Last week we answered the question What Would Jesus Do? by saying, He Would Love First. In love, Jesus welcomed people, served people, and healed people. In the cross, we see the love of Jesus given for all people and redeem all people. God so loved the world that (in love) He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Love is what Jesus did first, last and always. As we finish our series on love, we are going to look at 3 specific ways Jesus loved that give us a framework of how we can not only love but grow in our faith.
When we step back and look at the life of Jesus, we see 3 primary relationships that guided His life and in each relationship, Jesus allowed love to shape Him. Jesus had a relationship with God (His father), the church (or the disciples and that community of believers that formed around Him) and the world. (3R image)
These are the same three relationships we focus on when we talk about how we can grow in our faith. We will deepen our faith when we allow love to define these 3 relationships and give shape to the rhythms we find in each.
Clearly the strongest love we see in Jesus’ life is the love He had for God. Jesus is perhaps the only one ever who loved God with ALL His heart and soul and mind and strength. Throughout His life we see that Jesus had a strong relationship with God. As a child, Jesus stayed behind in the Temple when His family returned to Nazareth. When His parents finally found Him, Jesus was sitting among the teachers and religious leaders listening to them and asking them questions.
Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house. Luke 2:47-49
From an early age, Jesus knew He and God were in a unique and special relationship and all through His life we find Jesus taking time out to connect with God in prayer. Those times of prayer and healing, God’s word shaped Jesus’ life, and in love He was obedient to God in all things. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night Jesus was arrested and betrayed, and the day before He would be crucified, Jesus was again praying. He was asking God if there might be a way to complete God’s mission without dying on a cross. It was in that prayer that Jesus fully revealed Himself to God, and also fully submitted Himself to God and was obedient to God’s will. Jesus said, Not my will be done, but Your will be done.
Jesus' love for His father guided all that He did and that was one of the relationships that gave direction to the life of Jesus. Another relationship that guided Jesus' life was the relationship He established with His disciples, who in time became the church. The first thing Jesus did after His baptism as an adult, and at the beginning of His ministry, was to choose 4 disciples that became the foundation of His team of 12.
Peter, Andrew, James and John were all fishermen who worked together, and it’s interesting to note that from the beginning Jesus didn’t choose 4 individual people, but a team, a family, a community. Jesus’ goal was to build a community that could love and support one another knowing that it would be the community, the family of God, the church, that would transform the world.
Jesus not only chose a team of 12, but He was surrounded by a larger group of people who were devoted to Him. Jesus gave Himself in love to all His disciples when He taught them, when He performed miracles that they could witness and be part of, when He led them to do things they never imagined they would do, and when He empowered them to carry on His work in the world. It was the love of Jesus that gave shape to the larger family, the church. These were powerful relationships of love that gave shape to Jesus' life and mission as well as being the community that has transformed the world.
The world is the last relationship that we see in the life of Jesus. Jesus didn't just love His disciples and those who followed Him, He loved everyone. At the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus was at the home of Simon Peter, and He healed his mother in law. Word of this healing and the power of Jesus spread quickly and the entire town showed up to be healed.
That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. Mark 1:32-34
Jesus hadn’t just come for a few people who said they believed in Him, He came to be a blessing to everyone. He came for Jews and Gentiles. We find Jesus offering grace and bringing healing to Samaritans and Syro-Phoenicians. He reached out to Roman guards and Temple leaders. He cared for Pharisees and tax collectors. No one was beyond His love and Jesus made clear that His love could save and redeem all people.
In what has come to be known as the great commission, Jesus said that the good news of forgiveness and salvation is for all the world.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
During His life, Jesus had a relationship with the world, and after His death and resurrection, He made clear that His people, His church, was to reach out in love to all the world.
Three relationships guided Jesus’ life: a relationship with God, the church, and the world. And love helped shape each relationship. Following Jesus, means focusing on these 3 relationships and allowing love to give them shape. So here at Faith Church, when we talk about what it means to follow Jesus and grow in our faith, we talk about our need to focus on and develop a deeper relationship with God, the church, and the world.
One of the ways we can make sure love is shaping these 3 relationships is by looking at the 5 rhythms that make up each relationship. These rhythms aren’t a to-do list as much as they are ways love can be experienced and expressed in each relationship.
In our relationship with God there are these 5 rhythms:
Passion - Jesus is the center of my life
Scripture - My life is directed by the Bible
Prayer - Conversations with God overflow to every area of my life
Obedience - I listen to the Holy Spirit and obey
Identity - I know who I am in Christ and live accordingly
One of the important things to notice is that each of the rhythms can also be seen in the life and love of Jesus. For example, Jesus' love for God was at the center of His life. Love for God’s word gave direction to His life. Jesus’ love for God moved Him to intentional times of prayer, and because Jesus loved God with ALL He had, he was obedient to God’s will. In each of the 3 relationships we see the love of Jesus breathe life into the rhythms that shape each relationship.
As we look at the rhythms that make up our relationship with God, we need to ask ourselves:
Is our love for Jesus at the center of our life?
Do we love God and His word so much that we allow it to direct who we are and what we do?
Do we love God enough to pray at all times and in all places and allow those conversations to bring us hope and healing and direction?
Do we listen to the Holy Spirit and then love God enough to do what the Spirit calls us to do?
Do we know who we are in Christ? Do we know that we are loved? Do we know that we were made in love and made to love God?
By reflecting on these 5 rhythms, we might see where our love needs to grow or be strengthened or where we just want to experience more of God’s presence and power.
In our relationship with the church we find these 5 rhythms:
Accountability - Allow open and honest feedback
Generosity - Use my time/treasure to further the kingdom of God
Community - Interactions with the church are rooted in love
Service - Use my gifts/talents to grow the church
Family - Faith overflows first and foremost in my home
Once again we can see how love is foundational to each rhythm. A foundation of love is what allows for honest feedback to be given and received. Without love, feedback can become harsh and critical. Love is what motivates us to give our time and treasure, and use our gifts and talents so that we see others blessed and the work of God increase. Love draws us into community and strengthens our families and the family of God. While love for the church is important, it can’t be where our love ends, it also has to flow into the world. God so loved the world that he gave and so we need to love the world as well.
The 5 rhythms of love for the world are
Readiness - Prepare my mind/heart for interactions with others
Engagement - Look for opportunities to introduce people to Jesus
Blessings - Find ways to make the world around me better
Sharing - Communicate the gospel to others
Global - Involved in making disciples worldwide
Jesus calls us to love the world by making disciples, which means preparing ourselves and looking for opportunities to share our faith. It means finding ways to bless the world in Jesus’ name, and looking at how we can spread the good news of Jesus all over the world.
While each of these 3 relationships are important, if we get our love for God right, it will increase our love for the church and the world. Likewise, if we are struggling in our love for the church or the world, we might have a problem in our relationship with God.
At times it is important for us to stop and reflect on these 3 relationships and the 5 rhythms found in each relationship. The season of Lent begins this week and Lent has traditionally been an intentional time of reflection, repentance and renewal. It’s a time for us to evaluate our relationship with God, our commitment to the church, and the ways we serve God in the world. So let me invite you to take some time and reflect on these 3 relationships in your own life.
How is your relationship with God? The church? The world? How are the rhythms of each relationship leading you to love more fully and more deeply?
Where might you want to focus some time and attention?
What areas are going well that you want to celebrate and give thanks for?
To help you answer these questions and guide you in some reflection, we have workbooks available both online and in the lobby. You should have already gotten one at a belong workshop or when we have shared about the 3 Relationships, but we invite you to take one and go through the study and reflection again.
Another resource we have is a 3 Relationships Assessment that you can take online. The assessment will give you some honest feedback about where you might want to take some time to think and study and reflect. You can find the assessment at bellefontefaith.com/3r. You can also reach out to us to get more support or to talk to someone about how to grow in your faith.
Spending some time reflecting on our relationship with God, the church, and the world, and exploring how love can be experienced and expressed in each of the 15 rhythms, might be the first step in strengthening your faith, but don’t do it alone. I’m always struck by how Jesus didn’t do life and faith alone. The first thing Jesus did was to surround Himself with friends and family. If Jesus needed this kind of support and community to sustain Him, how much more do we need it? Find support and community to help you grow as well.
Jesus loved God, He loved the church, and He loved the world. May these three relationships give shape to our love and provide a pathway to grow in our faith so that we might love and live like Jesus and transform not only our lives, but our world.
Next Steps
Three Relationships
Identify for yourself where you see these 3 relationships in the life of Jesus.
Relationship with God:
Relationship with the Church:
Relationship with the World:
Which of these relationships do you feel healthiest in?
Which of these relationships might need the most growth?
Take the 3 Relationships Assessment found at bellefontefaith.com/3r
Using the 3 relationships workbook, learn more about each of the 15 rhythms and how you can deepen and develop each one.
Each week of Lent, focus on one rhythm and how love can be experienced and expressed in this area. (Consider choosing 2 rhythms from each of the 3 relationships for the 6 weeks of Lent.)
For support and to learn more about the 3 relationships, please contact the church office or one of our pastors.
