JESUS HAS CLAIMED ME
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Phil. 3:12, R.S.V.
Almost everyone who has studied a course in basic psychology read about all those babies who died in an orphanage at the close of World War II. The infants all had proper nutrition, plenty of fresh air and sunlight, and clean clothing as needed. There was no evidence of any disease among them. Yet many of them simply gave up on living. The management, suspecting they might know the reason, hired a number of women to simply pick up the starving babies, hold them close, and talk warmly to them. The babies' condition improved markedly.
My psychology textbook listed this as concrete evidence that human beings have needs that go beyond biological necessities. We need to be loved. Without love, we are damaged; with the genuine item, we are healed. It is interesting that wise observers in the field of human behavior are verifying what Scripture has been telling us all along. Every human on this planet is made to be bound together in a union of love with God and with each other. We cannot survive without it.
We are not speaking here of warm sentimental niceties; we are talking about the fundamentals for being functional persons. Except as we know how precious we are to our Lord, we spend our days consumed in petty, grasping selfishness, groping somehow to earn or deserve His favor. Such an inward, anxiety-ridden experience cannot foster the true works of righteousness, the works of selfless love.
In the message of Philippians quoted above, Paul forcefully shares a priceless insight: relationship produces righteousness; righteousness does not produce relationship. In essence he is saying, "Jesus has already claimed me, and because of that, I have the inner strength and incentive to become all that He wants me to become--within the nurturing security of the relationship."
Paul is not saying that our relationship with God is a reward for our perfect performance. Indeed, he is emphatic that he does not himself possess such perfectness. Rather, he longs to press toward that wholeness, "because Christ Jesus has made me his own."
If Jesus Christ can draw His people upward so powerfully through the impact of a loving relationship, shouldn't we in His family pass on that same love to each other?
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Phil. 3:12, R.S.V.
Almost everyone who has studied a course in basic psychology read about all those babies who died in an orphanage at the close of World War II. The infants all had proper nutrition, plenty of fresh air and sunlight, and clean clothing as needed. There was no evidence of any disease among them. Yet many of them simply gave up on living. The management, suspecting they might know the reason, hired a number of women to simply pick up the starving babies, hold them close, and talk warmly to them. The babies' condition improved markedly.
My psychology textbook listed this as concrete evidence that human beings have needs that go beyond biological necessities. We need to be loved. Without love, we are damaged; with the genuine item, we are healed. It is interesting that wise observers in the field of human behavior are verifying what Scripture has been telling us all along. Every human on this planet is made to be bound together in a union of love with God and with each other. We cannot survive without it.
We are not speaking here of warm sentimental niceties; we are talking about the fundamentals for being functional persons. Except as we know how precious we are to our Lord, we spend our days consumed in petty, grasping selfishness, groping somehow to earn or deserve His favor. Such an inward, anxiety-ridden experience cannot foster the true works of righteousness, the works of selfless love.
In the message of Philippians quoted above, Paul forcefully shares a priceless insight: relationship produces righteousness; righteousness does not produce relationship. In essence he is saying, "Jesus has already claimed me, and because of that, I have the inner strength and incentive to become all that He wants me to become--within the nurturing security of the relationship."
Paul is not saying that our relationship with God is a reward for our perfect performance. Indeed, he is emphatic that he does not himself possess such perfectness. Rather, he longs to press toward that wholeness, "because Christ Jesus has made me his own."
If Jesus Christ can draw His people upward so powerfully through the impact of a loving relationship, shouldn't we in His family pass on that same love to each other?
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