How To Be in the Flow of God’s Love and Compassion
• What is God’s Way for How We Live? This week’s video (and article) telling the story that comes out of these Bible readings (from the inter-denominational Revised Common Lectionary, July 10, 2022)
Amos 7:7-9 — Amos’ plumb line vision reveals Israel’s misalignment
Luke 10:25-37 — The Great Commandment is to love God and others
Colossians 1:1-14 — The Holy Spirit helps us bear fruit in God’s will
Watch the video What is God’s Way for How We Live? that tells the story that comes out of these Bible readings
Read the article How To Be in the Flow of God’s Love and Compassion
Psalm 82:1-4, 8
1 God presides in the great assembly; He renders judgment among the “gods”:
2 “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?
3 “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are Your inheritance.
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Amos 7:7-9 — Amos’ plumb line vision reveals Israel’s misalignment
Whatever is built that is not true, will have no permanence and be pulled down
7 This is what He showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand.
“True to plumb” — the bricklayer’s weighted cord defines vertical. A leaning wall quickly collapses.
8 And the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”
“A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.
“A plumb line among My people” — to reveal whether they are in alignment with the Lord, or dangerously out of true (and astray from the covenant and its rule of love).
“Spare them no longer” — in vv.1-6 Amos relates how God had early relented from bringing judgment. He would not stay His hand this time.
9 “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with My sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”
“High places of Isaac” — the name of Isaac, father of Jacob, represented all Israel. This refers to the temples and shrines of pagan deities not yet removed.
10-11 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. For this is what Amos is saying: “‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’”
12-13 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”
“Get out” — Amaziah’s loyalty was to King Jereboam and the sanctuary establishment; a prophetic challenge by a common country dweller from Judea was not valid or welcome.
14-16 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say, “‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
“Nor the son of a prophet” — Amos is no professional orator nor is he is being paid; the Lord has commanded him.
17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: “‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will surely go into exile,
away from their native land.’”
“Therefore” — denouncing a prophet sent by the Lord is a costly mistake; proud Amaziah will lose everything.
Reflection
SUMMARY Amos came from Tekoa, south of Jerusalem in Judah, and he had been sent by God to bring a difficult judgment message. He had journeyed north from his rural home to Bethel, the location of the shrine of the more prosperous northern kingdom of Israel. There, he is rudely dismissed by the establishment priest, Amaziah.
APPLICATION Earlier chapters of Amos’ message to Israel are full of pictures of the selfish “cows of Bashan” relaxing on their ivory couches — and oppressing the poor and needy. The northern kingdom wrongly saw its prosperity as evidence of God’s favour, despite their covenant-denying and uncaring behaviour. Within a decade or two, Amos’ warning became reality as they were overrun and taken into exile by neighbouring Assyria.
QUESTION What in our personal life, church, or community is God calling to be brought back into alignment with Him?
Luke 10:25-37 — The Great Commandment is to love God and others
Showing unjudgmental love to those we come in contact with is foundational
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Expert in the law” — or scribe, many of whom belonged to the Pharisee sect.
“He asked” — a common question in Judaism was about eternal life, which did not have the assurance we have in Jesus.
• Compare similar stories in Matt. 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34.
26 “What is written in the Law?” He replied. “How do you read it?”
“What is written?” — for Jesus, the Scriptures are the yardstick for faith and practice.
27 He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
“Love the Lord… love your neighbour” — a familiar phrase from a daily prayer linked by context to the command to “love your people”, Deut. 6:5, Lev. 19:18.
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
“You will live” — meaning “you will live well”. Jesus is not saying that salvation is earned by loving God and neighbour (which would contradict every other reference to eternal life).
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”
“Who is my neighbour” — scribes and Pharisees were biased toward those they classed as righteous ‘neighbours’, while tax collectors, Gentiles, and Samaritans were to be hated as enemies of God.
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
“Going down… to Jericho” — a winding and difficult 17-mile descent in rocky desert which gave opportunity to robbers. Clothes were a valuable, saleable commodity.
31-32 “A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
“Priest… Levite” — priests were descendants of Aaron who served in the Temple, assisted by Levites. A man who might be dead would make them ritually unclean and unfit for duty.
33 “But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
“A Samaritan” — a shocking, unimaginable contrast. After the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom (prophesied by Amos, above), Assyrians intermarried with Israelites who remained in Samaria. This became a source of racial hatred when the Judeans returned from Babylon following their own exile.
34 “He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.
“Oil and wine” — a traveller’s first aid kit.
35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Two denarii” — enough for a long stay.
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
“Which… was a neighbour” — generous rescue by a sworn enemy which two religious officials had refused, was humiliating.
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
“The one who had mercy” — the law and prophets prioritised mercy. “Who is my neighbour” had become “How can I be a neighbour?”
• For further study, read Hosea 6:6; also Isaiah 1:11-17; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8.
Reflection
SUMMARY Jesus fields a ‘correct’ answer to a common question with a story that draws out the heart behind the words.
APPLICATION The scribes of Jesus’ day were notoriously judgmental and prejudiced against those who did not subscribe to their rules. This exposes how conditional our love can be — especially in religiously narrow attitudes to those deemed not to conform.
QUESTION How generous-spirited are we as believers to those who do not share our values?
Colossians 1:1-14 The Holy Spirit helps us bear fruit in God’s will
Confident faith and love rooted in knowing Jesus’ love is changing the world
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
“Apostle” — not a title but (like ‘servant’ in other letters) describing one sent as a personal representative.
2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
“Holy people” — simply believers who know they belong to God, with no religious overtones.
3-6 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people — the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven, and about which you have already heard, in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world — just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
“Faith…love…hope” — foundational to the Christian life. Hope is having confidence in God’s goodness; this is expressed in faith and love.
• For further study: central to Christian life, Rom. 5:1-5; 1 Cor. 13:13; Gal. 5:5-6; Eph. 4:2-5; 1 Thess. 1:3; 5:8; foundational, Heb. 6:10-12; 1 Pet. 1:3-8, 21-22.
“Growing throughout the whole world” — always inclusive, a generation after Pentecost the Good News was being told in every quarter of the Roman Empire.
7-8 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
“Epaphras” — the evangelist who started churches in Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis.
“Love in the Spirit” — the Holy Spirit is the source of Christian love, Romans 5:5, Galatians 5:22-23.
9=12 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light.
“Live a life worthy” — lit. “walk worthy”, not cerebral knowledge but living aware of God’s will by the transforming impartation of the Holy Spirit, v.9, and thereby being empowered and made fruitful in life, vv.10-12.
“Qualified… to share in the inheritance” — a qualification given by the Father, not earned. Israel’s eligibility is now extended to Gentiles as equal co-heirs with Jewish believers in Jesus.
13-14 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
“Dominion of darkness” — dark influence blinding people to the reality of God, resulting in evil.
Reflection
SUMMARY Paul offers discipleship teaching to fellowships around Colossae started by the evangelist Epaphras. He emphasises how coming to know God through Jesus is about receiving His love and multiplying it among others.
APPLICATION Knowing who we are in Christ, the new identity of a new spiritual life, is nothing if not distinctive — and attractive. This is how the gospel bears fruit and grows among people both like — and different from — ourselves. The Jesus-centred church is loving, accepting, organic and therefore growing.
QUESTION Are we striving to live a life worthy of the Lord, or allowing the Holy Spirit to change us and empower us to live for Him?
PRAYER Father, help us return Your unconditional love of us, by knowing and practising what You really want — especially in our relationships with others. To the glory of Jesus. Amen.
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