Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: "Smith, Lynn " <lsmith20@Central.UH.EDU>
Sent: Fri, 2 May 2008 10:16:39 -0500
To: "Smith, Lynn " <lsmith20@Central.UH.EDU>
Subject: Morning Manna May 3-BP: I Jn. 3:13-24; RBTTY: Lk. 22:21-46; I Kings 14-15
May 3 “Don’t Just Say It”
“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue—but in deed and in truth.”
I John 3:18
As someone once said, “Talk is cheap. Prove it to me. Put your money where your mouth is.”
Today’s Manna is a hard-hitting one that strips away the veneer of pretense and lays bare what’s really beneath the surface. Just as a wall or floor may look perfectly fine, but still be eaten up by termites within, so does the white-light holiness of an all-seeing God have a way of revealing whether or not we’re genuine or counterfeit when it comes to following Christ.
The Apostle John, who was also known as “the Beloved Apostle” by Christ, used Jesus’ words in Jn. 13:34-35; 15:12-17 as the basis of his own words in our Manna. His call for us to “not love in word, neither in tongue—but in deed and truth” is his version of the earthly adage “The proof of the pudding’s in the eating” or “It’s the place where the rubber meets the road.”
Simply put, it’s a call for genuine, Christlike love, not some carnal counterfeit of it.
Prior to writing our Manna, he said “We know we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death. Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer—and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (vv.14-15).
John then reminded us to what lengths God the Father was willing to go to demonstrate His love for us (v.16). He also added “But whoever has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how does the love of God dwell in him?” (v.17).
We know the answer, don’t we?
It can’t.
Why, then, do we cling to our carnal convictions. . .ignoring such pointed, straightforward words. . .and continue saying, “Well, I understand what he’s saying, BUT I’m okay. I was baptized as a child. Why, I give over 10% off the gross to the church and even sing in the choir. I just believe everyone’s got their own place and we need to live and let live”??
Sound familiar?
It’s ashamed those words will still be echoing in that person’s ears when they awake one day in hell, being tormented by those flames (Lk. 16:19-31). Remember: “Not everyone that says unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven—but he that does the will of My Father, Who is in Heaven” (Mt. 7:21).
Woe to him that looks at another person and condemns him because of the color of his skin or how well he dresses or where he lives. Hell will be full of “professors,” who said they loved others, but their actions proved otherwise.
Thanks,
Mr. Lynn M. Smith
Department Business Administrator
Department of Economics
204C McElhinney Hall
(713) 743-3802 (office)
(713) 743-3798 (fax)
LSmith20@central.uh.edu (email)
http://www.class.uh.edu/econ/ (department website)
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