Jesus Saplings--November 30, 2023

Jesus Saplings--November 30, 2023

"Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. For 'All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.' That word is the good news that was announced to you." [1 Peter 1:22-25]

"What are you going to do, now that you don't HAVE to do anything?" That was the question of the late theologian Gerhard Forde, and I think he was on to something.

So much of what passes for popular Christianity turns the question the other way around: what do I have to do in order to... get into heaven, or get saved, or secure my salvation, or be acceptable to God... or whatever other phrasing you might use.  So much of Respectable Religion starts with the notion that I've got to do something, and then, IF my performance is satisfactory (I've prayed the right prayer, or I've done the right good deeds, or I've meant it sincerely enough when I invited Jesus into my heart, or whatever), then I can count myself as "saved."  But that always leaves me wondering whether I've done my part well enough. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, after all, and if my effort or faith or devotion aren't sufficiently solid, then it sure sounds like my salvation would be in question, too.

But blessedly, this is not actually the way the biblical writers think or talk.  The New Testament writers, just like this passage from what we call First Peter, start with what God has done, and see everything that we do as RESPONSE, rather than PRE-REQUISITE.  That makes all the difference in the world.  Listen to the way First Peter says it, "You have been born anew..." as in, it's an already accomplished fact.  And being born isn't something you achieve or accomplish--it's something that's given to you.  Mothers do the work to bear their children, with a possible partial assist from a doctor, nurse, or midwife.  But the one being born doesn't do any "labor"--you just find yourself given the gift of your own life.  And once you find yourself alive in this world, well, everything that follows (that is, your lifetime) is your response to a gift you were given before you were aware of it.

That's how First Peter talks about our life as disciples, too.  We've been born all over again, sprouting like seeds breaking through the soil, and because we've been given that new life, we are now freed to love.  But notice: it starts with the gift, and the response follows.  There is no precondition that says, "You have to put forth so many units of love before your application to the Heaven Club can be considered," but rather, "You've been given this new life in God's love, so now you're free to love people well and graciously."  It's almost like saying, "God planted you as a maple seed in the ground--now that you've sprouted up through the soil, you can put maple leaves out.  After all, that's what you are--a maple tree."  Love is our identity now; belonging to Jesus is the "kind of tree" we are, so to speak.  We can't help but put forth that kind of love, that kind of Christ-like character, back out into the world, because it is who we are. We are Jesus saplings, to so speak.

And notice this one other move that First Peter makes here: because the "seed" that has been planted in us is God's "enduring" word, we don't have to worry that our sapling faith won't make it through the snow or cold of winter.  Sure, other kinds of seeds and plants fail, wither, and falls to the ground--but God's word endures forever.  The endless endurance of God's word in us means that God's love won't let go of us, but will bring us to fruition, whatever that might look like in your life and mine.  In other words, it's because God's love never ends that we can be sure that God's love IN US will persist, grow, and blossom.

And when First Peter gets around to describing what that looks like in our lives, he comes back to love.  "Love one another deeply from the heart," he says.  Of all the things we could spend our time and energy on, good ol' Pete gives us only this direction: love each other.  There's not a mention of performing more religious rituals, or working to get more political power, or winning any culture wars.  The thing Peter points us toward, since we know we have been given new life in Christ, is how we love in response. 

So, what are we going to do with this day in front of us?  If we know we are already claimed by God's love that will not perish and will not end, we are freed from trying to impress God, and freed simply to love other people.  That opens up the day to all sorts of possibilities.  Let's see where we go from here.

Lord Jesus, free us to love.  Free us to grow as the creations you have planted.  Free us to respond to your love with this day.