The Final Criterion ...

Who you are matters.  Not who you know.  Not what you know.  But who you are in the core of your character, does matter.  Modern Christian churches tend to get this entirely wrong.  They focus on what they can teach you.  The idea is that if you find out enough knowledge, some of it is bound to rub off on you, and perhaps you might become a better person than when you started.  That idea may even have some merit.  But what if who you are is essentially the same as who you were; only after all this education, you have a better understanding of doctrines.  If you think it has never happened before, just spend some time reading about the Pharisees in the time of Christ.  They had immense knowledge of the scriptures, spent nearly every day debating and trying to increase that knowledge.  But it did not change “who” they were.  And when Christ came, they refused to recognize Him.  Why?  Because Jesus was obsessed with loving others, especially those in need.  The Pharisees were more comfortable with a “caste” system where the people in great need were largely ostracized (you know, in order to keep the church pure).

And speaking of the “church”, it can’t save you either.  The Pharisees went to church obsessively.  They had a special temple building that was specifically authorized for this purpose.  They had many rituals designed to point them to the Messiah, ALL of which they followed for public viewing.  They sang all the hymns.  They wrote a few new ones.  They washed themselves up and were “clean” all the time.  Their clothing was “temple proscribed”.  It was conservative (as nearly as conservative as clothing gets).  Their family lives were very regimented with each member of the family knowing their “place”.  Wives and daughters did household chores and only those.  Sons were meant to carry on tradition and were educated thoroughly from an early age.  For our conservative brothers and sisters who think that modern society has gone down hill because we let our standards erode – the Pharisees had the best lock on standards there will ever be, and yet – they missed the Messiah entirely.  Rather, they chose to kill the Messiah rather than adopt another way of doing things.

So what about doctrine?  True doctrine is supposed to point you to Jesus.  If it works, that should lead you to submission and transformation of who you are.  But how many doctrines are really setup for that purpose?  Instead doctrines have become the central pillars that divide one church from another based on what is now called “belief”.  All modern Christian churches believe in Jesus, and yet every distinct denomination is somehow divided over the doctrines they teach.  Again noting the irony of doctrines being supposed to point you to Jesus, yet churches divide over them incessantly.  But let’s assume for the moment that your brand of Christianity (that is your particular denomination or unique set of beliefs) is 100% right, and everyone else is 100% wrong.  What then?  Does holding all the right doctrines to be true, make you a different person on the inside?  To the point, does it change who you are so completely, that you become just like Jesus (hard to tell you apart)?  If not, why?  All that truth must be good for something right.  But then, knowing “about” Jesus, and knowing “about” the Bible, only makes you a good student – not a different person.  To “be” a different person all you need is Jesus (and nothing else will do).

So what kind of person are you supposed to be?  That would be the $64,000 question.  And of course, Jesus left us the answer.  Matthew in his gospel to his Hebrew contemporaries records the words of Jesus Himself on this topic in chapter 25.  Jesus once again transitions the context from prior scriptures, beginning with the signs and wonders, moving to the conditions, moving again to the work or mission, and now to a final judgment scene that most conservative Christians love the idea of.  The last topic Jesus will address is what happens at His second coming (whether at the outset of it, or at the end of it – time is a little fuzzy in this one).  But there is very clear a division of people into two camps.  The saved, and the not saved.  This makes all of us nervous.  And it should.  The selfishness in the roots of who we are, dictates a lot of bad outcomes.  But this story has a twist, in fact a number of them.

It begins with Jesus speaking in verse 31 saying … “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:”  This is the second coming of Jesus.  No longer a humble baby laying in a manger for Herod to plot to destroy.  He is now beyond the reach of plotting Pharisees who want to see Him dead because He will simply not accept their version of the doctrines of truth they believe are beyond dispute.  This is a different picture of the same Jesus, and He is back.  This is not the sign for the atheists to finally accept the ridiculous ideas of a spaghetti monster as opposed to a tangible Son of God who is now here in front of them with all His holy angels (a number likely too large for us to guess at now).  And He brings with Him a throne, that is meant only for Him to sit upon.  This is the revelation of Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He does not bow to our money or wealth.  He does not humble Himself to our leaders, for He is the ultimate leader of all time.  The glory of this is beyond our imagination today.  Yet Jesus gives us this small glimpse to get our heads in the right train of thought.

He continues in verse 32 saying … “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: [verse 33] And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”  Our ultimate shepherd dividing His flocks is something we can kind of understand.  But does He mean His right, or our right?  And does He mean His left hand, or does He me the hand we see on the left from our perspective?  But that’s the thing about sheep, they just do what they are told.  They do not need to understand it.  They just do it.  This is a subtlety we sometimes miss.  Everyone here in this crowd thinks they are the same.  We ALL believe Jesus has come to take US home.  We ALL believe we are His sheep.  Nobody is looking around making accusations.  We’re just ALL happy.  But despite what we think of ourselves, there is a division going on, none the less. And we the sheep and goats are more or less oblivious to it.  Keep in mind two ambitious disciples had asked that when Jesus came into His kingdom that one might be placed at the right hand of Jesus, and one at the left.

Jesus continues in verse 34 saying … “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: [verse 35] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: [verse 36] Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”  The group on the right has made it in to the Kingdom.  Why?  Keep in mind the above set of activities is NOT a definitive list, it is a set of examples.  What drives the behavior above is a core love of others that has become a part of “who” we are.  There is no check list of this stuff.  There is a driving motivation that pushes always into these kinds of behaviors for others, because we genuinely love them.  This set of examples is evidence of a full transformation of the heart and mind.  You leave behind the person you are today (one obsessed with self), and you are re-created into the very image of Jesus Christ by the power of His transformative love you choose to submit to.  The Holy Spirit acts as the mechanism.  And the result is a different kind of sheep.

Now again, I must call attention to the obvious (sorry).  Where is doctrine listed in the above set of final criterion?  Where is our understand of scripture cited, or our perfect knowledge of prophecy tested?  For that matter, where is something as basic as the Ten Commandments examined?  The above set of actions are examples of you loving others (which should be an embodiment of both doctrine and the Ten Commandments) – because it brings you into harmony with God.  But the goal post Jesus lays out is not whether you have kept all ten or any one of the Commandments properly, or whether you broke one tenant of the Law.  He does not have to.  Perfect love of others brings you into perfect harmony with the Law, until the Law is not something you even think about anymore, it is just a basic proscription for how to love others, that you would not think of badly.  You already love God, because loving Jesus is how your transformation began, continued, and finally concluded.  You already love others, so what “not” to do is only a beginning for you.  You have been spending your thoughts on what “to do”.  The above list Christ cited are examples of that thinking.

For some traditionalists, they believe you would gain entry into heaven or not, based on how perfectly “you” kept each commandment.  Sorry guys, that is not enough.  Jesus does not divide sheep from goats based on how many people learned not to steal, or lust, or covet, or commit adultery.  Jesus does not even look at His flock and divide it based on how many people broke the Sabbath, treated it badly, wasted their special day with Him, or worse yet; refused to worship on His day made holy at creation, choosing rather to worship on their own day.  THAT is not the criterion by which Jesus divides the flock.  Treating the time with Jesus how it deserves, cannot be accomplished, until we are brought into harmony with His Laws.  While His Laws are a burden to us, our hearts reflect our lack of transformation.  Once we allow Him to change “who” we are, how we see His special time with us changes, and only then can perfect obedience be found in us.  The Law never goes away.  Our perspective of the Law changes from burden to automatic as we are transformed into harmony with it.  Attempting to keep the Law, without transformation is nothing more than vanity.

Lastly, again notice it is not the brand of sheep that gets you into His Kingdom.  It is not “your” particular brand of Christian that is the final criterion.  Catholics are going to have to share the Kingdom with Protestants, and Mormons, and people of no brand at all.  The criterion laid out appears to be acts of loving Jesus Himself, not of belonging to a particular sect of Christianity.  It is not that only white sheep made it in (representing your faith), and reluctantly spotted sheep (people near your ideas), and from a state of grace black sheep (ones who were complete rebels, but somehow found His grace).  Color or sect or creed was not the deciding factors.  Loving Jesus was (and is).  A tangible demonstration of the first four Commandments, or a tangible demonstration of a relationship with Jesus Himself.  Either or both are true.  Loving Jesus, it would appear, is found in how we love – period.  And it is not found in turning that love inward, but in turning that love outwards to those in need (as this list would imply).

Jesus continues in verse 37 saying … “Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? [verse 38] When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? [verse 39] Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? [verse 40] And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”  And here is another evidence of transformation – it is something you do not focus on – it is something happening to you without your knowledge, but within your motives.  The transformed sheep are simply different.  They love others because it is “who” they have been made to become.  As they look at the face of Jesus, they do not remember ever providing such loving acts to Him personally.  Yet Jesus says to them, when you did it “unto the least of these”.  Not to popes or presidents, or Bill Gates.  Not when your actions were designed for credit, or check marks in heaven.  But when your acts of charity and love were done because your heart bubbles over with charity and love.  Notice too, the “least of these” are also in the flock now, perhaps in part, because of your tangible love for them.

The sheep who gain entry into His Kingdom are like two-year-olds, unaware of their state of being, unaware they are the saved of this flock.  They do for others, without the knowledge of being saved, but because it is who they have become.  Think of that.  If it were possible these sheep could be lost (it’s not), they would be going to hell with kindness and love for others as their primary driving motivation.  They lived the way they do, because Jesus re-made them this way.  It is not something they did for themselves, or in partnership with God.  It is something Jesus does for us all, as we submit who we are to Him in the here and now.  He remakes us in the here and now.  And before long, a passion for others begins to develop in you, you cannot explain.  It brings tears to your eyes unexpectedly.  It brings joy to your heart from things you would not even have noticed before.  It is the new you, beginning to learn how to love like God loves, shedding the scales of your self-love behind.  It starts now, and going to heaven merely extends it.

Jesus continues in verse 41 saying … “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: [verse 42] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: [verse 43] I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.”  Pay careful attention to the reasons Jesus cites for this group NOT getting into heaven.  Examples of NOT loving others, therefore of being untransformed.  It is NO particular sin that keeps them out.  They are forgiven too, of the bad things they have done.  It is NOT the breaking of the law, or the misinterpretation of scripture that is keeping them out.  It is because they are NOT different people, they are the same at the core of who they are.  Forgiven, but not different inside.  And it shows.

The untransformed heart is all too happy to shower itself with the love of God, never thinking for a moment to share that love with others (perhaps outside of the inner circle of people we say we care about).  We care about very few, and are blindingly apathetic to those outside of our circles.  Even within our circle of people we are supposed to love, our love for them is far from perfect.  Often we choose what is convenient or easy for us, less so for them.  Sacrifice for others is seen as sacrifice (not as joy).  Giving to others is done in moderation (never completely, that would not make sense).  We strive to be “good” Christians (or worse), good people.  We tell ourselves we have achieved our goal of being a “basically” good person.  We tell ourselves that our sins do not matter, because they have been forgiven.  We treat His grace like a diaper we can relieve ourselves upon.  Never looking for an escape from our sins, only an excuse to remain in them.  Our thoughts are filled continually with a reflection of our motives, chief among them is love of self.

And it gets worse.  We too are unaware of our state of being.  Those goats, or active Christians involved in the church, hide our true condition by “working” in the ministry.  We may be the ones preaching, or planning, or helping out in church.  We make a fuss about attending events where the homeless are helped, or houses are built.  We consider these “events” as proof of our love of others (after all, we can point to a dozen of our neighbors who make no such attempt).  We give our means to ministry and again use this as proof of our love of others (pointing to others who make no such gifts, or who are unable to give as much as we).  And all of our “proof”, is proof of something else – an untransformed heart that looks for credit and reputation, not for anonymity.  When confronted with those in need, we pass by, because there is no “event” in it.  We do not make a habit of helping, only special events of helping.  We are quite comfortable leaving the least of these right where they are.  And there is no guilt in us, because who we are, is not someone who burns with the love of Jesus in us, only the love of self.  Our “good” hearts have never tasted of His transformation.  And so our lack of love for Jesus shows.  It is evident.

Jesus continues in verse 44 saying … “Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? [verse 45] Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. [verse 46] And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”  These goats are unaware they are goats.  And they too looking at the face of Jesus for the first time, realize they have never met Him before.  So they offer in their own defense, not repentance, but a statement of facts.  We never saw you, so how could we ever help you?  But the “least of these” who are in the flock today are present.  And they were ignored here by the goats who had no time for them outside of scheduled events or charitable donation.  The evidence is in front of them even if now it has been cleaned up significantly at this event.

What cannot be cleaned is the hearts still inside the goats.  It is too late for that.  They have steadfastly rejected transformation when it was offered.  They believed salvation was something “they” could achieve by their own good works, or asking for forgiveness (never a real change), or helping out in church.  They believed themselves “good” when Jesus looks at them they are far from the “good” the universe demands going forward.  Lucifer thought himself good too.  And while he loved others in harmony with the Law he was.  It was when he started loving self that is when Satan emerged.  These goats have known not much more than loving self in their own lives.  They have long evidence of it.  And the irony is that they may have perfect understanding of doctrine.  They may be able to recite a perfect understanding of all prophecy ever recorded.  They may be pastors, or ministers, or elders, or deaconesses.  They may go to church regularly.  They may do everything they thought they were supposed to do.  But they do not really love Jesus.  They mostly love themselves and bringing pleasure to themselves.

It is only in our submission that we find His ability to transform who we are into who He envisions we can become.  That means we turn over to Him our decisions (large and small).  That means we turn over our hearts and passions (for Him to remake, revise, or amplify as He sees fit).  Submission is about wanting to get rid of “who” we are, and trusting that what He will re-create us into, is the best thing we would ever really want.  It is a radical change of who we are.  It will radically disrupt everything about us.  And it will always be the best thing for us.  The evidence of this transformation will be found in the passion we have for loving others.  When we cannot keep still, when we cannot sleep away our time, when we must help that person in need – we are beginning to see them like God sees them.  That is what sheep look like.  You probably already know what goats look like (I do anyway).  But I continue to try to learn what submission means, and how much more of it I can learn to adopt.  Join me in that quest, and learn what Jesus has in store for you.

This concluded the answers of Jesus as to what to look for before the destruction of the Temple, and His second coming from signs, to conditions, to mission, to the final criterion.

 

A Better Man ...

Can you tell a Christian by looking at them?  How about after spending some time in conversation, does a Christian begin to be revealed clearly?  Perhaps after getting to know someone, after they are a friend, after you have shared common experience – is it plain to you whether they are a Christian?  Christians bleed, get old or sick, and they die.  Christians make mistakes.  So if the difference between a Christian and just a regular “good guy” does not present a clear difference – why be a Christian?  Some would argue that the key difference is that the Christian is forgiven for his mistakes, the regular “good guy” does not believe he needs forgiveness (or perhaps he lives in a state of perpetual forgiveness).  The past of a Christian is wiped clean.  No matter what a Christian may have done he is accepted by God.

Some would argue that the Christian has hope that in the next life, he will no longer get old or sick, no longer die.  His life then will be eternal – this is all the hope of some Christians.  Christians like the idea that in the next life, sickness will be a thing of the past.  They will walk on golden streets, play with formerly fierce beasts, make music on harps, and generally enjoy a “cushy” life where joy is all there is.  But in their hearts, the Christian believes he will be the same person in heaven, he was here on earth.  The only real difference is the perfections enacted in his body.  The bad vision will be gone.  The overweight condition will be a thing of the past.  He will be strong, and physically perfect from head to toe, a full head of hair without the need for coloring it from age.  He will be perpetually in his perfect state, and perfect age.  And in this he will perfectly mimic the condition of Lucifer before the fall, and if this line of thinking is all there is – history would repeat itself.

The problem with most Christians is that they understand well the beginning of their story founded in forgiveness.  They also understand well the end of their story that results in a life eternal.  What they completely miss is the transition that occurs between the beginning and the end.  The change in who you are that occurs is something they understand all too little.  Christians understand they need to obey, and that they “should” be doing good deeds, but their carnal nature has never been fully understood, let alone removed from them.  So they continue to war against their own selfishness, and predictably lose the battle again and again.  Oh sure, it is easy to fall back on forgiveness to cover what I just did wrong.  But it is infinitely harder not to “want” to do wrong again.  Just give me a little time to get past my guilt, and I will be right back here committing the same sin over and over again.  It is an addiction to selfishness from which Christians are every bit as afflicted as the regular “good guy” is, with nearly no distinction.

It is that lack of distinction that kills the gospel.  If how we live is no different from those around us, no less filled with the anguish of self-inflicted pain – what is point of the gospel?  The gospel was intended to free us from that pain, not give us a license to wallow in it.  The gospel was intended to make us members of the kingdom of God in the here and now, not in some distant future that only occurs after we die and are resurrected in perfection.  The gospel breaks our chains of slavery right here, right now, and makes us free from sin, not free to sin.  Through submission of our will to Christ we become someone new right now.  The process begins here in this world.  And the changes that become evident cannot be hidden.  When we love like He loves, our persona begins to scream that we are Christians.  We become a peculiar people, because we no longer suffer from the same pain that the regular “good guy” inflicts on himself every day.  The freedom from sin and self-love makes our lives better right here and right now.  We become free to want something else, something better.

This is the lure of the gospel.  This is the power of the gospel.  This is something Peter well understood and wanted to insure the early church did not lose sight of in the corrupt world in which they lived.  The point of Christ offering us life was not about extending the number of years we live on this earth, but exploding the joy of every minute we live right here and now.  Christ was not offering us the trappings of this world in which people believe there is happiness.  We are not to be free because of wealth, or power, or even perfect health.  We may still carry the burden of poverty, oppression, and disease brought on by our own choices, or those of others.  But no matter our earthly conditions, our internal conditions can be radically different.  It is not a Mercedes Benz, Armani suit and Rolex watch that screams Christian, it is a heart that loves so deeply it cannot turn away from any need.  It is a heart that is compelled to act because it simply cannot just “pass by”. 

Peter was keen that the early church understood the gospel frees them to be something else, something better.  In chapter 4 of his first letter he begins in verse 1 writing … “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;”  We may suffer from the evil actions of those that war against love in this world.  Christ did.  Christ took the abuse we heaped upon Him, because He had an eye for our redemption.  Those who have experienced redemption should be like minded.  For it was through the suffering of Christ, that He was given the power to see us redeemed from our former selves.  It is through the sacrifice of Christ, His willingness to take on our punishment, that He is now able to offer us the gift of freedom from our sins.

Peter continues in verse 2 … “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. [verse 3] For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:”  Herein is the hope of our gospel, herein is its power.  Because of the sacrifice of Christ – “we” – are no longer to live the “rest of our time in the flesh” according to the lusts of men.  The transformation Christ offers us is real.  It is permanent.  It is life altering.  What we used to crave, we no longer have to crave.  What we used to want, we no longer have to want.  What we used to be unable to cease from doing, we no longer have to do.  All addictions broken.  All patterns of negative behavior changed, such that we stop hurting ourselves and others.  This happens IN THE FLESH, meaning in the here and now.  This is not a distant promise that only sees fulfillment in heaven, it is an immediate here and now beginning that makes THIS LIFE a better one.

Instead of living in slavery to self, we are blessed to live according to the “will of God”.  Obedience is not possible without harmony with God.  We can fake it, but we cannot achieve it.  But when we abandon our ideas for His, when we submit our decisions and desires to Him in order to be remade – He transforms how we think and how we love and brings us into harmony with Him.  After transformation, obedience is not only possible, it becomes natural, a part of who we are.  After transformation our slavery to self is ended, as we are made free from sin by Him.  What we used to do, how we used to live, becomes truly a part of our past – NOT our present.  Peter is clear, and pulls no punches, as he describes our past lives prior to transformation with Christ.  He calls himself, and each of us out for having lived in a condition of lust, partying, and abominable acts of self-love.  Sex, drugs, and rock and roll anyone?  Living according to the will of men, and steeped in a culture of sexual exploration where self-gratification rules all is a part of our FORMER lives, not our present ones.

Our transformation changes the perversion of self-love, into an unselfish love of others.  Our focus becomes how to improve the lives of others, not how to make our own a little better.  Sex becomes something intimate shared in the confines of a marriage where we give everything we have to serve the needs of the most precious gift of spouse we have been given.  Drugs, or anything that would reduce our ability to truly feel, and think, becomes a distraction and detriment we no longer want getting in the way of the joy He brings.  Rock and roll that glorifies the things of this world is discarded.  The music we value becomes music that will only uplift the cause of God, we have no time for music that would deter from His glory.  It is not the genre of music we concern ourselves with, it is the utility of the music to bring one closer to Christ.

Peter continues in verse 4 … “Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: [verse 5] Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. [verse 6] For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”  Peter reminds the church that once they begin to experience transformation and no longer wish to do the things that once were so important to them, the world takes notice.  We will be criticized by our “friends” who continue to party without us.  Misery loves company.  Those who still engage in hurtful practices of the world, and know we used to be with them in these things, are not happy when we make another choice.  They do not understand why we would no longer to do all those “fun” things with them anymore.  They judge us harshly, it is natural to do so.

But Peter continues, that the preaching of the gospel is targeted at those who are dead to God, and alive only in their sins.  The point of the gospel is to resurrect people who have known only pain and death into a real and vibrant life with Christ.  The power of the gospel is that it can stop the pain we inflict upon ourselves and others, and replace that with the will of God, which is to make the lives of others better through His love.  It is the Spirit of God that works within us to reflect Him, and His love through us to others.  We become tools in the work of redemption.  Less broken than we were before.  Less hurting than our former choices put upon us.  Less dead to life than we have ever been.  The process of transformation leads us to a good accounting of His love reflected through us to others.

Peter continues in verse 7 … “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”  When we consider the enormity of decisions people will make for or against a life with Christ, we begin to sense the urgency of the gospel we preach.  Every day, circumstances and things beyond our control will claim the life of someone near to us, for that person, the end of all things has come.  Peter is not advocating that we abandon all joy in order to be sober.  But he is making a statement that our highest joy is shared with God in the redemption of just one more soul.  We should be ever praying for that experience to be one in which we share.  Having experienced the freedom from a former sin, having known the joy that comes from becoming a better version of who we were, our prayer should ever be how to successfully witness for the cause of Christ.  Our goal is for others to come to know what we have come to know ourselves.

Peter continues in verse 8 … “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. [verse 9] Use hospitality one to another without grudging. [verse 10] As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”  The key witness to the world, the key observation they will see, when they look at you to determine if you are a Christian is whether you have a “fervent charity” for others.  Those who deeply care about others show this characteristic in everything about them.  Strangely it comes out in how they dress, how they speak, what kind of friend they are, and how they interact with total strangers.  The transformation is self-evident, unmistakable, and transparently clear. 

The fervent love of others leads us to behave differently.  We stop thinking about what we can take from someone, and start thinking about what we can offer without being asked.  This change in how we love as Peter says “covers” a multitude of sins.  We no longer think to lie to someone because they deserve the truth.  We no longer think to steal from them, take their wife or property, or worse hurt or kill them.  All the commandments that deal with how we treat people are covered automatically when we love them and not ourselves.  The commandments to love God also become self-evident when through our submission to Him, we find ourselves loving Him more for what He does in our lives.  Peter says that love for others is reflected even in the slightest things like how we offer hospitality to others.  We share our gifts with others, not with a grudging heart that longs to retain its wealth, but with a heart that understands our wealth is defined in what we share, not what we hold.  The wealth of God is not defined in the mass of gold He created, but in the joy He takes in sharing His wealth with all His creations.  God does not hoard gold in a pristine vault deep underground in heaven.  Instead He sprinkles it everywhere, and puts in into the concrete of His city, to give us something nice to look at.  His joy is found as we appreciate how He makes our lives just a little better. 

And our gifts are not just confined by what we “have” in material wealth, they are also defined by what God has given to us to share.  Peter continues in verse 11 … “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”  When we speak, we should be speaking as if we are His prophets, and have clarity into His will.  This is no small thing.  It changes the tenor of most of our conversations.  When we speak about religious topics, often it is with reservation based on how little we know.  But the more we love others, the deeper that love becomes as He works to transform us, the more insight we begin to have regarding the intentions of our God.  A revelation of how deep His love is for us, is ALWAYS a welcome revelation.  Using the gifts God has given us to minister, whether compassion, caring, clarity of speech, articulation, discernment … all are to be steeped in the deep and abiding love of God for ALL mankind.  When our speech is consistent in this manner, we do become oracles of God, a window into which God can be seen reflected through us.

A Christian who has not been transformed by Christ may not be self-evident to the world around them.  But one who is undergoing the transformation to love like Christ loves becomes a beacon of light to the world which cannot be hidden from it.  Living a life free from the pain sin causes, living free to love others without precondition, hesitation or limit – this is the “life” Christ offers us in the here and now.  Living this way transforms those who are familiar with the stories in scripture, to those who have one of their own, a living one …