Description

The greater the value you place on the people in your life the more in touch with God you are. The more you see others as infinitely precious to God, the more God is having His way with you.

However, it is what we do or don’t do (not what we think) that reveals what we believe. So what will we do if we, in truth, do value others and acknowledge their preciousness to God?

1. We will realize that there is a monstrous disparity between how precious another person is and our ability to affirm it. In other words, it will become increasingly clear to us that even if we were to die a thousand deaths for another’s sake we would never be able to do justice to that other person’s worth to God.
2. This realization helps us humble ourselves and brings us to the truth: only God affirms preciousness.
3. Knowing that, we then set ourselves to live a life of what the apostle John calls, “abiding in love.”

How do we abide in love?  First let’s define the word “love,” and the word that seems to me to be the best synonym for the love that comes from God is the word “helpfulness.” Hence, God is love would mean that God is pure helpfulness.

And that means that

• only what God thinks is the most helpful thing to think.
• only how God evaluates a person or a situation is the most helpful way to evaluate.
• only how He feels about someone / something is the most helpful way to feel.
• only how He reacts to someone or a situation is the most helpful way to react.
• only what God says is the most helpful thing to say.
• only what God does is the most helpful thing to do.

Consequently, if I am going to abide in helpfulness, it will not happen apart from a continual looking up to God with a receptive heart whereby God can share with me his perspective and activity.

Jesus lived the ideal to aim for. He said of the Father: “I tell you the solemn truth, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.” John 5:19 (NET 2nd Ed.)