In All Humility Saying No To Last Generation Theology by Reinder Bruinsma

Author:Reinder Bruinsma [Bruinsma, Reinder]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oak And Acorn Publishing
Published: 2018-07-31T05:00:00+00:00

Love: the center of biblical perfection

Let us take another look at Matthew 5:48 and compare this verse with its parallel in the Gospel of Luke. Instead of echoing the very same words (“be perfect”), Luke reports Jesus’ words as “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Could it be that the essence of biblical perfection is found in receiving and giving love? When we read Matthew 5:48 in its wider context, we notice how the word “love” is mentioned a number of times. That we are sons and daughters of God is demonstrated in our love for others, even for those who are our enemies. Loving others is the distinguishing mark of God’s children. After all, did God not already love us before we loved Him? “Therefore,” Matthew 5:48 says, we must be perfect in love and reflect the Fatherly love of God.

Reading the first letter of John, we get the distinct impression that love is the essence of our spiritual pilgrimage. According to Paul, it even surpasses faith and hope (1 Corinthians 13:13). Christ’s ideal for us is that we shall be “perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.… God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God and God in them. In this way love is made complete in us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus” (1 John 4:10-17). The apostle Paul stresses the same point: “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6).

The story of the rich young man that is told in Matthew 19:16- 30 is also relevant in this connection. This man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” The answer is: “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” At the man’s request Jesus then becomes more specific and lists a few of the Ten Commandments. The young man replies that he has kept all these commandments faithfully. And he adds: “What do I still lack?” Then Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Being “perfect,” it is clear, is not a matter of outward compliance to a series of instructions—important though they may be–but requires a consistent attitude of love as the basis for reaching our spiritual goal.

Love is the key to biblical perfection. The passage of 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 makes this abundantly clear. Paul expressed his hope for the believers in Thessalonica in these powerful words: “May the Lord

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