MINISTER’S LETTER

Dear Friends,

During a recent Bible study, we reflected on John’s Gospel, Chapter 15. The pivotal verse is verse 12, where Jesus says,

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

This new commandment is directed at all who believe in Jesus as the ‘God the Son. ’As such, embodying this characteristic is essential within the Church, so that the whole world will know that we are His disciples. Let me explain…

Christians need to love one another to the same extent that Jesus loves us. His love is of a quality and depth, which surpasses any other type of love. The Greek word for this type of love is Agape. It is selfless, and always puts the interests of others, before those of our own. Relationships become very different from the norms of the secular world. We begin to see people through God’s eyes; we begin to value people as God values them and we interact with one another as God interacts with us.

The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

What does this mean for us today? It means that we should never be unkind to each other, should never be discouraging, should never fall out with one another, never lust after each other’s possessions, should never be destructively critical and should never allow ourselves to be the instruments of division.

Every one of us at Lynton URC has a role to play in this. Let us be lovers and encouragers of one another, seeking our common objectives through Jesus.

It is a tall order! Nevertheless, I pray that the new commandment of Jesus’ will be our hallmark. Let the community in which we find ourselves KNOW beyond all doubt, who we are for all the right reasons.

God Bless, Jeff