long and hard through the battles of life wondering if this war will ever end. Like marathon runners we’ve run up so many hills and almost forgotten that the finish line exists. And like  hardworking farmers we labored for weeks under the heat of the sun with little hope that harvest will ever come. So it was with the Christians of the first century. They too needed strength in their suffering. And for this reason God sent Paul and Barnabas to visit them, to strengthen their souls through “encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

Notice that part of the message of encouragement was reminding them of the reality of present and ongoing suffering. They needed to understand that following Jesus meant following Him through suffering. Jesus taught, “The Son of Man must suffer many things… [and] if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Lk, 9:22-23). True followers of Jesus should expect suffering and willingly bear their crosses.

There will be new crosses, new types of sufferings from new enemies, for we no longer follow our sinful passions and pleasures but wage war against them. We no longer follow the vanity fair of this world, but resist affection for it and conformity to it while traveling as pilgrims through it. And we no longer serve the devil but resist his attacks,  standing firm on gospel truth.

“[So let us] be content to pass through all difficulties in the way to heaven. Though the path is before you, and you may walk in it if you desire, yet it is a way that is ascending, and filled with many difficulties and obstacles. That glorious city of light and love is, as it were, on the top of a high hill or mountain, and there is no way to it but by upward and arduous steps. But though the ascent be difficult, and the way full of trials, still it is worth your while to meet them all for the sake of coming and dwelling in such a glorious city at last.

“Be willing, then, to undergo the labor, and meet the toil, and overcome the difficulty. What is it all in comparison with the sweet rest that is at your journey’s end? Be willing to cross the natural inclination of flesh and blood, which is downward, and press onward and upward to the prize. At every step it will be easier and easier to ascend; and the higher your ascent, the more will you be cheered by the glorious prospect before you, and by a nearer view of that heavenly city where in a little while you shall forever be at rest.”

–Last 2 paragraphs from Jonathan Edwards, Heaven, A World of Love

The Lord strengthened my faith today through the preaching of the Word from brother C.H. Spurgeon (a re-preached sermon). I’m sharing an excerpt from it here, that you too may be built up. May the Spirit deeply impress us with this profound promise, that we may truly grasp it and walk it by faith.

He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5b

“As I repeat these words, they may not seem to you to have much power in them, but if the Holy Spirit will impress these simple syllables upon your heart, they will come to you full of the music of heaven, and you will realize that it is God who saith, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

“…Beloved, this choice promise provides against all troubles. We do not know what troubles may come upon us… but whatever they may be, “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

“There may come to us great losses. Our riches may take to themselves wings, and fly away; where we had large estates, we may be without a place whereon to lay our head; but, “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” We may be the victims of cruel slanders, and under the pressure of those slanders those that used to respect us may avoid us, and former friends may be alienated from us; but “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

“We may have to suffer great pain, and the earthly physician may be unable to relieve us; but God’s promise will still avail us, for “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Sore sinking of heart may come upon us, and all God’s waves and billows may roll over us; but “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

“In the course of our service for God, we may meet with many difficulties; where we looked for helpers, we may find opponents; but let us still press onward, for “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” We may have to remove to distant lands, but “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

“Days of weakness may come to us, when the pillars of the house shall tremble, when they that look out of the windows shall be darkened, and the grinders shall fail because they are few; the infirmities of old age may tell upon us; but “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” And with old age may come the loss of children and friends, till we seem left, “like the last rose of summer,” or the last sere leaf of the woods in the autumn; yet “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

“And then shall come the chill river of death, and the gathering darkness of the night; but “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” And after that shall come another world, where our spirit shall fly through tracks unknown, and where new and wondrous scenes shall burst upon our astonished view; and, in the fullness of time, Christ shall come, and the last great battle shall be fought; but whatever is to be, or is not to be, a Christian has nothing to fear, for “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

“Come forth, thou dragon bound with the chain, and ravage the world again if so it must be; rise, Antichrist, from thy den amidst the seven hills, pollute the churches once again if thou canst; let war and bloodshed, famine and pestilence break loose again with unwonted fury; but whatever happens, in time or in eternity, “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

“‘Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.’ If the Lord of hosts is with us, what ground can there be for fear? I know of no supposed dangers, no imaginable troubles, no conceivable difficulties, through which, and out of which, and beyond which this text will not carry us, if by faith we grasp it, ‘He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’”

-C.H. Spurgeon, “Never, No Never, No Never” (sermon #3150)

Read or hear the full sermon

Three years ago I wrote this simple song for my mom on mother’s day, and its a tradition now for my family to sing it to her each year. I share it, hoping it will stir up a spirit of thanksgiving to God for our excellent mothers.

An excellent wife who can find?
She far more precious than jewels.
An excellent mother they’re so few
But God blessed us with you.

All of us here thank God for you.
We rise up and call you blessed
Your husband praises you and we just join right in
We thank God for you.

Mother, you look well to the ways of your house;
You don’t just sit around;
You work to feed us home-cooked meals;
Yes, God blessed us with you.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain;
Not she who fears the LORD.
She’s to be praised with a beautiful heart;
We see this heart in You.

Play Audio

Words and music by Matt Hancock
Written in honor of my excellent mother, Mother’s Day 2008

“I am afraid the private devotions of many are most painfully scanty and limited; just enough to prove they are alive and no more. They really seem to want little from God. They seem to have little to confess, little to ask for, and little to thank him for…. They have not, because they ask not.”

“Do you pray? I ask whether you pray, because diligence in prayer is the secret of eminent holiness: Without controversy there is a vast difference among true Christians. There is an immense interval between the foremost and the hindermost in the army of God.

“They are all fighting the same good fight but how much more valiantly some fight than others. They are all doing the Lord’s work but how much more some do than others. They are all light in the Lord; but how much more brightly some shine than others. They are all running the same race; but how much faster some get on than others. They all love the same Lord and Savior; but how much more some love him than others….”

“There are some of the Lord’s people who seem never able to get on from the time of their conversion. They are born again, but they remain babes all their lives. You hear from them the same old experience. You remark in them the same want of spiritual appetite, the same want of interest in any thing beyond their own little circle, which you remarked ten years ago….”

“There are others of the Lord’s people who seem to be always advancing. They grow like the grass after rain…. ever adding grace to grace, and faith to faith, and strength to strength. Every time you meet them their hearts seem larger, and their spiritual stature taller and stronger. Every year they appear to see more, and know more, and believe more, and feel more in their religion. They not only have good works to prove the reality of their faith, but they are zealous of them. They not only do well, but they are unwearied in well-doing. They attempt great things, and they do great things. When they fail they try again, and when they fall they are soon up again. And all this time they think themselves poor, unprofitable servants, and fancy they do nothing at all…. When you meet them, you could believe that like Moses, they had just come out from the presence of God. When you part with them you feel warmed by their company, as if your soul had been near a fire….”

“Now how can we account for the difference which I have just described? What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much.

“When a man is once converted to God, his progress in holiness will be much in accordance with his own diligence in the use of God’s appointed means…. Do you wish to grow in grace and be a devoted Christian? Be very sure, if you wish it, you could not have a more important question than this – Do you pray?”

“I commend to you the importance of making prayer a regular business of life…. God is a God of order…. Disorder is eminently one of the fruits of sin. But I would not bring any under bondage. This only I say, that it is essential to your soul’s health to make praying a part of the business of every twenty four hours in your life. Just as you allot time to eating, sleeping, and business, so also allot time to prayer…. Settle it in your minds, that prayer is one of the great things of every day. Do not drive it into a corner. Do not give it the scraps and parings of your duty. Whatever else you make a business of, make a business of prayer.”

-Excerpts from A Call to Prayer by J.C. Ryle

My wife and I have received tremendous spiritual encouragement through the book The Basket of Flowers by Christoph Von Schmid (1878). He wrote this fictional book for teaching children biblical truth and wisdom through the life of James and his daughter Mary. James is a simple gardener who is consumed with the Word, filled with the Spirit, and deeply in love with God. What a conviction this character is to me, especially as an exemplary Father!

The following paragraphs are excerpts from the story, showing how James used Scripture and nature to train his daughter in the way she should go. I trust this will be an encouragement and challenge for us to (1) take in God’s Word and (2) listen to nature declare God’s glory, praying for Him to open our eyes to His Law and His creation.

“James took advantage of his daughter’s love for flowers, to give her many lessons of heavenly wisdom. ‘He found Religious meanings in the forms of Nature’ (Coleridge). … He had the spiritual eye which can see the Creator in His words, and read the blessed messages He sends His children, and the clear and enlightened faith which thus holds communion with God. He felt ‘how near we are to God in ever part of His creation, when alive unto Him through Jesus Christ our Lord.’…

“In the season of roses and lilies, James said one morning, pointing to the spotless white of a beautiful lily, rendered still more dazzling by the rays of the sun shining full upon it, ‘This lily, my dear child, is the emblem of purity. How easily its bright leaves are stained! Scarcely can they be touched when they are injured. Thus the very least approach of vice pollutes and corrupts the soul.

“Pray, dear Mary, for the purity of heart. Remember that though polluted by nature, we may nevertheless, be washed free from the stain in the Fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness, and that God has promised that though our sins are red as crimson, they shall be white as snow.’ None but the pure in heart shall see God; none but those washed and clothed in the spotless white robe of Christ’s righteousness shall ever sit down at the marriage-supper of the Lamb….

“Thus did Mary, day by day, learn from her good old father to use the eyes of her minds, as well as her bodily eyes, and to see in the beautiful things around her the lessons they were intended to teach. Have you, who read this little book, thus learned to use your eyes? Do you know that the eyes of your mind are naturally darkened, so that you can neither read with understanding the book of Nature, or the book of God’s Word?

“When David prays, ‘Open mine eyes, that I may see wonderful things out of thy law,’ he speaks of the eyes of the mind, which must be opened before the Bible can be rightly understood; and in the same way we must pray to God to open our eyes before we can see Him in His works, and learn the lessons He has inscribed upon them.

“If your eyes are not yet opened, young readers, you are losing a rich source of pleasure, as well as profit. Pray to God to open them, then go into the free air, with the Bible for your interpreter, and read the lessons that Mary read. Listen to hear the still small voice that speaks from among the birds and the flowers, and if you once hear it, you will find the enjoyment so sweet, you will ever wish to hear it again, you will love it more than can be told, [and] you will wonder at your former blindness.”

- from A Basket of Flowers, by Christopher Von Schmid

After thousands of years of waiting Jesus was born, and that night the angel of the Lord appeared to some shepherds with the good news of great joy (Lk. 2:10-12). By the time he got to the last two lines of his message, the whole sky was filled with an enormous host of angels praising God and declaring together, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.” (Lk. 2:14)

Notice again the two foundational reasons for the Savior’s birth: to bring (1) glory to the Father who is in the highest and (2) peace to favored men who are on earth. I want to discuss the first here (glory), considering the position of God the Father and how Jesus glorified the Father by His birth.

The Position of God the Father: “In the Highest”
God is the Most High, dwelling in the high and holy place ( Is. 57:15), sitting upon the exalted throne of heaven (Is. 6:1; Ps. 123:1), reigning with absolute authority over the devil, fallen and holy angels, and all rulers of the earth. No one is like Him in power, so no one can stop His hand. He accomplishes his will among the host of heaven and among the people of the earth without any competing opposition (Dan. 4:34-35).

Since God reigns in highest position, He is worthy of all praise and glory from His creatures and has the right to seek it for Himself. In fact, He must value and pursue His own glory because there is no person greater and no purpose higher than His own pleasure (cf. Is.42:8). He is in the heavens, and He does all that He pleases (Ps. 115:3).

It’s so easy to forget that God is in the highest, that He is the sovereign King running the entire universe. We have to daily remind ourselves that He is # 1 and live in pursuit of His praise, forsaking our own desire for praise. “Lord GOD, help me remember that You are the Creator, and I am the creature; You are my Master, and I am Your slave; You are my King, and I am your subject. Help me believe this and live this today.”

How Jesus’ Incarnation Glorified the Father: “Glory to God”
What a difficult and complex question! When I try to grasp these Trinitarian concepts in hard texts like John 13:31-32 and John 17:3-4, I confess my ignorance with Agur, “I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended to heaven and come down?” (Prov. 30:3-4). At the same time I know God wants me wrestle toward understanding the truths he has revealed in His Word.

From my understanding, the Bible reveals at least 4 ways Jesus brought glory to His Father through the incarnation. The first two emphasize His humanity and the later two His deity: (1) He lived and spoke to exalt His Father (Jn. 8:29); (2) He humbly obeyed His Father’s mission (Jn. 17:3-4; Mt. 3:17); (3) He revealed the Father’s glory (Heb 1:3); And (4) He was exalted after finishing the mission (Jn. 17:3-4; Phil. 2:9-11). I want to briefly expand the first, and then make application.

Jesus lived and spoke to exalt His Father. He said, “I always do the things that are pleasing to him” (Jn. 8:29b). His waking resolve was, “Today, I will do only that which pleases my Father.” He said that His food (what kept Him going) was “to do the will of His Father and accomplish His work.” He was fully committed to and driven by pleasing His Father, even if it meant discomfort, suffering, and death.

What an example for us to follow! Here lies an essential part of our growth in Christlikeness, the transformation of our will to function more in line with Jesus. Our desires have been distorted by sin and need to be bent back toward God-exaltation. We must deny our self-focused desires if we are going to live a God-focused life like Jesus did.

So let us kindle the flame of our love for God and His will, by taking His Word into our hearts and pleading for Him to change us in prayer. Let us confirm with Christ, “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8). And let us pray with the Psalmist, “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!” (Ps. 119:36).

“O God, thank you for providing such a perfect example through the sending of Your Son. Help me to follow in His God-exalting steps, that my desires, thoughts, words, and actions may all be motivated by and directed toward exalting You, my Creator and King. Make this ten-word motto characteristic of my life, “I always do the things that are pleasing to him” (Jn. 8:29b).

see Why God Became Man (Part 3)

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”
Luke 2:14

Why did God become man? We find the answer within Luke’s the narrative of Jesus’ birth (2:8-14). The same night Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord appeared to some shepherds with good news of great joy. This single angel declared the who, what, when, and where of the incarnation (2:10-12), but by the time he got to the why, the whole sky was filled with an enormous host of angels praising God and declaring together, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.” (2:14). Simply understood within context, the angels are saying “This is why the Savior is born: to bring (1) glory to the Father who is in the highest and (2) to bring peace to favored men who are on earth.” What a glorious scene, and what profound words!

I have been meditating on these words for the past few weeks, and have just begun to mine the treasures of these inexaustible truths. Oh how sweet are the words of God when drawn out by prayer, study, and ongoing meditation. Lord willing, I want to share more what the Spirit has taught me here on controlled by love. Until then, here is a illustrative picture that has helped me encapsulate the message of the angels. I hope it prompts your own meditation on God’s purpose for the incarnation and fills your heart with praise during this Christmas season.