My Dear Theophilus

The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:1-3)

The apostle Luke is known for having written two books of the Bible: the first of course, the chapter named for himself. The second being the book of Acts. In both of those books is a dedication. A salutation, if you will, to the mysterious Theophilus. Scholars have questioned the identity of this individual for centuries. There is no further record of a church leader, or anyone to whom these letters would have been written, with that name.

But in fact, Theophilus may not be a name at all, but a title. The name is derived from the Greek for the words God and Love. Theophilus: Friend of God or, alternatively, One Who Loves God. So perhaps the question is not to whom was Luke addressing these words, but, was he writing to you?

Are you a friend of God? How can you know?

Jesus described the greatest of God's commandments like this:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

What does that look like? Jesus said (John 14:15), "if you love me, you'll keep my commandments." One chapter later (15:14), He said, "you are my friends if you do whatever I command you." Friends -- and not servants, because "a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you."

In John 13, Jesus made it easy for His friends to identify one another -- and for others to know us too!

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

So, are you Theophilus -- a Friend of God?  It's easy enough to tell: Friends of God love Him enough to trust Him and do as He says. We love Him enough to spread that love to others. If this is you, Luke's book of Acts has some amazing things in store: tales of God's movement in this world, of the creation of His church, of the works of His Spirit. This is a book written so friends of God could know Him through His apostles. And it's written just for you, one who Loves the Lord. 

Are You A Humanitarian?

Today is Humanitarian Day -- one of three days in which we honor Dr. Martin Luther King: January 15th happens to be the day the civil rights activist was born.

But what is a "humanitarian?" Put simply, it is somebody who makes the needs of others a priority. It might be somebody who gives money to charity, or who runs a homeless shelter. We know the word largely because of all the coverage given to celebrities every time they do something nice for somebody. And that's all well and good, but the generosity of Spirit that God expects goes far deeper, and almost never receives national televised coverage.

James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Jesus takes this even further:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

There's a credit card commercial right now claiming, "we'll treat you like you'd treat you." It features a customer calling the company help desk and, basically, talking to him or herself.  Which is funny, but not entirely accurate. For example, I wouldn't charge me interest. 

And in fact, Jesus isn't referring merely to the way we treat one another, but to our attitudes toward one another. What does love look like, through Jesus' eyes?

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:12-13)

God willing, you may never have to die for another human being. But if you're willing to do that, would you not also be willing to help a friend in need, to do what you can with your limited resources to lift a neighbor out of poverty or distress?

 Jesus personified love by laying down His own life. What he asks of us is often to simply lay down a little time, maybe some of our material possessions, for the sake of others. It may never get you on television, but it sure looks good in God's eyes. 

It's Not The Words, But What's Behind The Words That Matters

It's so easy, sometimes, to take a piece of scripture out of context, tell yourself what you think it means, and live up to the reasonably low standard that interpretation sets for you. For example, Ephesians 4:29a (honestly, the only part of Ephesians 4 I've EVER heard quoted by many Christians) says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths."

Which, obviously, means, "don't use curse words." Right? That seems easy enough. Guard our tongues. Awesome. Next. 

Well... let's slow down, Speedy, and take a step back.  

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:29-32)

Wait... you mean it's not just the words we say, but the spirit in which those words are said? Afraid so. 

See, if I've learned anything about the character of God, it's that He is far more concerned with the hearts of His children than He is with their religiosity. Certainly, He wants for us to watch that what we say is glorifying to Him... but it's never really been about the words. It's about the Heart. It helps to remember what Jesus said in Matthew 22:

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[c] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[d] 40} All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Every other thing comes down to love. So, what we see, when we look back at Ephesians 4, is that it's not about the words, but about the intent. If you never, ever utter a "curse word," but your words are bitter, or biting, or judgmental, then you are defying Christ's command that we love one another. 

Declaring your hatred for another by saying, "that guy is a gosh-darn jerk" doesn't make you a better Christian... just a bigger hypocrite.