The Mother Love of God
It’s Mother’s Day. Our hearts and minds are filled with thoughts about the love of mothers and our love for mothers. I still remember when I newly got assigned to Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, Korea, as a military police after boot camp training. At that time I was 20. Everything was new, and I was kind of nervous. In the early days I had hard times to adjust to a totally new environment. One Saturday afternoon I got notice that I had a visitor. I was surprised because I didn’t expect any visitors. I went to the visiting room. Guess who? It was my mom who was waiting and waving her hands. She just got her driver’s license at that time and had never driven out of town. But her love for the son compelled her to drive that far without fear or reservation, in order to encourage her son and deliver special homemade food. This is mother’s love!A mother gives life. She goes through so much to give birth to a child. She gives food from her own body. She gives of herself for the sake of the child. In many ways God’s love is like a mother’s love. In Isaiah 66:13 God says, “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you!” And he even goes further, saying, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (49:15) God promised, “I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand!” (41:10) He also promised, “I will dwell in you and walk in you; and I will be your God and you will be my people!” (Lev 26:11-12; 2 Cor 6:16) I will be your father/mother and you will be my children! (2 Cor 6:18) Here is a question. How is God going to be my father and my mother? How is he going to strengthen me and help me? Many Christians believe God as Almighty and distant God, outside of me and separate from me, who lives somewhere in the heaven above and helps them from time to time. Is it true? How is God going to be our father and our mother? How is He going to be our God? We can find the answer in the one of God’s promises that we have just read: “God said, “I will dwell in you, and walk in you; and I will be your God, and you will be my people!” (2 Cor 6:6 KJV). The indwelling of God! This is how He will be our God. This is God’s divine plan for us before the foundation of the world.
The Indwelling of God
God created man and woman in his own image. God made them not because he needed them. God made the human beings because he wanted them to taste and see his holiness and his goodness. He wanted them as holy and as good as He is.He wanted to give them all he had himself. He wanted them to share his divine nature, his life, and his joy (cf. 2 Peter 1:4). How could it be possible? How could He do that? There is no other way for God to do this than dwelling in them. But during the Old Testament times the indwelling of God was spoken of and promised, but it had not happened yet. God dwelt in the midst of his people, the camp, but he didn’t dwell within the people in general. God’s Spirit worked in certain people – priest, prophets, and kings – for certain period of time for special purposes. In Ezekiel 36: 27 God promised, “I will place my Spirit within you, empowering you to live according to my regulations and to keep my just decrees” (ISV). This promise was fulfilled at Pentecost. On the night Jesus was betrayed, he said to his disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you!” (John 14:18) And on the day of Pentecost Jesus did come back to them in the Spirit, now to dwell in them, not just with them. In the Book of Acts we read of the wondrous change that happened to the disciples. They were so selfish, childish and proud, but now they are selfless, humble and mature. They were afraid, feeble and doubtful, but now they are full of faith, joy and power, because of one thing, one change, that is, now Christ Jesus himself dwells within them as their life! For many Christians, this promise, “I will live in you” has never been understood, or believed, or claimed. So I ask you: Have you claimed this promise? Do you seek to live it out?
Examine Yourselves!
Today’s scripture is 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (ESV) At that time the church of Corinth was filled with all kinds of problems. They were divided over many issues, judged each other harshly, committed adultery, initiated lawsuits, divorced without biblical grounds, and some of them even accused Paul of being a false apostle. At the end of his second letter to them, Paul sums up all his exhortations in this verse: “Do you not know? I am afraid you do not, or you would live differently. Do you not know that if you are not entirely backslider, Jesus Christ is in you?” Why are so many Christians fail and live a powerless life? It is because they do not know or believe aright that Jesus Christ is actually in them! If they did, they would think differently, act differently, live differently!So Paul commends this great truth to the people of Corinthian church and all of us in this room today: Believe in and accept the indwelling Christ. And believe this truth not as a doctrine, but as an experience – Jesus Christ is in me! On April 5, 2010 as I was reading E.M. Bounds’ Power through Prayer, I was struck by one sentence. That was the statement of David Brainerd, who was an American missionary to the Native Americans. He said, “I love to be alone in my cottage, where I can spend much time in prayer.”[1] Then, I saw myself. I was afraid of being alone, because I was often tempted when I was alone. So I asked myself, “What is the difference between him and me?” Later I realized the difference between the two was the knowledge, the consciousness that Jesus Christ is in me. So I prayed, “Lord, let me love to be alone and spend much time with you. Let it not be the time of temptation!” My prayer was answered. Now I came to believe and experience Jesus Christ who has become my life and lives in me. And all my thoughts and tempers and dispositions and actions now have his life! And how about you? Do you really believe in the indwelling Christ?
Believe in “whole” Jesus!
The Apostle Paul also exhorts us to accept the “whole” Christ, not to be content with only half a Christ. What does it mean by that? Many Christians believe in and accept Christ who lived and died for their sins, but they never think of giving up their own will wholly and entirely to him as their king. They come to Christ for comfort and happiness, but not for holiness and transformation. Let us believe and accept the whole Christ! First, believe in the incarnate Christ, who became human and lived among us. Christ emptied himself for you. But do you know that you are called to humble yourself and give yourself for others? Second, believe in the crucified Christ, who died on Calvary for our sins. Yes, it is true. Christ was crucified for you, but do you believe that you are crucified with Christ? Third, believe in the risen and glorified Christ, who was raised from the dead and now is sitting on the throne of heaven. Jesus was exalted and declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead. But do you believe that you are also sons and daughters of God and called to live the resurrected, powerful, victorious life? Lastly, believe in the indwelling Christ, who is in us all the time. When he comes to dwell in us, he cannot change his nature. His redeeming love, his love for souls, his willingness to give up all, has taken possession of us! So listen to him who speaks to your heart with a gentle and soft voice. Yield yourself to him. Trust in him. Let him lead!Jesus Christ in You!
When Paul was writing his first and second letter to the church of Corinth, the church was still a mess. But Paul had hope. He had confidence that the church would pass the test. His confidence, his hope was from one great truth – Jesus Christ in you! So he closes his letter with these last words: “Beloved brothers and sisters, remember that Jesus Christ is in you! And you will rejoice, aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, and live in peace!” (5, 11)As we look around – our own personal life, our family, our church, our nation, our world, we may feel like we are troubled on every side. And we may ask, “Where is Jesus?” “Where is the kingdom of God?” The Apostle Paul says to us in the Spirit. “Jesus Christ is within you. Where there is Jesus, there is hope. Where there is Jesus, there is the kingdom of God. So the kingdom of God is among you and within you!” And now let me close today’s message with Charles F. Butler’s “Where Jesus Is, Tis Heaven.” If you know this song, please feel free to sing with me:
What matters where on earth we dwell?
On mountain top, or in the dell,
In cottage, or a mansion fair,
Where Jesus is, ‘tis Heaven there.
O hallelujah, yes, ’tis Heaven,
‘Tis Heaven to know my sins forgiven;
On land or sea, what matters where?
Where Jesus is, ‘tis Heaven there!
[1] E.M. Bounds, Power through Prayer (Whitaker House: New Kensington, 1982), 61.
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