Further Thought:
“The heart of God yearns over His earthly children with a love stronger than death. In giving up His Son, He has poured out to us all heaven in one gift. The Saviour’s life and death and intercession, the ministry of angels, the pleading of the Spirit, the Father working above and through all, the unceasing interest of heavenly beings, — all are enlisted in behalf of man’s redemption.” — Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 21.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“If you have renounced self and given yourself to Christ you are a member of the family of God, and everything in the Father’s house is for you. All the treasures of God are opened to you, both the world that now is and that which is to come. The ministry of angels, the gift of His Spirit, the labors of His servants — all are for you. The world, with everything in it, is yours so far as it can do you good.” — Ellen G. White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 110.
Discussion Questions:
- With all of these awesome gifts that God gives His children, we are compelled to ask, as did the psalmist, “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” (Psalm 116:12, NKJV). Make a list of the blessings and gifts of God to you in your spiritual and temporal life, and be ready to share it with your class. What does this teach you about how thankful to God you really should be?
- Though we think about God, and rightly so, as our Creator, Scripture over and over teaches that He is our Sustainer as well. (See Hebrews 1:3; Job 38:33-37; Psalm 135:6-7; Colossians 1:17; Acts 17:28; 2 Peter 3:7) From the galaxies in the cosmos, to the beating of our hearts, to the forces that hold together the atomic structures that make up all known matter, it is only God’s sustaining power that keeps them in existence. How should this biblical truth help us understand just what our obligations are to God, in terms of how we use whatever He has given us? How does this reality help us keep our life and the purpose of our life in proper perspective?
- The lesson talked about why, of all God has given us, Jesus and the plan of salvation is the greatest gift of all. Why is that true? What would we have if we didn’t have that and the great hope it offers us? An atheist writer depicted humans as nothing but “hunks of spoiling flesh on disintegrating bones.” Why, without the gift of the gospel, would he have a point?
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This week, our study has centred on the family metaphor to illustrate the relationship between God and us. The central theme of a functional family is love. A family that takes responsibility for one another and cares for one another is an example of how our relationship with God and one another should work.
If the main driver for family relationships is legal obligation it is well on the way to disintegration. I knew a family once where it took four letters from lawyers at $250 each to make arrangements for one of the children to go on a school excursion.
If we want the church to be an active, effective witness for the Gospel, then our relationship with one another must reflect our relationship with God. It must be a love that shows. That does not mean that we are always addressing one another with platitudes and calling each other "Brother" and "Sister" all the time. Just as in a fully functional family, there are disagreements to be resolved, discipline to be administered, and timetables and appointments to be kept, so too in a fully functional church our love for one another can be messy as we work through the issues that assail us.
Christianity is more about our practical relationship with one another than mental acceptance of a set of doctrines.
I think you are right with your point, but the last three words, [set of doctrines]. it is the doctrines that tells us to love one another. To separate the doctrines from our lifestyle to me it makes it feel like two different subjects.
The [set of doctrines] was not isolated in my comment.
Hi, Steven. I think the point here is that we don't just think, "Yeah, that's right" when it comes to the teachings of Jesus, but we work them into our practical life. Isn't that what Jesus was saying when speaking of the wise man who dug deep and laid his foundation on the rock, versus the foolish man who built on the sand? Matthew 7:24-27
Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. Colossians 1:17
What does Christ mean to you?
Christ is something to be experienced! To know Christ one has to have a personal experience with Him. Christ is this One Force that can turn life into a purpose! Christ is this Energy that can put away all the human pain, the madness, the selfishness, the blindness!
Christ can free me from myself, and still, make me feel whole! In union with Christ all things in my life gain a proper place!
Try Him; anyone can find Him out.
We will always have "A Self," even after Jesus frees us from our "Sinful Self." However, being freed from our sinful selves by Jesus then gives us a more "Useful" sort of self and a more "Productive" one and a more "Heavenly Type" of self. I always start my day with praising God for being the "Creator of this Universe," then I go on to praise Him for creating this Earth and all life in it, "Plant, Animal, and Human." Then I go on to praise Him for making Humans in "His Image." Then I go on to praise Him for sending Jesus to restore that image in Man. Then I praise God for giving us His Holy Spirit to aid us in the work of taking this truth to others and also aiding us in becoming like Him in Character---"A Christlike Character in my new self."
I love the Lord because he first lovers me. Then I’m to love others!
It is amazing to me as to how in Luke 11:13 Jesus counsels us to "ask" for The Holy Spirit" and also shows us how willing God is to give His Holy Spirit to us and compares God's willingness to do this to us "evil parents" and how we, as evil as we are, willing to give "good gifts" to our children. Then, in Matthew 7:7-12, here: the same idea is given in regards to God giving us "Good Gifts," but again and also, we are to "ask, seek, and knock." But again, God's willingness to give us "Good Gifts," is also compared here to us, "Evil Parents" and our willingness to give "Good Gifts" to our children. But and again, we are to "ask, seek, and knock," in approaching God for "The Good Gifts," from Him.
This week's lesson brought to mind that, from the Beginning, God created man as part of the Father’s family of created beings. Potentially, we have brothers and sisters of the family of God living on other spheres which are made to sustain life of beings designed to inhabit them. Though we can only speak for ourself, the experience of our relationship with our Creator Father is a testament to the great Love the Father has for all His created children living throughout the expanse of His created universe.
I ask myself, “who is this creature - man”? How do we, creatures of flesh and blood, given a free will/mind, become aware that we have also a spiritual identity? The Grace of God through the Holy Spirit revealed to us that true ‘life’ is found only in our born-again, spiritual identity which is based on the righteousness of God and His Son Jesus Christ who came to share this Truth, Light and Life with us - John6:63; John 6:40.
I asked: "What is ‘self’"?
Wikipedia – “The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the self is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self – or selfhood – should, however, not be confused with subjectivity itself.”
I asked - "What is ‘ego’"?
Oxford languages dictionary defines ego as:
Psychoanalysis: ‘the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.
Philosophy: (in metaphysics) a conscious thinking subject.
As we live in our body as a member of the Family of God, what is acceptable/good/perfect in the sight of the Father and the Son that man can do?
Question #2 in today's lesson left a bad taste in my mouth somehow. We are dependent on God, and realizing that should lead us to want to serve Him. And yet, talking about obligations doesn't seem very warm and fuzzy. I have always been turned off by people who do great acts of charity and then are upset when they don't get honored or thanked the right way. People can be that way about gifts they give too. And I often think, "Why did you bother to do such and such when it was all about you getting something back?" I trust God is not like that, but the question almost makes it seem like that - "Look humans, I made you, now worship and serve me!" It sounds like an employer/employee relationship. I wish there was a better way to express it.
You raise a very valid point Christina.
Hi, Christina. I, for one, totally agree with you that our motive in serving God should be one of love responding to His infinite love. Nevertheless, to be fair, the lesson author is not God asking us to feel a sense of obligation to Him. He is just another dependent creature suggesting that we might owe our Creator a debt of gratitude. Of course we do, but it does seem rather sad to think that we might need that kind of reminder.
I believe that love isn't just a warm and fuzzy feeling. Love is a principle of action.
The author says nothing about God demanding anything. He appeals to our morality/sense of right and wrong to ask us what our response should be in light of all that God has done and is doing for us. It seems like a fair question to me.
I don't see any comparison to the examples you give. A more apt comparison might be a child's relationship to his/her mother. But that isn't even adequate, because some mothers can be neglectful. A mother who has risked her life to save her child from a burning building, sustaining terrible injuries, then working long hours to support the child comes a bit closer. Would it be wrong to suggest that the child is under some kind of moral obligation to that mother? Or is it fine for that child to attach him/herself to a random stranger?
Perhaps the word "obligation" has connotations to you that it dpes not have for the author?
But I'd like to suggest another aspect to you: When God asks us to love Him and our neighbors, He is not making a selfish request. He is showing us the only way that a happy and fulfilling life is possible on this earth and the only way that heaven can be blissful.
Does that make sense to you?
Well now, while I agree that a parent that has risked his or her life to save their child from a fire is a rather "Extreme" example of "Love" for that child (and I am sure that Jesus and His Cross at Calvary) does give that "Extreme Example of God's love for humanity, yet, "Giving Good Gifts," does not need to be that extreme in their examplifications or their executions either. Like feeding the hungry or clothing the naked etc. and etc.
Christina, I reread question #2 and stopped at the comma after "obligations are to God". Stopping there did feel to me such as you stated. BUT! when I read again with only a pause at the comma the following "in terms of how we use whatever He has given us?" The emphasis, seemed to shift from me doing something back to God because of what he had done for me. To since God has done this for me how can I help someone else? To me, the emphasis became more on my being a conduit for pouring God's blessings on others.
Hopefully, that adds a little perspective.
Hi Christina – Yes, should we respond to God giving gifts from a sense of ‘obligation to return service', we certainly put the flesh to work for something that it is not prepared to do in this context. Our response would need to be generated from a spiritual source - the born-again, new-found identity of oneself as a child of God.
As I see it, man's 'value' assigned to the act of fulfilling one's ‘obligations’ to each other, is part of the human relationship; an effort to communicate amicably – I give you something, you give me something in return – an even exchange. Should an 'even' exchange break down due to unfulfilled 'obligations', one would probably assess the ‘profitability’ of the relationship.
But when we learn that God is the spiritual source of all that is good, our perception of giving and receiving gifts as an 'obligation to return service' changes - James 1:16-18; all 'giving and receiving' is now seen strictly as an expression of the spirit of God's love.
As you noted in your comment, you do not think that His 'giving of gifts' and our response to it takes place in the same forum as unredeemed man's does; I agree. You stated: “I wish there was a better way to express it”, and I wonder if you have taken a moment to reflect on this ‘point’ to find your own answer and share it with us?
I offer 4 scenarios for potential consideration:
1) I remind someone that of all that I have done for them and therefore that they should love me in return, otherwise I will ....
2) I merely remind someone that of all that I have done for them and therefore that they should love me in return.
3) Someone, in their own awareness of all that I have done for them, considers that they should therefore love me in return because they are morally obliged to do so. So they do because it is the right thing to do.
4) Someone, in awareness of all that I have done for them, experiences desire awakened within them to love me in return - not because they should, but because they genuinely want/desire to.
Which scenario/s would you desire to experience from your partner, your child, your friend, etc? Which scenario/s might God desire? Which scenario/s fosters authentic freedom-based love? Which scenario/s do you find reflected in the following quote?