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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS025004S
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00:00 [uplifting music]
00:11 [uplifting music] 00:13 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:15 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:17 We are glad that you are choosing to join us today. 00:19 We are on a journey, 00:21 a journey looking into God's love and justice. 00:25 And today we are on lesson number four 00:27 of a 13-lesson deep-dive into this subject. 00:31 Lesson number four helps us to understand 00:33 how God is both passionate and compassionate. 00:36 And this lesson is actually part four of a four-part series 00:40 that we've been doing, 00:41 looking at different aspects of God's love. 00:44 We're going to be delving into this here deeply 00:46 in just a moment. Let's begin with prayer. 00:50 Father, we wanna thank You for being with us, again, 00:52 this week as we continue to look at Your love and Your justice. 00:57 We ask that You will bless us as we delve into it, once again, 01:00 and help us to understand You better. 01:03 We thank You, in Jesus' name, amen. 01:06 We're happy to have with us, once again, John Peckham. 01:09 He is an associate editor at the "Adventist Review," 01:12 and he's also a research professor 01:14 at the Theological Seminary at Andrews University. 01:17 John, thanks for joining us again. 01:19 >>John Peckham: Thank you for having me. 01:20 >>Eric: So we're looking at God being passionate 01:22 and compassionate. Now, when we think about emotions, 01:26 sometimes we think of them as good or bad, 01:29 and some people may think, "Well, God is emotionless." 01:35 Unpack this for us. 01:36 How do--what role do emotions play in this? 01:39 >>John: Yeah, as you mentioned, 01:40 some people think that emotions are inherently bad 01:42 or deficient. So, a God with emotions, 01:45 what's going on here? 01:47 But the Bible paints a picture of God who has deep emotions 01:51 and profound emotional reactions. 01:54 And it's very closely related to His love. 01:57 And so here I want us to, at the beginning of our discussion 02:00 here, notice that God is emotional, 02:03 but God's emotions are perfect. 02:06 God's emotions are not just like human emotions. 02:09 And in one way I want us to see that--we can see from 02:12 Psalm 78, verse 38, that I'd like us to read together. 02:15 >>Eric: "[And] He, being full of compassion, 02:17 "forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them. 02:20 "Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, 02:24 and did not stir up all His wrath." 02:27 >>John: Often, when humans become angry 02:29 or have an emotional reaction, we tend to overreact, right? 02:33 We tend to fly off the handle, 02:35 or our reaction is not precisely what it should be. 02:38 But in Scripture we find that God--God's reactions 02:43 are always appropriate, and, in some cases like this one, 02:46 some translations say, "He even restrained His anger." 02:49 In other words, His emotions don't control Him. 02:51 He has control, always perfect control, over His emotions. 02:55 His emotions are never irrational like ours are. 02:58 His emotion is always the appropriate reaction. 03:00 And if anything, it's actually holding back 03:02 the emotional reaction that His people deserve. 03:05 And so many people, again, tend to think of emotions 03:08 as deficient, but God created us as holistic human beings. 03:12 We do have a faculty of reason, 03:13 we do have will, but we also have emotions. 03:16 And the reason why these are out of whack 03:18 is because of our fall, fallen sinful nature. 03:20 But for God, these are never "out of whack," so to speak. 03:23 They're always harmoniously functioning. 03:25 So when we talk about God's emotions 03:26 and God's emotional love, 03:28 it's not that He has emotions that are irrational 03:30 or emotions that are against His own will, 03:32 but these things actually function harmoniously. 03:35 But God's emotions are the appropriate reactions of love 03:39 to what is actually taking place. 03:41 >>Eric: His emotions are right; ours are skewed. 03:44 But we do have this imagery that we sometimes get 03:48 of a parental love in the Bible. 03:51 How does that help us to understand, 03:53 more appropriately, more accurately, God's love? 03:57 >>John: Yeah, I want to look at a couple of passages. 03:59 One of them would be Isaiah 49:15. 04:02 Another is in Psalm 103, where it says that "God loves 04:06 His children, even as a father has compassion on His children." 04:09 So you have this imagery of a good parent, 04:12 a good father. In Isaiah 49, we'll see this imagery 04:15 of a mother's love for her children. 04:17 >>Eric: "Can a woman forget her nursing child, 04:19 "and not have compassion on the son of her womb? 04:22 Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you." 04:26 >>John: So a good mother, the love that she has 04:29 for her children is probably the best and most virtuous 04:34 and profound kind of love 04:36 that we know in human relationships. 04:38 And yet, God is saying that His love for His people 04:40 is even more profound and deep than that. 04:44 And even if a mother forgets her children, 04:47 God will never forget us. 04:50 Now, the language that's used there-- 04:52 I referenced in a previous program, 04:54 but I want to mention it again here-- 04:56 the language that's used there for compassion, "rakhum," 04:58 is actually related for the word for "womb," 05:01 in that passage, which is "rekhem." 05:03 And the very language of compassion here 05:05 and in many other verses 05:07 is just a description of womb-like mother love. 05:11 This is deeply emotional love, 05:14 and in many examples in Scripture, 05:16 you have emotional reactions being used 05:18 with imagery of like stomach churning and 05:21 other kinds of relationship-- relational imagery 05:24 that is very profound emotion. 05:26 Some of that we're going to talk about as we go on. 05:28 >>Eric: So let's take a look at Hosea. 05:32 We've touched on Hosea before, but I think it's appropriate 05:34 that we come back here, again, right now. 05:36 I'm going to read a few verses from Hosea, chapter 11. 05:39 I'll probably read down verses 1 through 4, 1 through 5, 05:42 something along those lines, and help us to understand 05:45 these depictions of God's emotional responses 05:48 in passages like this. 05:50 In Hosea 11, verse 1, it says, "When Israel was a child, 05:54 "I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 05:58 "As they called them, so they went from them; 06:02 "they sacrificed to the Baals, 06:04 "[they] burned incense to carved images. 06:06 "I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by their arms; 06:10 "but they did not know that I healed them. 06:13 "I drew them with gentle cords, 06:15 "with bands of love, and I was to them as those 06:18 "who take the yoke from their neck. 06:20 I stooped and fed them." 06:22 >>John: Yeah, here in Hosea, we find beautiful imagery 06:25 of the parent-child metaphor. 06:28 We've seen a lot about the marriage metaphor, 06:30 but here it's this parent-child metaphor. 06:32 So you think of a child who is, basically, helpless. 06:35 In the wilderness, God has to do everything for them. 06:38 And that's precisely what He's doing. 06:40 And even as He draws them to Himself-- 06:43 He calls them out of Egypt, like delivering them in the Exodus. 06:46 He makes a people where there's no people, and yet 06:48 they run after the false gods. They sacrifice to the Baals. 06:52 They do everything to foul up this relationship. 06:54 And so you might think the next verse is gonna be, 06:56 "Oh, so I came in judgment, and I cut them off," 06:58 but the next verse is, "I taught Ephraim to walk. 07:00 I took them by their arms." 07:01 And you think of, like, a father or a mother with a toddler, 07:04 who's just barely tottering and taking steps. 07:06 This is the imagery, that God is tenderly working 07:10 with His people, even as they're falling, 07:12 even as they're going the wrong way, 07:14 even as they're helpless without Him. 07:16 As a good parent, He draws close to them with bonds of love, 07:21 and He shows them the way, and He draws them in the way. 07:24 Of course, they have a choice, and sometimes they stray away, 07:27 but God does everything He can. 07:29 And it's this imagery of a father, good father, 07:33 or a good mother, who has this deep love for his people. 07:37 And we see this imagery continue in the passage. 07:39 If we keep going beyond that, you have these verses that 07:42 talk about the people again refusing to repent, in verse 5. 07:47 You have the language of judgment that's coming. 07:49 God Himself says in verse 7, 07:51 "My people are bent on backsliding from me. 07:55 Though they call to the Most High, none at all exalt Him." 07:59 So this language of being bent, like they're turned away 08:03 from Him, and when they do call to Him, 08:05 it's just like lip service, right? 08:06 They don't really mean it. They're not really repentant. 08:09 And this evokes, in God, a deeply visceral, 08:13 emotional reaction. 08:15 In Hosea 11, verse 8, God speaks of His people. 08:18 He says, "How can I give you up, Ephraim? 08:21 "How can I hand you over, Israel? 08:23 "How can I make you like Admah? 08:26 How can I set you like Zeboiim?" 08:28 And Admah and Zeboiim are actually the two small towns 08:31 that were alongside Sodom and Gomorrah. 08:33 So this is the language of "How can I give you over 08:36 to destruction?" that's being used here. 08:39 And then He says, at the end of verse 8, 08:41 "My heart churns within me; 08:44 my sympathy is stirred." 08:48 And I don't know if you've ever had an emotional reaction 08:50 that was so strong that it feels like your stomach is turning. 08:54 That's the imagery that's being used here, 08:56 of God's emotional reaction over His people. 08:59 In fact, one of the Hebrew words that's used there, 09:01 of this emotional reaction, it's used in two other places 09:04 in the Old Testament. 09:05 In Genesis 43, this is the imagery that's used 09:08 of Joseph when he's in Egypt, and his brothers come, 09:12 and his youngest brother, Benjamin, is brought, 09:14 and he's still overtaken by his emotions; 09:16 he has to leave the room. 09:18 And the second is in 1 Kings 3, where two women 09:21 come to King Solomon, claiming that an infant is their child. 09:26 And Solomon in his wisdom says, 09:27 "Cut the child in two"--to find out who was the real mother. 09:29 And the reaction of the real mother is this reaction, 09:32 this deeply emotional reaction. 09:34 This is the reaction God describes as having 09:37 over His own people when they've strayed for Him. 09:41 And finally, in Hosea 11 verse 9, He says, 09:44 "No, I'm going to reclaim them, anyways," right? 09:46 "How can I give them up? I'm not going to give them up." 09:47 He says, "I will not execute the fierceness of my anger; 09:50 "I will not again destroy Ephraim. 09:52 "For I am God, and not man, the Holy One in your midst; 09:56 and I will not come with terror." 09:59 So he says, "No, I'm not going to come in anger." 10:01 He says, "I am God, and not man." Signifying what? 10:05 If He was a mere human, they would be done, right? 10:07 Because again, we tend to fly off the handle with emotions. 10:09 But because He's God, because He controls His emotions, 10:12 because His love and compassion is exponentially greater than 10:16 His anger, He makes a way to restore this people to Himself 10:20 in love relationship because of the depth of His compassion. 10:24 So His emotions, unlike ours, are perfect, and they're good, 10:27 and they undergird the wonderful things 10:30 that God does to save people. 10:32 >>Eric: Now, we've been looking at a number of passages 10:35 in the Old Testament. 10:36 I want to go over to the New Testament 10:38 for a moment, over into the book of Matthew. 10:41 There are some... [sighs] 10:44 there are some out there who get this idea that 10:46 in the Old Testament, God is kind of a unloving God. 10:52 That's probably painting it pleasantly. 10:55 But in the New Testament, now you have this loving God. 10:58 But we--again, we've been looking at some passages that 11:01 indicate that's not the case, but let's go over 11:03 to Matthew, chapter 9 and verse number 36 11:07 and see what it says here. 11:09 It says, "But when He saw the multitudes"--this is Jesus-- 11:13 "He was moved with compassion [on] them, because they 11:15 were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd." 11:20 So how does this portrayal-- this biblical portrayal of 11:24 Jesus' compassion, in the New Testament, 11:27 how should that help us to understand 11:29 God's compassion in the Old Testament? 11:32 >>John: Yeah, a few things that I would want to note here 11:34 and emphasize. First of all, 11:36 you have this language of Jesus seeing crowds 11:40 and multitudes, and He's moved with compassion for them. 11:43 And it's not just in this verse; this is a consistent reaction 11:46 Jesus has throughout the Old-- throughout the New Testament. 11:49 He sees people, and He sees them like sheep without a shepherd, 11:52 and He's moved with compassion for them. 11:56 And it's actually the same imagery, 11:58 used of the New Testament of Jesus' emotional reaction, 12:01 is the same kind of imagery that's used 12:04 in the Old Testament. 12:05 In fact, you have the same Greek words that translate 12:08 the common Old Testament words of this visceral, 12:10 deeply emotional reaction. 12:12 So Jesus isn't just compassionate, 12:15 He's moved to compassion, and He acts on that compassion 12:18 to actually do good for these people 12:20 and draw them into relationship with Himself. 12:22 We also see Jesus' deep compassion and emotions 12:25 for His people, later in Matthew. 12:27 I want to go to Matthew, chapter 23, 12:30 Matthew, chapter 23 and verse 37. 12:34 You have Jesus, in this part of Matthew, who-- 12:38 He's approaching the cross, He is looking out over the city, 12:43 and He's lamenting the fact that so many 12:46 of the covenant people have not accepted Him. 12:49 He says in verse 37, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 12:52 "the one who kills the prophets and stones 12:55 "those who are sent to her! 12:56 "How often I wanted to gather your children together, 12:59 "as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, 13:03 but you were not willing!" 13:06 And here you see this deep emotion of Jesus 13:10 over His people. When I read this, I always think of, like, 13:12 a tear in His eye as He looks at His people 13:15 because He wants to gather them like a hen gathers her children. 13:18 And here again, this is the same imagery that's 13:21 used in Deuteronomy 32 of God, who also uses this imagery 13:26 of a bird that wants to gather His children, 13:30 but they are not willing. 13:32 And so it's this deep emotion that shines through of Jesus, 13:35 and it's the same emotional reaction of God 13:38 in the Old Testament because it's the same God. 13:40 This is why Jesus could say, "If you've seen me, 13:41 you have seen the Father." 13:43 It's His compassion and His love 13:44 that shines through in everything that Jesus does. 13:47 >>Eric: So what we're seeing, the elements, the aspects of 13:49 God's love in the New Testament, 13:51 they're the same; He hasn't changed. 13:53 God's character has not changed. 13:55 His way of dealing with people--He loves. 14:01 And we see that--sometimes people see it more clearly 14:03 in the New Testament. 14:04 Perhaps it's because they're closing their eyes 14:06 from time to time in the Old Testament, but we see it there. 14:09 If we want to look more and delve more deeply 14:12 into understanding how God is both passionate 14:15 and compassionate, there is a companion book 14:17 to this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson. 14:19 What's in that book? 14:21 >>John: Yeah, in that book, I can, of course, 14:23 barely scratch the surface of God's love in the lesson 14:26 and in the conversations we have here. 14:28 In that book, I try to go a little bit deeper; 14:30 I use some illustrations. 14:32 I delve more deeply into some meanings of biblical terms. 14:35 We talk about some of the theological misconceptions, 14:38 including misconceptions about God's emotions 14:41 and God's anger and what God's anger is really like, 14:44 why it really is the way it is, 14:45 God's compassion, God's jealousy, 14:49 which is often misunderstood. 14:51 And so I encourage you to take a look at that, 14:53 I hope it'll be beneficial. 14:55 >>Eric: If you'd like to pick that book up, and I would 14:56 encourage you to do so, you will find it at itiswritten.shop. 15:00 Again, that's itiswritten.shop. 15:03 Look for the companion book to this quarter's 15:05 "Sabbath School" lesson by John Peckham. 15:08 We're going to be right back as we continue looking 15:10 at lesson number four, 15:12 delving into God's love and justice, 15:14 how God is both passionate and compassionate. 15:17 We'll be back in just a moment. 15:18 [uplifting music] 15:22 >>John Bradshaw: To hear some people tell the story, 15:24 you might think there were actually two Gods in the Bible, 15:28 That is, the God of the Old Testament 15:31 and the God of the New Testament. 15:33 To some, the Old Testament God is a God of wrath, 15:38 while the New Testament God is a God of love. 15:41 To some, the Old Testament God was a God of law, 15:46 while the New Testament God is a God of grace. 15:50 To some, the Old Testament God was the God of the old covenant, 15:55 while the New Testament God is the God of the new covenant. 16:01 So what is "The New Covenant"? 16:04 Don't miss "The New Covenant," 16:06 and you will discover that the God of the Old Testament 16:08 is the God of the New Testament 16:10 and that the God of both testaments is consistent 16:14 from start to finish. 16:15 Unravel the mysteries of "The New Covenant," 16:19 brought to you by "It Is Written" TV. 16:22 [uplifting music] 16:27 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 16:28 brought to you by It Is Written. 16:30 We are looking at God as being both passionate 16:33 and compassionate 16:34 as we look at God being a God of love and justice. 16:38 John, there's an interesting word that's used regularly 16:43 to describe God, and that's "a jealous God." 16:47 Now, when you and I probably typically 16:49 think of the word "jealous," it's in a negative context. 16:53 But the Bible still uses this word to describe God. 16:57 Help us to understand how God can be jealous, 17:00 and that not necessarily be a negative thing. 17:02 >>John: Yeah, yeah, like you said, if my wife said to you, 17:06 "My husband is a jealous husband," 17:08 you would probably think that was not a compliment, right? 17:10 That there's a problem here, something is going on. 17:12 But in the Bible, God's jealousy is always 17:14 a perfectly virtuous jealousy. 17:16 In fact, it's probably better to translate it as "passion" 17:20 or "passionate love." 17:21 And the language is actually of God's passionate love 17:25 for His metaphorical bride. 17:28 And so it's the imagery of a love in a relationship 17:31 that is for exclusive relationship with the other. 17:35 So let's take a look at the way the Bible describes this 17:37 in Deuteronomy 4 before I say some more about this. 17:41 >>Eric: In Deuteronomy 4, verse 24 it says, "For the Lord 17:44 your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." 17:48 >>John: So you have this language, and there's 17:50 other passages say God is the God of compassion. 17:53 So you have the God of compassion, you have the God 17:55 of jealousy or the God of passion, 17:57 and actually this is much better understood, 18:00 throughout Scripture, as the language of God's passion 18:03 for exclusive relationship with His wife. 18:06 And so some commentators point out if a husband is jealous 18:11 or passionate about exclusive relationship, meaning they 18:14 don't want their wife to have other partners--or vice versa, 18:17 the wife doesn't want their husband to enter 18:18 into romantic relationships with others-- 18:20 this is a virtuous love; it's a virtuous kind of passion. 18:24 It doesn't include any of the kind of negative 18:26 connotations of jealousy in our relationships 18:29 because our jealousy is often not virtuous; 18:31 it might be possessive; it might be functioning 18:35 in all kinds of ways that do not correspond to God's passion. 18:40 But God's passion is actually His ardent love for His people 18:45 and for exclusive relationship, not for His benefit, 18:47 but for the benefit of His people because it's only 18:50 in that relationship between God and His people that God's people 18:53 flourish in the way that God wants for them to flourish. 18:57 >>Eric: And there's a couple of verses that I wanna dip into 19:01 here that I think will help draw that idea out. 19:05 The first one is in 1 Corinthians 13, verse 4, 19:08 if you want to read that one, 19:11 and let's see what that one says. 19:12 >>John: Yeah, 1 Corinthians is is often known 19:15 as "the love chapter." So it goes through all of these 19:18 virtues of love--that I often tell my students, I say, 19:21 you know, especially those that are not married, 19:23 "If you're looking for a marriage partner, 19:25 "you want to look for someone who has these virtues, but also 19:28 you should be one who displays these virtues yourself," right? 19:31 This is what we should all be looking for in love, 19:34 and we ourselves should be, hopefully, modeling God's love. 19:39 But there's something interesting in verse 4 that 19:42 might give us pause because we already saw God Himself say, 19:45 "I am a jealous God." 19:47 And now in 1 Corinthians 13:4, it says this: 19:50 "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; 19:55 love does not parade itself, is not puffed up." 19:59 "Love does not envy." 20:00 In some translations, it just says, "Love is not jealous." 20:05 Okay, so how can it be that God is a jealous God, 20:10 but love does not envy, and love is not jealous? 20:14 Now, this is Paul writing here, 20:16 so maybe Paul can help us answer this question 20:19 if we go to 2 Corinthians 11, verse 2, and see 20:23 what he says there, that might help us a bit with this puzzle. 20:26 >>Eric: He writes, "For I am jealous for you 20:28 "with godly jealousy. 20:30 "For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you 20:34 as a chaste virgin to Christ." 20:36 >>John: Yeah, so there you have this language of-- 20:40 what kind of jealousy? >>Eric: Godly. 20:42 >>John: Godly jealousy. 20:44 So that tells us, right at the outset, that there is 20:47 a negative kind of jealousy, and there is a godly jealousy. 20:53 Now, it's the same Greek word, and so here and elsewhere 20:57 in Scripture, it's important to remember 20:59 that words have ranges of meaning. 21:03 And it's the context that tells you what the meaning is 21:05 when there's a range of meaning like there is here. 21:07 And so it's not that the primary word for "jealousy"-- 21:11 sometimes translated "zeal." 21:12 and when it's translated "zeal," you can tell that it's positive, 21:15 but it's the same Greek word. 21:18 And so you have this positive kind of passion or zeal 21:22 or ardor, and you have the negative kind of jealousy 21:25 that one shouldn't have, that's like being envious. 21:28 This is the kind of jealousy that you find in ancient 21:32 Near Eastern mythologies and also in Greco-Roman myths. 21:35 This is the kind of envy that the gods have. 21:38 They have envy for one another, or they're envious 21:41 of something else, or they're selfishly jealous. 21:44 This is the kind of jealousy that humans also 21:47 often display in our relationship. 21:51 But God never has this kind of jealousy. 21:55 His jealousy, or passion, is actually always the godly kind 21:59 of jealousy for this passionate and exclusive relationship. 22:03 And this is actually born out 22:05 in the very way the words are used themselves. 22:07 I told you that it's the same word, it is, 22:09 the same Greek word in the New Testament, the same Greek verb 22:12 in the Old Testament, but there is, kind of, something about 22:15 the way the word is used in the Old Testament that actually 22:17 makes this distinction, even in the Hebrew grammar. 22:22 So the Hebrew word for "jealousy" or "passionate love" 22:25 is "qanah." 22:27 And we see that sometimes this verb is used in a sentence 22:30 with a particular kind of preposition, 22:33 a prepositional phrase, 22:35 and so you have the verb, and then you have a preposition. 22:37 The preposition in Hebrew is "beit." 22:40 Whenever it's used with that preposition, 22:41 it's referring to envy, 22:44 or this kind of negative kind of jealousy. 22:46 And it's used frequently of humans having 22:49 this kind of envy for one another 22:51 or an envious, selfish kind of jealousy in relationships. 22:54 You see that throughout the Old Testament, but you never have 22:57 that construction of "qanah" plus "beit" used with God 23:02 as the subject because He is never envious, 23:04 because He's never jealous with that kind of negative jealousy. 23:07 That is never found. 23:09 You have a more positive construction 23:10 where you have the same verb "qanah" 23:12 that's used with a different preposition, 23:15 the preposition, "lamed," the Hebrew letter 23:18 of the alphabet, "lamed," which has a particular meaning. 23:21 When that construction is used, it's always of this 23:24 positive kind of passion for exclusive relationship. 23:28 It's the righteous passion, the righteous ardor 23:31 of relationship between God and His people. 23:33 And this can be used of both human relationships 23:36 when it's used of the godly kind of jealousy 23:38 that we saw Paul talk about, 23:40 but it can also be used of this righteous passion of God. 23:44 And so even just in the grammar, God is never envious 23:48 like the false gods of the nations. 23:51 He is never jealous in a negative way 23:54 that is unfitting for Him. 23:56 It's always His passion for exclusive love relationship, 23:59 and it, really, it's His passion for His people on their behalf. 24:02 And this, then, motivates Him to rescue them 24:05 and save them from the other nations 24:08 and do all kinds of loving actions on their behalf. 24:11 >>Eric: So we have a little clearer picture of what it means 24:13 for God to be jealous versus what it might mean for us to be 24:16 jealous or our understanding of the typical definition there. 24:19 What kind of--if somebody wanted to be more passionate 24:23 like God, more compassionate like God, what kind of 24:27 practical steps might a person take to more fully adopt 24:32 that element of God's character in their own life? 24:35 >>John: Yeah, the first step would be for us to recognize 24:38 that we can't generate this kind of love, 24:40 or godly jealousy, by ourselves. 24:42 So first we have to go to the source, right? 24:45 "We love...because He first loved us," 1 John 4 says. 24:47 So we should always be in relationship with God, 24:50 and we should be asking Him to fill us with His love. 24:53 And the Holy Spirit does fill us with that love, 24:56 according to Romans 5, for those who ask of it. 24:59 And it's that kind of unselfish love 25:03 that we cannot generate by ourselves. 25:06 And then, we should try to actually follow God's example. 25:10 I shared with you already 25:11 that God's passionate love for His people spurs Him to action. 25:14 It moves Him to do things. 25:16 We saw also that Jesus is, over and over again, moved to 25:20 compassion, and then He does something to help the people. 25:23 And in our lives, it's easy for us to see imagery 25:26 of someone's suffering, imagery of something going wrong, 25:29 and we have the sympathetic feeling or reaction, right? 25:31 At least we should--our heart goes out to them. 25:34 But that's not enough, to just have the feeling. 25:37 We should actually be willing to do something for them, 25:41 especially to do something within our means. 25:43 Now, we can't, you know, solve all world hunger by ourselves. 25:46 We can't stop wars. We don't have that kind of power. 25:50 But there are many things we could do 25:51 within our sphere of influence, right? 25:53 We can help people within our sphere of influence. 25:56 We can clothe the naked. 25:57 We can give food to those who are hungry. 25:59 We can do all kinds of other things that are tangible, active 26:03 expressions of love that mirror the love that God has for us. 26:08 When Jesus is moved to compassion for His people, 26:11 He does something for them. 26:14 And when we're moved to compassion, 26:16 we should also be looking for opportunities. 26:18 How can I be a blessing in this other person's life, 26:22 who needs it? How can I, who claim to be a follower of God, 26:25 who claim to be a child of God and know God's love, 26:29 how can I reflect that love towards someone else 26:33 in a tangible way? 26:34 When I see suffering and injustice in the world, 26:37 and that moves me, maybe, to righteous indignation, 26:40 how can I translate that into positive action 26:42 that will actually make the world a better place? 26:44 Instead of just complaining about the way things are, 26:47 what could I do that would actually make the world 26:49 more loving and more just, as a reflection of our great God? 26:52 >>Eric: I think as God places those things on our hearts, 26:55 and we see those things happening around us, 26:57 He's also going to give us opportunities 27:00 to remedy those things in tangible ways. 27:04 Well, we trust that this week has been a blessing to you. 27:07 Once again, we've been looking at how God is both passionate 27:09 and compassionate, and that should translate into 27:14 very tangible, very real ways in our lives as we look 27:18 at the world around us and as God gives us opportunities 27:20 to interact with that world in positive ways. 27:24 We have the opportunity to reflect Christ's character 27:27 in our lives to the rest of the world. 27:30 We're going to continue our study of the look at God 27:34 being a God of love and a God of justice 27:37 when we come back again next week for lesson number five. 27:41 We look forward to seeing you, 27:43 once again, here on "Sabbath School," 27:44 brought to you by It Is Written. 27:46 [uplifting music] 28:23 [uplifting music] 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2025-01-16