Emotions - Intellect? Which Does God Like Better?

Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

Mk.12:28-31

Many when they hear these words, hear commandment. DO THIS! It is the Shema after all, the affirmation of God above all things.  Yet, have you ever stopped to consider the depth of what Jesus is saying here, that is THE greatest thing of all the Bible?  LOVE….yes, simple word, yet deep. How much do you love life, eating, breathing? Jesus states that our love for God should be more.  Not just kind of love him, He wants you to love him passionately. ALL of your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. God doesn't want to just be in your head. He wants an integral, deep, emotional relationship with you.

This isn’t difficult to understand, when we comprehend that just because God is a Spirit (Jn.4:24) does not mean that God has no emotions. Read the scripture and you will see it is replete of descriptions of God’s feeling joy, grief, pain, and hatred toward sin and many other things. He gets frustrated with people, feels joy, compassion, pity….and the deepest of all love

Your ability to feel is a gift from God. The ability to love, create, be faithful and loyal, kindness, generosity are all emotions that are attached to the good things in life. While emotions may not always seem like a gift, but even the negative ones have a purpose. In this, as with all things, there are some things that we need to learn to avoid.  Emotionalism is the extreme of saying the only thing that matters in life is how you feel. This view is very egocentric, where everything is based on you. Everything in life is based on your emotions without thought of intent or basis of faith. Yes, God wants us to feel, because He feels. Yet, it is not how we feel that is to control our lives. That is why Jeremiah states,, “I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.” (Jer 10:23).  If left to myself and my emotions – I would self-destruct. Man does not have that capacity within himself.  That is why we need a compass, to point the right direction, give the right wisdom, and share the right advice (Psa.119:105; Jn.17:17; Rom.10:17; 2 Tm.3:16,17).

On the other hand, to go all Mr.Spock from Star Trek and obsess on stoicism is equally bad. To say feelings aren't important at all, and the only thing that matters is your intellect and your will is to ignore the fact that faith while based on verity of testimony of scripture, is an emotional response.  It is the answer of the conscience in response to what God has put before the soul (1 Pet.3:21).  Paul reminds us,  “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Rom 10:10). Did you notice the progression?  When the heart is convinced and believes, the mouth cannot keep from confessing. Why? Because it is the emotional response!  Some Christians have decided that it doesn't really matter how you feel and downplay emotions. That’s not right. God gave you your emotions for a reason, and he wants you to worship him emotionally — with all your heart and all your mind.

All of you…that is what God wants. Including your knowledge and your emotions. He doesn't want one over the other…He wants them BOTH!  Are you giving them to God? 

Jim

RESURRECTION - Evidence?

Resurrection! A point of controversy for people now as well as in the first century. Even in the gospels, those of the Jewish political group called "Sadducees (Mt.22:23)" professed that there was no resurrection. This point shows us that this was a matter of debate, even before the appearance of Jesus. In fact, it has been a subject of thought and debate for thousands of years. It all stems from whether one believes that there is a continuance of life after death, or whether death is final. Space and time will not permit me to engage in all of the aspects of this debate in this forum, so I am going to assume that you believe or lean towards belief that Jesus was a real and historical individual, and that He the Son of God arose from the dead. This article will look at some things that convinced people then, that this was so.

1.) The Grave Itself: We are told that Jesus was placed in Joseph of Arimathea's rock hewn tomb (Mt.22:57-59). A solid structure carved into rock, that was intended for a wealthy man, these tombs were prime real estate of the day. Often family structures that would house more than one body, it would have only one entrance that would be covered by a huge stone (1-1 1/2 tons) that would be rolled over to cover it. This would prevent would be robbers from stealing valuables (yes - even then), and prevent scavengers from getting into the bodies inside. Inside, would be a room which held slab or bench upon which the body would be prepared and wrapped. A second room or chamber behind this would contain a shelf, upon which the body would be placed for decomposition. The family would then return sometime after major decomposition had finished, gather the bones and place them into an Ossuary (sometimes marked, sometimes not). In Jesus' case, we know the body was taken and placed into the tomb on the preparation slab in a "shroud" (Mt.27:60) and the stone rolled over the entrance. It was too late in the day to prepare the body with the Sabbath approaching, so they had to return after the sabbath to prepare the body for placement into the burial shelf before decomposition would set in. It is the Jews that request of Pilate, that a Roman Guard be placed at the tomb's entrance, to guard it lest someone come steal the body and claim it was resurrected. A "watch" (Mt.27:66) of soldiers is placed at the entrance, meaning that there was not a time that the tomb entrance was left unguarded, without account of who came and who went. The fact that the tomb is found empty by various witnesses, and that immediately after the fact, bears witness itself of its occurrence.

2.) The Women Are The First: It is interesting that it is the women (Mt.28:1) are the first to the tomb, coming to prepare the body for its burial. In first century Palestine, women were not considered to be reliable witnesses to anything. Yet, it is to women, that Jesus first appears (Lk.24:9,10) and women who are the first to state that Jesus was raised from the dead.

3.) The Groups: Jesus then appears alive to His disciples (which we would expect Mt.28:8,9), but he appears to various individuals, groups and crowds upwards of 500 people at once. All of these at various times, by day and night, inside and out. Remember, one under the law could not claim something to be so without two or more witnesses to verify it. These appearances, all at various intervals, circumstances, and times eliminate an argument of "mass hallucination." Jesus appears unto beloved followers such as John, but then also appears to skeptics such as Thomas (Jn.20:27) which JOHN records. He even appears to opponents (Saul of Tarsus Acts 9:4-6).

4.) The Roman Guards: Mt.28:4,11-15 Witnessing the events of the tomb, Roman guards who are taught and trained not to fear, "become like dead men." When they go back and report what happened to the Jewish leaders to whom they had been assigned, the leaders bribe them to NOT tell what they knew, but to say, ""Tell people, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep." Why would they have to be bribed to lie, if nothing happened?

As John writes, "but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.(Jn 20:31)." You do not have to believe them, no one compels or forces you to do that which you do not wish to do. But, if you examine the evidence you are given, are you sure that this is something that you wish to do? If Jesus is indeed the Christ, and indeed raised from the dead (Acts 2), then you have a problem, because that means that He has spoken the truth (Jn.12:48) and I shall be held responsible. So then remember what Jesus Himself said, "If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.(Jn.12:47,48)."

Jim