Love Truth Blog

Having a good life is something that yearns in the heart of us all. It’s more than just longevity, but being able to experience life to its fullest. Some strive for that life apart from being involved in spiritual matters. Others seek the spiritual for fulfillment. Those who do might look to some well-established tradition, whereas others seek alternative paths. The common denominator is the search for the good life is often on the person’s own terms. God, however, has come from heaven to earth to show a different way, something far, far better. This way leads to eternal life, but it is on His terms. Christ’s encounter with a rich young man illustrates the point. Matthew 19 tells of a rich young man asking Jesus “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” (v. 16). Jesus response with a rhetorical question in hopes of getting the young man to think about what’s at stake: “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if yo...

Today’s new Web technologies allow one to discover a universe of information on practically any topic, and the things of God are no exception. The trouble is in weeding out the useless information to find what’s important. I find the stakes are high with respect to spiritual matters, since whatever information one finds can have everlasting implications. John wrote “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). What do “spirits” refer to? John’s first epistle addresses subjects by introducing two ideas in antithesis to one another: light and darkness; righteousness and sinfulness; truth and lies; Christ and antichrist; love and hate. This also found in 1 John 4:1-5. There are “two spiritual spheres in this world: one is the domain of the Holy Spirit; the other is the domain of the devil. The Holy Spirit dwells in the children of God (3:24), but the spirit of the devi...

How sweet is our God who extends His hand of mercy and grants forgiveness to penitent sinner! The Heavenly Father does not want to see any of His little ones perish, and like a good shepherd, He leaves the ninety-nine behind to seek the one who has gone astray. The Son of Man came to save the lost. This divine absolution is infectious, and those who have been forgiven much can also forgive much. It is on account of one’s sinful heart that withholds forgiveness. Those without mercy cannot offer mercy. Those without forgiveness do not forgive. A person might over look an offense, but the sinful heart can only tolerate so much. “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Peter inquired (Matt. 18:21), as if granting forgiveness over twice as many times other Rabbis prescribed would be piously generous. Yet, Jesus responded, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:22). He of course did not mean 490 times...

“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:43-48, NASB). Jesus Christ points out that even sinful people know how to treat the objects of their love. Each person has been endowed with some capacity to love. All can reciprocate kindness to our fellowman. Christ also points us to the true standard of love The Heavenly Father, who has an incomprehensible love that extends to all people. He sends rain both the righteous and...

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. [For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.] What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish” (Matt. 18:10-14) God’s love for people is unsurpassed by anything else. To help us understand the essence of this divine love, Jesus makes this spiritual reality tangible by paralleling it to a snapshot in the life of a shepherd. In the ancient world, one hundred sheep was the average size of a flock. One of the normal routines was for a shepherd to leave behind his flock ...

Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:3-4). Jesus’ message about becoming like a child in order to enter into and become great in the kingdom of heaven challenged the disciples’ perspective on things. The disciples argued about how one can be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, but their master told them they had to become like children to be great. But what does it mean to be like a child? Children in many respects are considered innocence not having reached the age of accountability. They are also impressionable, learning to think and behave through their interactions with others. They also can be very curious and adventurous in exploring their world—because it is all new to them. All these are commendable qualities of children, and I believe Jesus would have been well aware of them and much more. Neverthel...

“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you” (Matt. 17:19). On one occasion, a man fell upon his knees, and said to Jesus: “Lord, have mercy on my son” (Matt. 17:14-15a). Here is a father who wants desperately to help his son out of dire straits. He used words like “lunatic” and “very ill” to describe his son’s condition, noting that the boy’s illness made him make him fall into the fire and the water, in other words, it left him in a state of self destructiveness (Matt. 17:15b). The condition was more than just a case of epilepsy; rather, the cause was spiritual. The boy had given into the sirens of demons, and the malevolent spirits set out to destroy him. Compounding the problem was the man brought the stricken child to the disciples, but they were unable to cure him (Matt. 17:16). The disciples had the place of authority to act, but they could not carry out their...