Chayei Sarah (Life of Sarah) Genesis 23:1-25:18

God's grace is sufficient. His word is enough. How much He desires our humble, trusting hearts.

This theme stands out from the Torah portion this week, which brings us to the conclusion of both Sarah and Abraham's lives.

The story of Abraham is full of God's initiatives and Abraham's responses in the simplicity of faith - usually. It is complicated only when bright ideas are introduced. Having waited 10 years from the time of God's promise to Abraham to make him into a great nation, Sarah says, "…perhaps I can build…" (Genesis 16:2). The result is the angel's promise (Genesis 16:12) "He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand will be against him and he will live in hostility towards all his brothers". After 24 years, Abraham moves their tent to live among the Philistines. He tells his 89 year old, still beautiful wife to identify herself as his sister (which was true but not the whole truth) with the result that God's plan to bless them with their promised heir, Isaac, is almost aborted! Sarah is taken by King Abimelech but God mercifully interrupts with a dream, warning him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken….." (Genesis 20:3). The very next year, Isaac is born.

Living in a society where the cultural norms are not one's own can never be easy, but tribute is given to Abraham when he seeks a plot of land among the Hittites in which to bury his dear wife. "Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs." (Genesis 23:5). Abraham must have lived credibly among them in a way that they understood and yet he was without compromise, maintaining his distinctiveness.

God had chosen him (Genesis 18:19), "….so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him." Such is the value our Father God places on fatherhood and the raising of godly offspring who will walk with Him.

It is commonly recognised that Eliezer of Damascus, mentioned in 15:2, was Abraham's chief servant. Taking this to be so, he would have come to know his master very well over the decades and so when asked to return to Abraham's relatives to find a wife for Isaac, his mode of approach would surely have been that which would please his master. Here was a faithful, steady, patient, trustworthy, single minded man who was content to act on Abraham's initiative and set about his mission with clarity and determination.

Having considered his strategy, no doubt, over the 500 or so hot, dusty miles to Paddan Aram, he simply prays for God to bring to him the lady of His choice whom he would identify by her response when asked for a drink. Two other instances spring to mind in which the Sovereign Lord chooses the simple request for a drink as a vehicle for His working. In 1 Kings 17:10, Elijah asks a widow for a drink, which then led to a supply of God's provision throughout the famine and the resurrection of her son. In John 4:7, Jesus' request for a drink at the well of Abraham's grandson, Jacob, led to many in the town of Sychar believing in Him and receiving eternal life because of the woman's subsequent testimony.

In this instance in Paddan Aram, the servant waits at the well in silent, eager anticipation to see God's answer, in His timing. There is not a sniff of social engineering going on here. He sees a considerate, helpful, servant hearted, willing, hospitable, friendly, beautiful Rebekah unhesitatingly offer to draw water for his fleet of 10 thirsty camels - each one can drink 200 litres in 3 minutes - quite a time consuming, physical feat!

Her family were likewise generous in their response and, on hearing the servant's commission and his account of God's leading, they too know that this is a divine encounter and call. The next morning, there is no way that the return journey should be delayed, such is the impetus to return to Abraham and Isaac. In characteristic simplicity and truth, they are back in the saddle before there can be any dilution of the miracle of God's provision for them all. "This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other." (Genesis 24:50)

The Father seeks such to worship Him.

Author: Sally Bolton

Vayera (He appeared) Genesis 18 - 22

The great parliamentarian Edmund Burke said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.

Back in Genesis ch14 Abraham with his private army of 318 trained men, on hearing that his nephew Lot had been taken captive by an enemy, obviously with passionate and energetic determination, gave chase over some 100 miles or so, attacked and defeated the combination of four armies, evidently a vastly larger force. He recovered all that had been stolen including his nephew Lot and family plus other captives. Fantastic!

Now at the start of ch18 Adonai, the Lord, comes accompanied by two serving angels, all in human appearance, to Abraham’s camp, reinforces His covenant promises and eats a veritable feast that Abraham and Sarah provide.

They then head off towards Sodom, accompanied by Abraham who being the good host is seeing them on their way. Then, in the light of the eternal covenant promises that God had made to Abraham, He decides to tell him what He is about to do by way of judgement for Sodom & Gomorrah’s evil.

Now here something surprises me. Abraham did not plead with God to save Lot and family or ask that time be given for him to go with his private army and get Lot out of the line of God’s fire. He did not even mention Lot. Why?

Allow me to speculate:-

• Maybe Abraham felt he had sacrificed enough for Lot who after being rescued had gone straight back to live in that wicked city.

• Perhaps more than physical distance had come between them so that nephew and uncle had become more like strangers.

• Abraham may not have been sure that Lot worshipped the one true God anymore and so, having neglected such a great deliverance (Hebrews 2.3), he may not deserve to be saved yet again.

So Abraham makes what is no doubt a wonderful plea on behalf of at least ten anonymous righteous that evidently weren’t found in these cities to the effect of…nothing.

Let’s move on to the one “Righteous Lot” (2 Peter 2.7) in Sodom.

Now I speculate again:-

• Lot went back to and remained in Sodom, even after discovering how intensely evil it was, thereby keeping his family in danger.

• Lot did not take hold of the opportunity Abraham’s last rescue would have given him to relocate to safety.

• Having allowed this terrible situation to come upon him and his family, once he gave hospitality to the two men / angels, rather than risk himself by standing against the evil of the men surrounding his home, Lot offered his own daughters in order to appease the men”.

Lot’s passivity and appeasement approach, whilst he and his two daughters were rescued with just the clothes they stood up in, led to… the death of his wife and other family members, and probably his daughter’s decision to deduce him into sex, thereby creating two more enemy nations for Israel, namely Moab and Ammon.

If only Abraham had attempted to save Lot again…

If only Lot had taken the warning of his captivity and moved…

In all of this I see a lesson. At times I come to a point where I wonder if it’s worth continuing to pray for and do all I can to ensure the salvation of my family and friends who themselves seem so passive with regard to the great salvation our Heavenly Father has offered us through the sacrifice of His own Son, our Lord Yeshua. But I should take the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to Timothy as if it were to me…

“Proclaim the Word! Be on hand with it whether the time seems right or not. Convict, censure and exhort with unfailing patience and with teaching.”

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything”.

Author: John Quinlan

Let us encourage one another to be active participants in the battle!

[TLV = Tree of Life Version. Other quotes NIV]

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Why is the British Government Attacking Christian Leaders?

Readers of The Times last Saturday were presented with an astonishing attack upon Evangelical Christian leaders which was said to have been issued by the British Foreign Office. Their criticism was directed at a small group of Christian leaders who have made several visits to Syria during the past nearly 8 years of conflict. The group that includes well-known Evangelical leaders such as George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Nazir Ali, former Bishop of Rochester and Baroness Caroline Cox, have had meetings with President Assad in Damascus.

According to the report quoted by The Times the British Foreign Office says that their visits are undermining British Government policy which is aimed at overthrowing Assad. It is notable that the BBC never refers to the ‘Government of Syria’ or to ‘President Assad’: it is always ‘the Assad regime’. This is part and parcel of the British Foreign Office policy of trying to airbrush Assad out of the picture.

Is this a Humanitarian Policy or a Political Ploy?

But is this policy really based on humanitarian principles or is it simply a political ploy because we don’t like Assad being supported by Russia and Iran and we want to cosy up to Saudi Arabia who are fighting a proxy war with Iran in the Yemen and they hate Assad’s tolerant form of Islam?

Few Westerners UnderstandSyrians fleeing violence in their country crossed into Turkey, in Reyhanli, Hatay / See Photo Credits

There are few Westerners who really understand either the politics or the cultural complications of the Middle East with their many different branches of Islam and different social structures stemming from their different interpretations of their religion. It is nevertheless extraordinary that the British Foreign Office have mounted such an attack upon a highly respected group of Bible believing evangelical Christians.

Why issue such a statement just now, when the last visit of the group was back in April and the previous one was November 2017? Is the Foreign Office afraid that the war in Syria will be won by the Syrian Government forces by the end of this year and that Assad will still be in power? But surely that would make diplomatic talks even more important!

Significance of The Visits

The significance of the visits of this little group of evangelicals lies in their great concern for the small Christian minority that still exists in Syria. They certainly would not be supportive of Assad’s brutal policies that have brought tragedy to Syria, cost hundreds of thousands of lives, destroyed countless cities and caused millions of refugees. Assad undoubtedly is a monster; but the fact is that he is still the leader in Syria and someone has to talk to him about the future of Christians in his country.

Assad’s brutal policies that have brought tragedy to Syria

The interest of the Evangelical Christian leaders is that traditionally the Assad Government has been very tolerant towards Christians and has allowed them complete freedom to practice their faith in Syria without let or hindrance. This is in total contrast to Saudi Arabia where there is no tolerance of other religions and Christians are even banned from taking a Bible to the country: to establish a church would be utterly unthinkable! So why does the British Government unquestionably support Saudi Arabia, even despite the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi? Is it purely because we want their oil and we make vast sums of money by selling them bombers and weapons to kill and maim civilians in Yemen?

Who Will be in Power?

When peace is restored to Syria and elections are held, Assad, if he is still in power, will depend upon the support of Christians who traditionally form 10% of the population. I have not seen accounts of the discussions between the British evangelicals and Assad, but they will certainly not have avoided talking about the pursuit of the war and the inhumane use of barrel bombs and shelling of civilians. Their objective is to try to change the culture of Assad, not to get involved in political conspiracies to change the Syrian Government. In any case, a different leader, following a different form of Islam, might be less tolerant to Christians. This might be a case of the devil you know may be better than the one you do not know.

Christians in Syria would have been wiped out or reduced to slavery

The British evangelicals know that if the Islamic State fighters had won the Civil War and overthrown Assad’s Government, all the Christians in Syria would have been wiped out or reduced to slavery. The only hope for the future of Christianity in Syria is through negotiations with whatever Government that emerges after the civil war. This is the policy that the British Government should be pursuing.

British Foreign Office Bias

The British Foreign Office has never been supportive of the Christian gospel. 200 years ago, the East India Company, supported by the Foreign Office, bitterly opposed the sending of missionaries to India. It was the Clapham Group of Evangelical Christians led by William Wilberforce who forced a change of policy. And it was the anti-Semitic Foreign Office policy that undermined the Balfour Declaration during the British Mandate in Palestine which exacerbated the division between Arabs and Jews and led to the tragic situation that exists today.

When will the British stop interfering in foreign affairs in countries where they do not understand the culture? But Britain is not the only nation to do this. Most Western nations try to impose their type of democracy upon the rest of the world. Hence the tragic situations we see all over Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

But there is hope as a million Christians gather to pray in South Africa

As a world in turmoil slips ever closer to the precipice of complete chaos and anarchy, it is comforting to hear of around a million people gathering for prayer in South Africa.

And it is also comforting to hear the meeting’s leader, farmer/evangelist Angus Buchan, specifically praying for Israel, which took a further battering last weekend as southern towns endured a nightmare - running for cover from a volley of rockets fired from Gaza (see separate article).

Pittsburgh USA

Tragically, Jews in Pittsburgh, USA, suffered even worse as a gunman burst into the Tree of Life synagogue and shot eleven of their people dead, leaving six more wounded, some critical.

A congregation of some 80 people were attending a ‘baby-naming’/circumcision ceremony at the premises bearing a name that represents an appalling irony in view of the carnage witnessed there last Saturday.

It is said to be the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in US history and is part of an exponential rise in such incidents worldwide, although predictable calls for a tightening of gun laws are expected to cloud the issue. I believe it is significant, too, that the massacre took place at what for Jews is a hugely important ceremony reflecting their special covenant relationship with God established some 4,000 years ago.

The deadliest anti-Semitic attack in US history

In this respect, it was as much an attack on Israel, God’s chosen people – just as was the Holocaust, which was featured in a moving Channel 5 TV documentary on Sunday night presented by Chris Tarrant, who focused on how Hitler used the railways to take unsuspecting Jews to their grisly deaths in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and other horror camps.

It Could Happen Again

It’s time we woke up to the fact that it could all happen again if we continue to do virtually nothing about the rising clamour of lies and propaganda maligning the Jews in our midst.

Perversely, British peer Baroness Jenny Tonge has suggested that Israel bears some responsibility for the Pittsburgh attack, citing its “actions against Palestinians” on Facebook. The post has since been removed and she has apologised¹. And it turns out that a Jewish doctor heads the hospital that treated the perpetrator!²

But at the South African prayer meeting, held on an airfield near the country’s capital, Pretoria, Angus Buchan defied political correctness by leading a prayer for Israel – praying for Jews, Arabs and Gentiles there; and also praying that South Africa would remain friends with the Jewish state in the face of calls for downgrading diplomatic relations in view of alleged apartheid policies against the Palestinians.

More Prayer Meetings

Following similar meetings in Bloemfontein and Cape Town, the ‘It’s Time’ event saw Christians travel from every corner of this big country to pray against corruption, violence, poverty and injustice.

Buchan has emerged as an extraordinary leader of men because he is a man of extraordinary courage and faith. This was powerfully demonstrated on Saturday when he directly addressed the country’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa³ (who had been expected to attend, but in the end did not show up), respectfully taking off his hat and addressing him (via cameras) as ‘Your Excellency’ before challenging him to make a choice between “all those voices out there” and listening to the Word of God. “You cannot serve two masters,” he said, quoting Jesus’ words: “Whoever is not for me is against me…” (Matthew 12.30).⁴

For more details, see the article here.

There is certainly some excellent communication taking place among Christians in South Africa for such a large amount of people to respond to a call for prayer without much help, I’ve no doubt, from the mainstream media.

UK Christians’ Silence

By shocking contrast, Christians in the UK seem to know nothing about it. Not only do we fail to communicate with one another, to the extent that a national call to prayer here would be unlikely to enlist more than a few hundred warriors, but encouraging news like this appears to be way off our media’s radar even though easily accessible on the internet.

We have allowed Satan to silence us.

Part of the problem is that no spiritual ‘General’ has emerged capable of calling Christians to arms in the first place. It seems that we have allowed Satan to silence us. We have let our thinking be informed by the BBC and other purveyors of secular-humanism, and we don’t bother to find out what the body of Christ is doing elsewhere for our mutual encouragement and inspiration.

The gospel is the greatest news ever told, and yet we Christians in the UK can’t even communicate with one another. How then are we going to have the boldness, co-ordination and co-operation to enable us to share this good news with a world that is rapidly tottering towards the brink of collapse?

We must surely pray, but also “encourage one another and build each other up”. (1 Thess 5.11)

Time is short. Jesus is coming!

References

1. United with Israel, 28th October 2018
2. World Israel News, 29th October 2018
3. He was a Christian leader as a student
4. I am much indebted to Andre Viljoen, editor of Gateway News, South Africa, as well as to Fanie and Suzette van Rooyen for their regular updates from my native land

Are We Heading for an Apostate Church?

In last week’s editorial Dr Clifford Denton gave solemn warnings about the vulnerability to judgement of Church and State in Britain. I want to follow this by exposing some of the things that are happening in the denominational churches of Britain – particularly the Church of England and the Methodist Church.

Information comes into our office on a daily basis from readers all over the country showing the degree to which post-modernist beliefs and practices are entering the churches in Britain. We see it as our duty to share some of this information with our readers for two major purposes.

Post-modernist beliefs and practices are entering the churches in Britain.

First, it is our hope that those who have leadership influence in the churches will recognise the degree to which they are drifting away from the truth of the New Testament Gospel that has been at the heart of Christian mission followed by faithful believers for nearly 2000 years and is in grave danger of being lost. Secondly, we would like all Bible-believing Christians to be informed in their prayer life so that they can pray in line with the will of God for his church.

Church of England

Last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, informed Synod that it was his intention to lead the Church of England to become a ‘radically inclusive church’. He failed to define exactly what he meant by such a term, but before the end of the year he sent a letter to all Church of England Primary Schools telling the teachers to encourage the children to cross-dress in preparation for living in a pro-LGBTQ+ nation.

Anglican Primary Schools promote LGBTQ+ values

Some six months later a meeting was held in Church House Westminster to discuss education in Anglican Primary Schools where it was stated by the leader that it was Church of England educational policy to promote LGBTQ+ values in its schools. Only one voice was raised pointing out that this was a denial of biblical truth and the man who raised the objection was firmly told that this policy was not open for discussion.

No Discussion

A similar thing happened last month at an educational policy discussion in the Anglican diocese of Derbyshire where homosexual teaching is replacing biblical truth in Church of England Primary Schools. Bible-believing Christians are not only being side-lined but are being banned from raising any objections, or are simply being told that the Bible has got it all wrong and that the church is now teaching a different gospel.

Abandoned Church Organ / See Photo Credits

Methodist Church

It is not only the Church of England that is abandoning biblical truth – the Methodist Church has gone even farther. They have recently appointed an American minister from the United Methodist Church in Chicago USA to a key national position. This man and his ‘husband’, who is a lecturer at Queens College Birmingham, has been working as a minister among Methodist churches in Birmingham where he took groups on the Birmingham Gay Pride March, led training days and was working on planting a ‘radically inclusive church group’ in the City of Birmingham with a plan to establish eight more across the Midlands.

He has now left Birmingham for London where he has been appointed to a key national role in the Methodist Church as ‘Director of Evangelism and Church Growth’. This is described as “a new position aimed at supporting the development of these vital areas in church life”. This man is said to be “young, intelligent, personable, energetic and hard-working” and has “the ear of the Methodist Church leaders”.

Promoting Radical Inclusion

As the national Director of Evangelism for the Methodist Church in Britain this man is reported to be “preaching another gospel of radical inclusion where people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community are encouraged into fellowship and leadership without any requirement for a change of lifestyle. The LGBTQ+ lifestyles are promoted as completely acceptable.”

Our reader who wrote to us states –

“The gospel he promotes has other very worrying elements as well. A flavour of his theology can be seen by reading some of his Twitter feeds and also from the statements put out by the ‘Urban Village Church’ in Chicago where he was a pastor. They describe him as ‘A missionary to Europe and the UK’. From his blogs he is called a ‘Recovering Control Freak’ (whatever that means!). He also works as a coach with something called ‘Epicentre’ where he gets alongside ministers and clergy of all denominations to develop Mission and Church Growth.”

A false gospel will destroy the church, not build it.

Abandoning Truth

The truth of the gospel is under attack today from many different sources – not only from the secular post-modernist world, but from within the church where truth is being sacrificed on the altar of expediency. But a false gospel may promote church growth by increasing numbers in the pews, but once we abandon the gospel of ‘salvation only in the Name of Jesus’ we are entering realms that will destroy the church, not build it.

There are numerous warnings in the New Testament against preaching another gospel, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:11). Paul also severely warned the Galatians, “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Gal 1.7).

What we are seeing today is a destructive power of deception spreading through the churches. It will inevitably lead to their further decline and eventual collapse. Maybe it is God’s will to destroy the corrupt man-made denominations that we call ‘churches’ so that out of the rubble the true ‘ecclesia of the Lord’ will emerge.

Maybe we are already seeing the beginnings of this true church in the multitude of home-based small groups meeting for prayer and studying the word of God.

Consider the dandelions...

Below you can find back issues from our current Thought for the Week series, following the Torah Portions schedule 2018/2019.

Bereshit: Genesis 1:1-6:8 (Greg Stevenson)

Noach: Genesis 6:9-11:32 (Clifford Denton)

Vayera: Genesis 18:1-22:24 (John Quinlan)

Chayei Sarah: Genesis 23:1-25:18 (Sally Bolton)

Toldot: Genesis 25:19-28:9 (Catharine Pakington)

Vayetze: Genesis 29:10-32:2 (Greg Stevenson)

VaYishlach: Genesis 32:3-36:43 (Clifford Denton)

VaYeshev: Genesis 37:1-40:23 (Frances Rabbitts)

Miketz: Genesis 41:1-44:17 (John Quinlan)

VaYigash: Genesis 44:18-47:27 (Sally Bolton)

VaYechi: Genesis 47:28-50:26 (Catharine Pakington)

Vaera: Exodus 6:2-9:35 (Clifford Denton)

Bo: Exodus 10:1-13:16 (Frances Rabbitts)

Beshalach: Exodus 13:17-17:16 (John Quinlan)

Yitro: Exodus 18:1-20:23 (Sally Bolton)

Mishpatim: Exodus 21:1-24:18 (Catharine Pakington)

Terumah: Exodus 25:1-27:19 (Greg Stevenson)

Tetsaveh: Exodus 27:20-30:10 (Clifford Denton)

Ki Tisa: Exodus 30:11-34:35 (Stephen Bishop)

Vayak'hel: Exodus 35:1-38:20 (John Quinlan)

Pekudei: Exodus 38:41-40:38 (Sally Bolton)

Vayikra: Leviticus 1:1-6:7 (Catharine Pakington)

Tsav: Leviticus 6:8-8:36 (Greg Stevenson)

Leviticus 9:1-11:47 (Clifford Denton)

Tazria: Leviticus 12:1-13:59 (Stephen Bishop)

Leviticus 14:1-15:33 (John Quinlan)

Pesach 1: Exodus 12:21-51; Numbers 18:16-25 (Sally Bolton)

Pesach 2: Exodus 13:17-15:26; Numbers 28:19-25 (Catharine Pakington)

Leviticus 16:1-18:30 (Greg Stevenson)

Leviticus 19:1-20:27 (Clifford Denton)

Leviticus 21:1-24:23 (Stephen Bishop)

Leviticus 25:1-26:2 (John Quinlan)

Leviticus 26:3-27:34 (Sally Bolton)

Numbers 1:1-4:20 (Catharine Pakington)

Shavuot (Greg Stevenson)

Numbers 4:21-7:89 (Clifford Denton)

Numbers 8:1-12:16 (Stephen Bishop)

Numbers 13:1-15:41 (John Quinlan)

Numbers 16:1-18:32 (Sally Bolton)

Numbers 19:1-22:1 (Catharine Pakington)

Numbers 22:2-25:9 (Greg Stevenson)

Numbers 25:10-29:40 (Clifford Denton)

Numbers 30:1-36:13 (Frances Rabbitts)

Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22 (John Quinlan)

Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 (Sally Bolton)

Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25 (Catharine Pakington)

Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17 (Greg Stevenson)

Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9 (Clifford Denton)

Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19 (Frances Rabbitts)

When we moved to another house in the 1970s, we met an elderly neighbour who, when I asked to borrow some hedge-clippers, showed me his garden tools. They were all clean, lightly oiled to prevent rust, with the blades sharp and the hinges free. And they were about 50 years old! He had cared for them and kept them ‘as new’.

Our present ‘use-once-and-discard’ culture reminds me of a saying of Bill Bryson (in comparison with his experience in the USA): “One of the brilliant things about Britain is the way you’ve managed to save old things but to keep using them”. Our neighbour would have agreed with that! Our older generation has a great interest in antiques and the ‘good old days’, but do we care for old treasures and keep them ‘as new’?

Separate

Several times the scriptures make a distinction between old and new. Jesus teaches his disciples about the new treasures of the Kingdom of God to show the distinction between the great value of the Kingdom (like a pearl of great price) and the confines of ritualistic forms of religion - though they were treasures for their time. He indicates that old and new may not go together: we do not put a new patch on an old garment (which will tear), or new wine into old wineskins (which will split apart) (Matt 9:16-17).

The new Kingdom message of salvation requires a new creation. Those in Christ are a new creation - new life cannot grow in unregenerate man. Separation of old and new is needed. Jesus calls us to store up treasure in heaven by living in the new way of the Spirit, not in the old way.

Paul echoes this: “Get rid of the old yeast [representing sin], that you may be a new unleavened batch of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:7-8). Using other metaphors, the Kingdom is about new seed that grows and bears fruit; it is a great treasure (Matt 13:24, 31-32, 44).

Together

But Jesus gives us one treasure that is both old and new – it is Love. The God who is Love gives us this treasure in the giving of Himself, through His Son (“God so loved the world that He GAVE His one and only Son…”), that all might have eternal life.

John also writes to us of a commandment to love that is at the same time old and new (1 John 2:7-8). It is old because it was there in the Hebrew Bible from the beginning, in Torah: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbour as yourself” (Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18). This law of love must be our law too.

It is new in that Jesus raised the standard: we are to love as He loved. He said, “A new commandment I give to you: Love one another - as I have loved you” (John 13:34, 15:12). This love is a new treasure in the extent to which it should go, to reach everyone - as He did. No-one is to be excluded. To love like this, we need to know how Jesus loved: He laid down His life for all mankind.

Let us make our treasure the Love by Whom, and by which, we live.

Author: Greg Stevenson