The Life and Times of Joe Suttle

No, haven't been watching any movies, just my reading today in Chapter 4 of First John got me to "propitiation", and that got me to visions of Indy.

Right there staring me in the face was a word that when researched took me to the "Ark of the Covenant" – remember Indy in the temple with the bad guys attempting to steal the Ark? When they opened it, they were struck down (read "killed") by the awesome power they themselves unleashed.

The word "propitiation" in First John has to do with Jesus being the "propitiation" for our sins. Well, that was what the Ark was all about – the Jewish priests would carry a sacrafice into the temple and offer it (the blood) on the "Mercy Seat" of the Ark. It was how the people got their sins (doing wrong, just in case you have not bought the lingo yet) forgiven or appeased. You can check it out in Exodus 25.

You had to pay the price for what "wrongs" you had done. I know, very interesting concept. First, you have to believe in "right" and "wrong". Absent that, there is no reason to say you are sorry for anything. So…having gotten over the hump that you did somebody wrong. If nobody else, you offended God by not doing what he told you to do. As someone has said, God's commandments were commands, not suggestions.

Christmas day is approaching, and maybe there is something you need to make right or someone you need to get right with. Why wait until December 25th.

We are still on the mailing list of Hillside Church in Corte Madera, where we worshipped and ministered for a couple of years. Prince Altom is the Lead Pastor there, and his Christmas newsletter was titled "Rejoice". He wrote about the accomplishments of Hillside in the midst of all that is happening around us and them.

My thanks to Prince for what caught my eye and spirit at the end of the piece.

"If our greatest need in life was financial security God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need was erudite learning God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need was political wisdom God would have sent us a politician. Our greatest need was the salvation of our souls and the model of a life for others and so God sent us Jesus Christ who, according to the ancient creed, lives and reigns in the church for the glory of God and for the good of the world."

Apparently love has a lot to do with everything – shopping, driving, living or being. Love is both something that "feels good" and something that we experience. It can be both a noun and a verb – a "thing" and an action. Actually, the word is rooted in more than one word, but in english we end up with the usual confusion. Maybe that's why we have so many problems understanding one another.

Suffice it to say that without a course in other languages, some of us have a requirement to "love one another." Those words were spoken by Jesus 2000 years ago, and their demands have never diminished. Jesus was talking about giving ourselves up for one another – doing for when we don't feel like it or don't like being "there" or have to give up our time or money.

He even tied it to "being a servant" when he got down on the floor and washed his disciple's feet. Remember, He was the "Master". He was the boss. Yet, instead of commanding His followers to come wash the dust off His feet He did for them. You can check it out yourself in John 13 (read the whole chapter).

What brought me to this point was the second half of First John, chapter 3 where he says "we should love one another;" and then he follows in verse 18 with "love…in deed and truth." Love here and in John 13 was action, not some weakness of heart or soft music but actually doing something for someone else. BTW, take a close look at verse 17.

Another time I'll tackle "love your neighbor" vs "love one another." There is a difference.