SNS 010: Learning To Love, In Quick and Easy Steps?

Thank you for visiting.

Click on the white arrow in the green button above to hear this episode. Below are the show notes. Feel free to read along, check out the Bible references I make, and subscribe through the podcast service you prefer by clicking any of the buttons on the upper right side of this post.

Also, to click the like button or leave a comment, please click on the title above to take you to the actual post instead of this category listing page. When you do that simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and click like and comment away.

Thank you.

Show Notes

With all this talk about love, the question arises, “So what can we do to love as we should?” I mean, if we could just be given some quick and easy steps… the world would be a better place, right? Here’s the rub, we don’t all love in the same way. We are unique individuals with different needs and different views of what it means to be loving. So… what can we do? That is what we are going to explore here in episode10.

My name is Charles, and this is the Simple Not Shallow Podcast. A podcast for those who want a deeper faith, not a confusing one. That is what our name is about, keeping faith in Christ simple enough for a child like me to understand it and yet, not so shallow that when the storms of life hit, our faith runs aground. Here we go 

So… steps to take… I think I have found a good illustration of the problem of steps to take from the world of physical fitness. Say you want to get in shape and the trainer you go to says that the best way to get in overall good shape is to run. And he sets up a series of steps for you to take in order to get in shape by running. Week 1, run for 1/8 of a mile, and you will do this every other day. Week 2, run for ¼ of a mile. Week 3, ½ a mile and week four ¾ of a mile. And so on until you are able to run a marathon and be in great physical shape. This is a good series of steps to take. Granted a bit simplified, but this is an illustration and not a training program and it does highlight the problem with steps. What problem? The problem is this, how do these steps help one get in shape if they have bad knees and can’t run? Aren’t there other ways in which that person can get physically fit? Of course, there are.

How does this apply to learning how to love? One of the most amazing, enriching, and infuriating things I have experienced, in terms of God’s love, is that God deals with each of us as the unique individuals that we are. Meaning, that as God deals with each of us as we are and we must realize that the specifics of our lives will not always be the specifics in the lives of others. I am reminded of Jesus’ words to Peter concerning how he deals with others, “What is that to you? You follow me” (Jn 21:22).

And it is interesting that his teachings and commands always address us on levels that are deeper than that of mere action, of mere physical steps to be taken in order to reach a given end. For instance, his teaching that to be angry with a brother earns the same judgment as murder and that to look with lust is to commit adultery. (Matthew 5:21 – 28). As for a command, he says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another” (Jn 13:34). That is just about as step specific as it gets. So, what can we do?

Where do we go from here? Is there nothing to guide our way? I think there are two things we can safely say are rock-solid steps, much like, in the illustration about physical fitness, we could say that there are two rock-solid steps: to exercise and eat well. These are 1) to ask God for wisdom in learning how to love, for he gives this freely to all who ask for wisdom (James 1:5), and 2) to read the Bible. I mean, if we are asking him for wisdom, it might prove a good thing to listen to what he has to say. I know, I know… Crazy. But it might just prove informative.

For instance, check out this passage I stumbled upon. I found it in 2 Peter. In short, it says that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness. As we learned in episodes 2 and 3 of this podcast, this does involve love; loving Him and loving others. It doesn’t stop there. It also tells us what we need to be doing if we truly have accepted what God has given. We need to be adding to our faith, goodness; to goodness, knowledge; to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if we do this in increasing measure, we will be kept from being unproductive and ineffective in our knowledge of Jesus. If we don’t do these things, we will be near-sighted and blind. (2 Peter 1:1-11). If we do these things, we will never fail in our faith. This fits the gospel message perfectly. We come to Christ by faith, then life begins. Then we can start to learn to love (again, as we discovered in episodes 2 and 3). So, if we do these things, we will not fail to learn how. 

Notice too, that these are not steps, these go much deeper than mere actions to take. These touch on the development and growth of the new person Christ transforms us into (2 Corinthians 5:16 – 18). It’s about the development of character, of us as individuals as we grow in our relationship with God. And as we grow not only will we not stumble in our faith; we will also be partakers in God’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Which, resonates as true in light of John 15, the chapter about abiding in, remaining in Christ and his love. If we remain in his love, we will keep his commands, which is to love (John 15: 8 – 12). Doesn’t that make you head spin? And I’m not done yet.

For I also stumbled on to something quite intriguing in the book of Job. Yea, Job, the Old Testament. Oh yeah. In the passage I found, God tells Job to man up in order to have a conversation with Him (Job 38:3). A slight paraphrase, but isn’t that profound. “Man up Job and we’ll talk.” It seems that what we need to do is to become grown-ups. As mature adults we are to seek God’s promised wisdom and help in working out the salvation he has put in us; that is to work out how to love both him and our neighbors. 

I find it interesting, that in almost every other area of life, we as grown-ups do not need everything explicitly spelled out for us. Indeed, we can get more than annoyed at someone for doing so for us. We can, do, and even like to connect the dots and fill in the blanks with other things we have learned.

Perhaps God has given the list in 2 Peter in honor of this. Perhaps, as they are pondered and applied, he expects us to connect the dots, fill in the blanks, and learn how to love those he puts in our path. Perhaps by giving us this list, he is also giving us the wisdom and help we need to do so. What an intriguing thought.

Well, what do you think? I’d love to hear from you, so please, go to simplenotshallow.com, and under the Simple Not Shallow Podcast section, find this episode, #10, and leave a comment for me there. Also, in the show notes, I’ll list all the verses I referenced, in the order and at the location in the transcript at which I referenced them. That way you can check me out to make sure I’m not totally in left field.  Also, please take a second to rate this episode and subscribe to this podcast through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify… or whichever service you use. Thank you. I’ll catch you next time.

SNS 009: How Can I Honestly Forgive? Or: To Forgive and Forget?

Thank you for visiting.

Click on the white arrow in the green button above to hear this episode. Below are the show notes. Feel free to read along, check out the Bible references I make, and subscribe through the podcast service you prefer by clicking any of the buttons on the upper right side of this post.

Also, to click the like button or leave a comment, please click on the title above to take you to the actual post instead of this category listing page. When you do that simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and click like and comment away.

Thank you.

Show Notes

Last time we discussed expressing God’s love to those who are unlovely. Specifically, the one who cheated me out of money. Time was spent discussing how prayer is one expression of God’s love. Yet, how can I honestly ask God to bless the one who cheated me? This makes no sense. This is not fair. This is not just. How can this prayer ever be sincere? That is what we are going to explore here in episode 9.

My name is Charles, and this is the Simple Not Shallow Podcast. A podcast for those who want a deeper faith, not a confusing one. That is what our name is about, keeping faith in Christ simple enough for a child like me to understand it and yet, not so shallow that when the storms of life hit, our faith runs aground. 

How is this done? The simple answer… Forgiveness.

How can we forgive? By remembering how much we have been forgiven. In Matthew, there is a story that relates how important forgiveness is to God. In this story, a king forgave his servant but that servant did not forgive others. But his servant should have forgiven. The king showed mercy to his servant; his servant should have shown mercy. He didn’t and there was a huge price to pay (Matthew18:21-35). By forgiving and showing mercy, we are honoring God’s love and mercy by extending it to others.

This is not easy. It requires you to leave the shallows and journey forth on the depths of God’s love. In other words, spiritually speaking, this requires that you grow up. To realize that God’s love and his mercy are not limited in their application to you. They require you to apply them to others.

I have heard it objected, “I cannot forget what they have done! I cannot forgive this person.” This thought comes from an unfortunate yet popular phrase; “Forgive and Forget.” Meaning that for our forgiveness to be authentic, we must forget the wrong that has been done.

I think this has its basis in Psalm 103:12 and Jeremiah 31. In the first passage, God says he removes our sin as far as the east is from the west. In the second, he states that he will not remember them. I also think this tends to be used as a means of either escaping or wanting to impose consequences. To escape when used by the guilty party; to impose when used by the one who has been hurt.

Whatever the basis, there are problems with this type of forgetfulness. First, it is always God who says he will remember sins no more; we are not God. Second, while God commands us many times to forgive others, he never commands us to forget. Third, in terms of consequences, each of these positions is selfish; there is a profound lack of consideration for the other person. And fourth, God’s love and mercy are not found in selfish motivations.

Also, it is informative that when the Bible is looked at, in its entirety, the main thought behind forgiveness is that our sins are not held against us. For instance, in Romans, Paul teaches that sin is not accounted against us (Romans 4:8). Our sin is not counted against us, a pardon has been granted, the guilt has been removed, and in this sense, they are forgotten. The meaning is not a lack of memory, such as when we might forget to brush our teeth or to turn off a boiling pot of water. Rather, it concerns a lack of deserved condemnation. A wise friend once shared a very intriguing thought; it is precisely because we cannot forget that Jesus so often commands us to love and forgive.

Forgetfulness is also absent in Paul’s description of what love does in 1 Corinthians 13. Which says, Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t; behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails” (12 Corinthians 13:4 – 8).

Ok, did you notice that causing wrongs to be forgotten is not listed? It does say that love “takes no account of evil” (1 Cor 13:5). Sounds similar to the Romans passage (Romans 4:8) does it not? Love makes them of no account; they took place but the deserved guilt is gone. This is not the same as truly being forgotten. An important difference in words.

So, to forgive does not mean to pretend the wrong did not occur. Nor does it mean to forget the wrong occurred. It means we are not to hold wrongs done against those who have done them. Even as God has forgiven us, so we must forgive others “and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). An important note. This also does not mean that there are no consequences for wrongs done to you. There is a difference between not holding a wrong against someone and being wise enough to know, even with this being so, that the consequences for these actions must be enforced. Even if that means no longer relating to them. This takes wisdom, which we are encouraged to ask God for (James 1:5).

So, prayerfully focus on loving, forgiving, and extending God’s mercy. Ask for wisdom and leave the consequences in God’s hands (Romans 12:19).

Ask him to help you forgive. Then, once you have forgiven, ask God for wisdom in how to relate or not relate to those who have wronged you. Do not selfishly decide, ask God for wisdom and direction. Ask for his wisdom and you will receive it. Seek his guidance and you will find it (Matthew 7:7,8).

Ask him for the wisdom to love simply, love wisely, love well.

Well, what do you think? I’d love to hear from you, so please, go to simplenotshallow.com, and under the Simple Not Shallow Podcast section, find this episode, #9, and leave a comment for me there. Also, in the show notes, I’ll list all the verses I referenced, in the order and at the location in the transcript at which I referenced them. That way you can check me out to make sure I’m not totally in left field.  Also, please take a second to rate this episode and subscribe to this podcast through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify… or whichever service you use. Thank you. I’ll catch you next time.

SNS 008: Loving the Unlovable, an Example

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Click on the white arrow in the green button above to hear this episode. Below are the show notes. Feel free to read along, check out the Bible references I make, and subscribe through the podcast service you prefer by clicking any of the buttons on the upper right side of this post.

Also, please hit the like button and leave a comment below. I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Thank you.

Show Notes

Last time we spoke of what love may or may not entail. It has, since then, been on my mind to offer an example of what loving the unlovable looks like in my own life. This is by no means the sum total of how this is accomplished in my life. Nor is this meant to be an all-inclusive discussion on the matter. I am kind of expecting you to connect some of the dots and talk with God to determine how best to show his love to others. Anyway, this is what we are going to explore here in episode 8.

My name is Charles, and this is the Simple Not Shallow Podcast. A podcast for those who want a deeper faith, not a confusing one. That is what our name is about, keeping faith in Christ simple enough for a child like me to understand it and yet, not so shallow that when the storms of life hit, our faith runs aground. 

The example I’m sharing today is that of one who recently cheated me out of some money. I have debated how much detail to share and the conclusion I have reached is that I have now shared enough. Though I can say it was for more than $200. That is enough to get someone classified as unlovable, at least from my perspective.

So, how do I express God’s love to one who basically stole from me? The greatest good a Christian can do is to pray that God may draw the unlovable unto himself. And I prayed that he may do so through me. Did you catch that? Through me, the one who has been wronged. If God is the source of my joy and happiness how can I be so unloving as to not pray for those who also need his love in their lives?

You do not think this to be loving? Try it sometime. Offer yourself as a conduit through which God may demonstrate his love to one who has wronged you… and absolutely mean it. Ask God to bless them, to provide them with his joy and happiness, and that you be allowed to be a part of this. For we are warned against wishing someone well but then doing nothing to actually help them out (James 2:15 – 17). And make sure you are doing so without also secretly hoping that God gets even with them for the way they treated you. This involves forgiveness, which we will discuss next time.

But for now, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Laying down one’s life, one’s right to be avenged for wrongs done, one’s sense of fairness at having a wrong righted, one’s…. Well, to phrase it simply, to give up one’s right to one’s self so that all may know God, his love, and his forgiveness.

Yes, the above verses mention doing this for friends, yet Jesus also says, “Love your enemies, and do good to them” (Lk 6:35). Are not our enemies fairly unlovable to us? They are to me and I imagine I am not that unique in this perspective. I was very angry with the above individual. Very angry. Yet, Jesus further explains what he means by loving our enemy, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44). Love the unlovable, do good to them, and pray for them.

In other words, learn to love as Jesus does. Not as we would, but as he does. This is an important difference. Only God can teach you this.

And remember, by unlovable it is meant any trait that drives us to distraction. This could be found in an enemy, friend, co-worker, family member, or even a fellow church member. This unloveliness may have annoyed, embarrassed, or hurt us greatly. It is anything that causes us to not like someone. My example is merely the one that came quickest to mind.

Thankfully, this is not about being “perfect.” Love does not require perfection; love transforms into perfection. Otherwise, I would be in a world of hurt. Rather, this is about growing in and sharing God’s love, as much as possible and as wisely as possible. Jesus even says he will help us learn how. “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God… and it will be given to him” (Jas 1:5). “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Mt 7:7).

Let us pray (ask) for wisdom in loving well. I ask that you pray this for me even as I pray this for you. Asking that God “may give [us] a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph 1:17). It is as we implement this wisdom that we can:

Love simply, love wisely, and love well.

Well, what do you think? I’d love to hear from you, so please, go to simplenotshallow.com, and under the Simple Not Shallow Podcast section, find this episode, #8, and leave a comment for me there. Also, in the show notes, I’ll list all the verses I referenced, in the order and at the location in the transcript at which I referenced them. That way you can check me out to make sure I’m not totally in left field.  Also, please take a second to rate this episode and subscribe to this podcast through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify… or whichever service you use. Thank you. I’ll catch you next time.

Also, if you do not see the like button or the comment box, you are on the page that lists 5 episodes at a time. It is a default page that I can not skip.

To click the like button and leave a comment click here. This takes you to the individual post. Then simply scroll down to the bottom of the post and click like and comment away. Thank you for understanding.

SNS 007: Love, Does It Only Mean Being Nice?

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Click on the white arrow in the green button above to hear this episode. Below are the show notes. Feel free to read along, check out the Bible references I make, and subscribe through the podcast service you prefer by clicking any of the buttons on the upper right side of this post.

Also, please hit the like button and leave a comment below. I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Thank you.

Show Notes

When thinking of love, we tend to think of all those things that are nice and compassionate. Things which, avoid hurting another person’s feelings, things which actually make someone feel good, correct? I mean, it is imperative to play nice! Yet… is that all there is to love, being nice? Is there something else we need to learn that will help us see that love is deeper than mere niceties? That is what we are going to explore here in episode 7.

My name is Charles, and this is the Simple Not Shallow Podcast. A podcast for those who want a deeper faith, not a confusing one. That is what our name is about, keeping faith in Christ simple enough for a child like me to understand it and yet, not so shallow that when the storms of life hit, our faith runs aground. 

Being nice…. Right out of the gate, you might be asking, “What’s the big deal about being nice? Shouldn’t we as Christians be nice to folks? Being nice to people is a good thing, right? It can be. But I have found that too often, being nice is the good that is not good enough. That it is actually the good that is the enemy of the best. Let me explain.

I have found that love exceeds being nice as a glacier exceeds a piece of shaved ice. There really is no comparison. Oswald Chambers once said that lust counterfeits love as personality counterfeits character. I think the same can be said about being nice, though, it counterfeits both love and character. For being nice merely involves actions taken whether we mean them or not, love, on the other hand, is an inner motivation, that leads us to mean them whether we are feeling loving or not. A very profound difference. 

The first leads to being a pleasing and agreeable person. The second to being a caring, compassionate, and honest one (1 Corinthians 13). The first leads to being respectable, the second to showing respect to everyone (1 Peter 2:17). The first leads to being civil to those who mistreat you, the second to actually doing good to those who hate you (Matthew 5:44). The first may lead to politely saying nothing when evil is done to you or you are insulted. The second leads you to bless those who are doing these things (1 Peter 3:9). Are you seeing the difference?

And here is an interesting thought; being nice can actually be obnoxious and repugnant if these niceties are not motivated by love. I mean if keeping God’s religious laws without love are meaningless and obnoxious (1 Corinthians 13:1-3), wouldn’t mere trifling niceties be so as well? Haven’t you ever wished someone would just stop it when you knew their civility was empty and hollow?  I have, for that is true hypocrisy. 

Now, don’t misunderstand me. Treating people with respect, dignity, integrity, and honesty is vitally important. Having tact when dealing with others is of paramount importance. All of that is the loving thing to do. Yet, these are weightier matters than merely being pleasing and agreeable to others. Indeed, I have often grown the most when dealing with those who, while showing me respect and treating me with dignity, were not being either pleasing or agreeable. They were tactful and honest but not nice. Being nice is a societal limitation on behavior. Being loving is the behavioral empowerment from God to help others find abundance in life. 

Allow me to offer for your consideration a couple of interesting passages I have stumbled on in which our loving Lord, Jesus, says and does things that don’t seem very nice. Though, as we know, Jesus was always in God’s, the Father’s love and did all that the Father wanted of him (John 10:30; 15:10; 17:21). And since God is love (1 John 4:8, 16), Jesus was always loving in all he did. So, here are the passages in no particular order.

The first passage reads, “But Jesus, didn’t trust himself to them, because he knew everyone, and because he didn’t need for anyone to testify concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man” (Jn 2:24, 25). What an intriguing passage. Here, the one who is the embodiment of love does not entrust his well-being to those he loves. Yet, how is it nice to not trust those you say you love? Doesn’t that make your head spin? Though, love does make honest assessments and requires no more of the one loved than what he or she is capable of giving. This is honesty, integrity, the giving of dignity, but nothing to do with being nice.

 If that passage has given you cause to pause, then linger over this one, “I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men…” (Mt 10:16, 17). Beware of men, that is also not such a nice statement, right? Though, love does prepare and protect the ones loved and gives honest assessments of those involved. Yet, it bears no grudges; be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. Be wise, be harmless, and beware. To be loving, then, is to be cautious. To be loving is to be wise. To be loving is to be innocent and harmless. How intriguing.

But wait, there is more. Jesus, immediately after issuing a warning against being a hypocrite and condemning others for practicing lesser evils than you do, which seems nice enough, says something that might not be apparently so. “Don’t give what is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces” (Mt 7:6, 7). This doesn’t sound like such a nice thing to say, does it? I mean, is it not loving to share Jesus with others? Yes. But apparently, there is something deeper being said about what it means to love. Apparently, there is some wisdom needed in sharing holy things and loving others. Apparently to love is not a superficial warm and fuzzy gloss for our actions. Love, it now seems, does not belong to the poet, the coward, or the one who “plays nice.”

Because we are getting a little long here, we’ll have to leave a fuller exploration of that passage for another episode. For now, it is enough to see that there is more to God’s love than being nice and sometimes being nice can get in the way. So, for now, my prayer is that you will begin to pray; asking God to teach you how to love, to give you the wisdom (James 1:5) to love simply, wisely, and well. To… stay out of the shallows and enter the depths of God’s love. To learn to love so you can stop being merely nice. For that is where true life is found.

Well, what do you think? I’d love to hear from you, so please, go to simplenotshallow.com, and under the Simple Not Shallow Podcast section, find this episode, #7, and leave a comment for me there. Also, in the show notes, I’ll list all the verses I referenced, in the order and at the location in the transcript at which I referenced them. That way you can check me out to make sure I’m not totally in left field.  Also, please take a second to rate this episode and subscribe to this podcast through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify… or whichever service you use. Thank you. I’ll catch you next time.

Also, if you do not see the like button or the comment box, you are on the page that lists 5 episodes at a time. It is a default page that I can not skip.

To click the like button and leave a comment click here. This takes you to the individual post. Then simply scroll down to the bottom of the post and click like and comment away. Thank you for understanding.

SNS 006: Breaking the Cycle of Sin

Thank you for visiting.

Click on the white arrow in the green button above to hear this episode. Below are the show notes. Feel free to read along, check out the Bible references I make, and subscribe through the podcast service you prefer by clicking any of the buttons on the upper right side of this post.

Also, to click the like button or leave a comment, please click here. Then simply scroll down to the bottom of the post and click like and comment away.

Thank you.

Show Notes

So, the other day I was talking to a friend about how living the Christian life can be a struggle. Specifically, we were talking about those nagging little shortcomings that we all experience. You know the ones, those moments of caving to self-interest, to the sin we thought we had beaten, that we believed we had been delivered from only to have it sneak around and bit us on the butt yet again. Don’t pretend you that you don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s very unbecoming. But here’s the question, is there a way for a Christian to resist caving in, to prevent this sin from ever biting us again? That is what we are going to explore here in episode 6.

My name is Charles, and this is the Simple Not Shallow Podcast. A podcast for those who want a deeper faith, not a confusing one. That is what our name is about, keeping faith in Christ simple, simple enough for a child like me to understand it and yet, not so shallow that when the storms of life hit, our faith runs aground. Here we go.

As my friend and I were talking about this, we noted that our intentions are honest and good, we truly mean to guard against caving in, to never stumble that way again… and yet we do. We quickly thought of something Paul says in Romans 7 (verses 14-23) to mind. Here, Paul shares how he too was unable to break this cycle of stumbling yet again, and how he passionately wanted to break it. However, he could not. He could not stop himself from caving, nor could he make himself do what he truly wanted to do. So, I began to wonder, if Paul ever shared how he finally broke that cycle, for if he did, maybe I could too. So, I looked up Romans 7 and sure enough, Paul goes on to say that Jesus has saved him from this cycle of helplessness (verse 25). Just to make sure I had not read something into what Paul was saying, I checked out what all Paul had said about this. I found a passage in Romans 6 where Paul also says that we can now choose to not let sin reign over us, for sin is not our master, and we have been set free from it (Romans 6:8-23). John even says that this is the reason he wrote the letter of 1 John, to begin with, so that we will not sin (1 John 2:1). 

So how does all this play out? I mean, if Jesus is the one who breaks the cycle, why do we still stumble and fall? If sin is not our master and we have been set free from it, then why does it seem too powerful to resist? These questions set me on the path of thinking and investigating (I know… I know… I know… a dangerous to do, but I wanted an answer).

Now, before sharing too much of what I have discovered, I want to make sure we understand something very, very important, the Bible makes it quite clear that breaking of this cycle, that is the eradicating of all sinful actions from our lives, is not something we can do on our own. It is impossible for us to do; it is too strong. There are many passages which tell us this. Because of the limits of time, here I’ll only refer to two specific passages. 1) Paul’s statements in Romans 7 where he shares the need for Jesus to break this cycle and 2) Jesus’ statement in Mark 10 (verse 27) where he plainly states that such things are impossible for human beings to achieve and they are only possible for God to make happen. 

So, we are powerless to stop sinning by ourselves, yet, we are told, sin has no power over the Christian, and it is God that makes this the truth. The question then becomes, how does he do this? How is this cycle broken, for it seems that I am still in it? And why is it taking sooooooooo long?

While digging into this, I came across something and that I would like to offer it as a suggestion for you to consider. It resonates with me, and I would love to hear what you think about it. 

I found John to say something very interesting in the letter of 1 John. He says that whoever loves a brother is both full of light and that “there is no occasion for stumbling in him” (1 John 2:10). Did you hear that? That if I truly love others, I am free from the power of sin. Right away I was reminded of something in Matthew, the passage about the 2 greatest commands. Which are to love God with our entire being and our neighbor as ourselves. Specifically speaking, this brought up the verse that reads, “The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments” (Matthew 22: 37- 40). Which, also brought to mind passages in Romans and Galatians; both of which tell us why these two fulfill the whole of the law (Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:13-14). Simply put, if I am loving as God does, with our entire being and others as ourselves, I am fulfilling the whole law because love does no harm to our neighbor. And if I am doing this, I am free from sin. 

Track with me a second. For next, I stumbled onto something in 1 Corinthians. Here, Paul talks all about this type of love. He says that no matter what he does if it is not from love, he ends up being obnoxious sounding, is nothing, and gains nothing (1 Cor 13:1 – 3). So, efforts done without God’s love is the essence of doing nothing, of meaninglessness. Then he says something that is mind-blowingly simple, love is: patient and kind. It rejoices in truth, and always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. Love is not: envious, boastful, proud, rude, self-seeking, easily angered, a record keeper of wrongs, and takes no delight in evil (1 Cor 13:4 – 13). I see why John can say there is nothing that can cause a person to stumble if one is centered in love. 

This brings up one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, John 15. This is the chapter about abiding in Christ. Verses 9-17 speak about God’s love and remaining, that is abiding, in it. Here Jesus says that if we obey his commands, we will be abiding in him and our joy will be complete. And, “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Even as God has loved us... 

If we love one another we are abiding in Christ and are in his love; we are then full of light and there is nothing to cause us to stumble into sin. How simply profound. As I look back over my life, it is precisely at the times when I was most focused on loving God (on becoming centered in him and his love) that my struggles with sin stopped. And it is when I was no longer intently focused on this that the struggles resurfaced. I am not saying that this is a magic wand to be waved over your head and presto no more struggles. This takes growth, this takes time; all strong and vital relationships always do. What I’m saying is, this is a committed relational action, this is a way of life. Abiding in Christ is a daily choice and it is one that involves growth on your part. And as human beings we tend to grow slowly, we just do. But we do grow. And the more we grow, the less we will struggle with the same shortcomings. Others may arise, but that is a topic for a different episode.

So, back to the question, how is this done? How is focusing on loving God and growing in our relationship with him done? I have been studying the Psalms and I think I have found, in the very first one, an answer to this question. “But, if the law of our Lord is his delight and on his law, he will muse day and night; he will be happy. He will be as a tree planted by channels of water…” (Psalm 1:2-3). Musing on God and his law, day and night; that is, to muse on loving God and your neighbor day and night. To delight in loving God and our neighbor is the way of happiness; it is the way of being blessed. It is the way to grow in your relationship with God. The more you do this, the more God’s love will fill your heart, the more you will not be self-seeking, and so the more sin will be gone from your life. Removed by God as each and every day you choose to love him and allow his love to fill you. And make no mistake about it, it is God who removes the sin, not you. It is as his love fills you, engages you, motivates you, and becomes the lens that helps you stay focused on him, that it silently removes your tendency to choose sin (to choose your self-interests instead of God). If we do this, then one day we will look back in amazement, realizing that we were not even aware of that unbreakable cycle being broken. That is simple and not shallow.

Well, what do you think? I’d love to hear from you, so please, go to simplenotshallow.com, and under the Simple Not Shallow Podcast section, find this episode, #6, and leave a comment for me there. Also, in the show notes, I’ll list all the verses I referenced, in the order and at the location in the transcript at which I referenced them. That way you can check me out to make sure I’m not totally in left field.  Also, please take a second to rate this episode and subscribe to this podcast through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify… or whichever service you use. Thank you. I’ll catch you next time.