Fields Sown with Seeds of Bitterness

9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

 (John 15:9-11 ESV)

                I was talking with a man about righteousness, truth, and the Lord Jesus Christ last night.  He is convinced that there is something between him and God "like a dark cloud" as he put it in his own words.  I found that he was equating his fulfillment with material possessions and a quality of life that everyone "should" have.  He is a regrettable consequence of a cultural element that has fed off of creating a victim mentality and an attitude of entitlement among the poor in our land.   He blames the wickedness of other people especially those who are racist and have opportunities he never had.  He is a gentle mannered giant with a heart full of bitterness and pride.  I love him to death but can't stand his hard-headedness. Education and hard work has failed him.  The only solution he sees is if the government steps in and saves the day. He has lost hope in anything else.  The problem is too big for him to deal with.

                The conditions are definitely different than they were in the past and the circumstances are different than in other areas of the world but the problem is the same. People depend on the wrong things for their joy and fulfillment.  A blog post written by my friend Dr. Gary Hedrick brought last night’s conversation to mind. The seeds of the violence that Egypt is facing now were sown in a field of discontentment and anguish fertilized by hopelessness and oppression. The government has failed them and someone has provided an alternative solution. What they do not know is that they are trading one unhappy circumstance for another. They are putting their trust in the fabrications of men who promise to meet their basic needs. The conditions will be different than they are now and the circumstances will change from what they are now but the problem will remain. Providing for the basic physical needs of the people will not change the corruption of the heart with which every man is afflicted.  The only solution is a complete paradigm shift in the focus and ambitions of the person.

                The Lord Jesus Christ taught his disciples to abide in his love. This abiding was to be accomplished through obedience to his commandments. The self-sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrated for us on the cross was motivated by the great esteem he has for his Father.  His relationship with the Father brought a sense of fulfillment that resulted in joy even when faced with oppression and torment.  We are to follow the example Christ set before us so that we can enjoy the same fulfillment he enjoyed when his work was complete. Our fulfillment and joy should come from something eternal if it is to have any eternal value. Your relationship to God can be eternal. He has loved you with an everlasting love. Refusing to submit to his authority is a rejection of his love. Rejecting his love means that there is no relationship with God.

               People in today’s post-modern culture have sought to achieve personal fulfillment through education, social and political reform, and the pursuit material wealth. None of these will satisfy. There is always more that can be done or desired.  The only true source of fulfillment is the only thing that will stand the changes in conditions and circumstances. The only solution is a relationship with the Lord through Jesus Christ. This relationship begins when we willingly submit to God’s authority by turning from our ways and committing ourselves to his ways. Christ Jesus followed the promise of fulfillment through obedience with the following commandment.

 ¹² ¶ "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

 ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

(John 15:12-17 ESV)

                The regrettable violence against humanity today and throughout all of human history proves that society as a whole is incompetent and ill equipped to truly love one another.  History has seen the rise and fall of religions, philosophies, and governments. The failure of these institutions has been rooted in the fact that they conform people to specific values and standards. A personal relationship with the only true and eternal God through the provision of forgiveness through Jesus Christ will quench the thirst all humanity has for righteousness and peace. Fulfillment, joy, and peace can only exist when people are transformed by the power of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Trust Jesus, believe in him, and obey his commandments. He alone can satisfy!