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Printer Friendly Version“More Clearly, More Dearly, More Nearly”
[The three ways to phrase the “points” are borrowed
from Walter Burghardt]
These are some of the most familiar verses in all of the Scriptures.
John 3:16 is the verse that somebody prints on poster boards and holds up
at the football games. Some of you may remember the guy who had the big, multi-colored
Afro who put this reference on his tee shirt and then jump in front of the
cameras at some sporting event. I’m talking about John 3:16. To most
of us, those are very familiar words.
And you and I both know that things that are familiar can often
become ordinary. And when things become ordinary they sometimes seem to lose
their importance. And when things begin to lose their importance, there is
the temptation for them to be neglected.
Frankly, there are so many things in our lives that are ordinary and routine
that one of the great temptations of life is the temptation of mediocrity.
Always . . . everywhere . . . in virtually every aspect of life, there is
the temptation to do just enough to get by. There is the temptation to do
thing with our eyes “half-open” . . . to do them “half-heartedly”
. . . and to go only “half-way.”
When Dawn and I moved to Richmond, Virginia in the summer of
1991, we didn’t really know anybody. We had no jobs. We had no place
to live. We moved so that I could begin graduate study that fall. So, we immediately
began looking for work. Dawn found a job within days . . .and because we had
only one car and she needed it . . . I had to find a job that was within walking
distance of our apartment. So I did. I started working at a grocery store.
I stocked shelves . . .and bagged groceries . . . and cleaned
up. That was my job. Most of the other employees doing that same job were
high school kids or college students who were home for the summer. They really
didn’t want to be there . . .but it was a job.
One of the daily tasks was to take a dust mop and sweep the aisles of the
store. That’s not a difficult thing to do . . .but it’s important.
Not many people will shop for groceries in a dirty store. But . . . over time
. . . as those aisles were dust-mopped, things that had fallen off the shelves
would simply get pushed under the huge food cases. People wouldn’t bother
to stop and pick the stuff up. They would simply push it under the shelves.
And, periodically, Mr. Hawley, the assistant manager, would come to me and
ask me to get a broom and not just “half-heartedly” clean the aisles
. . . but get down and pull everything out from under the shelves.
There is this lifelong and pervasive temptation to do things
“half-way.”
And that temptation not only affects our work, but it affects
our relationships, our church, and our spiritual condition.
Through this story in John’s gospel we’re given the
opportunity, spiritually, to leave living with our eyes only “half-open”
and come to the place where we see God more clearly.
That’s something we all need to do . . . see God more clearly.
Listen. There’s so much misleading stuff out there. There
is so much spiritual nonsense being promoted and publicized. There are so
many people preaching so much junk . . . being followed by so many . . . that
we need to commit ourselves to making the effort . . .and taking the time
. . .and allowing God to help us see Him more clearly!
We must not be folk who are “blown about by every wind
of doctrine” that comes along. We must not live with our eyes “half-open”
and never discover for ourselves if what someone proclaims or teaches is truly
biblical.
A renewed commitment to reading the Scriptures for ourselves
will help us to see God more clearly. A renewed devotion to attending Sunday
school or Bible study and worship where the Scriptures are discussed and interpreted
will help us see God more clearly.
And, I’m convinced that when we see God more clearly, the picture that
will shine through is the picture of a God who loves us. 1 John 4:8 says it
as clearly and as concisely as it can be said: “God is love.”
He loves us! And when we see that, it will dispel those blurry
images of God as somebody who doesn’t care . . . or is an angry, heavenly
“police officer” that’s just waiting for us to mess up so that
he can catch us. Seeing clearly that God is love and that He loves us will
destroy those false portrayals of God. It will destroy the idea that God is
like a permissive, old grandfather who will let us do whatever we want without
consequences. God loves us so much that He gives us guidelines for living.
He loves us so much that He wants to save us from the consequences of some
harmful things.
Seeing clearly that God loves us will dispel the idea that God is far-removed
and faraway. That’s just not true.
God is love!
He’s always been love. He’s always cared about his
people beyond what they deserved. All you have to do is look at the Scriptures
. . . study the Word.
When His people were slaves in Egypt. He heard their cries.
He saw their suffering. He delivered them!
When they became bitter and complained . . . when they moaned
and groaned . . .did God desert them in the desert? No! He fed them. He gave
them water. He was faithful to them even when they weren’t faithful to
Him.
When the people of Israel were doing their own thing and going
their own way, what did God do? He loved them enough to raise up prophets
to preach to them and point the way. Time after time after time.
When they continued to refuse his love, God loved them so much
that He punished them. If He didn’t care . . . if He didn’t love
. . .He would have let them do whatever they wanted. But, God loved them enough
to punish them.
Finally . . . when the time was right . . . God “sent His
only Son” . . . clothed in human flesh . . . pumping human blood . .
. breathing earth-bound air . . . to reveal to us how much God loves us!
If we’ll open our eyes . . .and see God more clearly .
. .we will see that God is love and that He loved us enough to send to us
His only Son, Jesus!
It seems clear to me that if and when we see God more clearly,
that’s when we’ll being to love him more dearly. That’s just
how it works.
But the question remains: “How do you do that? How do you
love God more dearly?”
I could offer you any number of answers . . .but I would prefer to point you
to a more reliable authority on love . . . that of Jesus Christ, who said:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandment.” [John 14:15].
Love for God will find expression. In fact, when it comes right
down to it, we all know that love is shown more than it is spoken. That’s
not say that words are not important . . . because they are. We all need to
hear those three short words . . . “I love you.” But, many of us
grew up in homes where those words were not tossed around lightly, and yet
we never questioned whether we were loved.
Words are important. There’s no doubt about that. But,
words without action is hypocrisy. Words without action is meaningless. Words
without action is sin.
So, how do you know if you really love God?
By doing what God wants you to do. By being obedient to the
Father. By living a life in accordance with the commands of God.
That may seem simple, but it’s certainly not easy.
Living obedient lives requires the grace, presence, and power
of God’s indwelling Spirit. You can’t do it in your own strength.
You can’t do it drawing solely from your own resources.
But, if you . . . .by the grace and help of God . . . see Him
more clearly . . . and love him more dearly . . .it will only make sense that
you will follow him more nearly.
That’s just how it will happen.
When you see Him more clearly . . . when you see that God is
love and that He loved you so much that He “sent His only Son” to
show you, you’ll love Him more dearly. Your love for Him will be the
only appropriate response to His love for you.
And when you love somebody, you want to be close to them. So
loving God more dearly will lead to following Him more nearly.
You’ll want to commune with Him privately and corporately
on a regular basis.
You’ll desire to obey Him and serve Him and live for Him.
You’ll want to further His influence and impact on our
world.
You’ll choose to get involved in what He’s interested
in . . . like others finding Him as their Savior . . . like the hurting being
helped . . .like the lost being found . . . the lonely being comforted . .
. the hungry being fed . . . the naked being clothed.
Following Christ more nearly will undoubtedly mean that you
can’t be as close to other or competing things. Some stuff . . .maybe
even some relationships . . . may have to be left behind. Life will have to
change if the overriding objective . . .if the ultimate goal. . is to follow
Christ.
Nicodemus was confronted with that reality.
What are you going to do with it?