Sunday 13 July 2014

Colin: Welcome to RiverFest:14

I write this sitting in my office on a chilly but bright June morning. As you read it, many of you will be settling into your rooms, filled with excited anticipation for RiverFest:14!

I am praying we will all experience two things that are inextricably linked: the first is a fresh revelation of the Father’s love and the second is the joy of sharing life with friends old and new. If you’re reading this at home, you can experience these two things too by making some space in your life today. Set some time aside to be with the Father, to read the Bible or to walk and talk with Him in the garden like Adam did. As we meditate on His goodness and love towards us, thankfulness and joy fill our hearts. Make time for someone else too; take them a gift or invite them for a coffee, a meal or a walk. Loving someone in this way also brings joy.

How apt, then, that my reading this morning was 1 John 4, a favourite passage that speaks of us completing or perfecting the Father’s love by loving one another. He is wonderful! Doesn’t it make your heart glad when He leads you to the part of the Bible that’s just what you need for the day?

I was thinking about our theme for this RiverFest weekend: Face to Face. What does that really mean? How can we see God face to face when the Bible says that no-one can see God (1 Timothy 6:16)? We know that Moses talked face to face with God as a man talks to his friend, and his face shone as a result. Can we do that? Well yes, the Bible says we have a more dazzling encounter by the Holy Spirit. For Moses didn’t see God’s full glory (that’s why, after talking, he pleads with God to show him His glory); that honour has been reserved for us in Christ.

In two places, the apostle John tells us that although we cannot see God, His glory is revealed to us. The first is John 1:18 where it says that Jesus has ‘declared Him’ or made Him known. The second is 1 John 4:12 where he tells us that, though we cannot see Him, if we love one another, God lives in us, or among us, and we complete His love, making Him plain for all to see. So we see the glory of the invisible God through Jesus and in our midst, as we love one another. Wow!

At this point it’s good to remember that love is not a feeling, it’s a choice. Jesus said that we show the greatest love when we choose to lay down our lives for others. In other words, we love another when we choose to put their needs ahead of our own. As parents, we do that instinctively for our children, especially when they are helpless babes. If we are serious about loving everyone we meet, the challenge for us is to continually be putting the needs of others before our own. That sounds impossible, but the more we know the Father, the easier this becomes because we know He’s looking after us. As our confidence in His love grows, our fears for our own needs diminish because we know He cares for us. We are worth more to Him than the birds of the air or the beautiful flowers of the field. And when we stop worrying about our own needs, we are freed to think of the needs of others. This is the life of love we are called to.=

David says, “They looked to Him and were radiant!” (Psalm 34:5). Let’s remember Him, who lavishes us with love, and let us love one another. That’ll fill us with joy and make our faces shine. You might say we come face to face with God!