And this is my prayer: that your love for people may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight about what love truly is, so that you may prove pure the things that are the best of the best, and be sincere and not offend in your love for others (for the rest of your lives and beyond ‘til the Day of Christ) – I pray that you will be filled with the fruits of righteousness, fruits that grow from the seed of Christ’s righteousness in you – in order that God would be glorified and praised. (Philippians 1:8-9, Janeen paraphrase).
2011 has been like a roller coaster ride, not only due to world events and natural disasters, but here in New Zealand as well. As summer begin in New Zealand, Christchurch was just beginning to heal from a September 2010 earthquake that did major damage, but no lives were lost.
Then came the big one… The February 22nd 2011 earthquake that rocked Christchurch and 181 lives were lost, a large percentage of those were international students. In the months since the quake, people are still dealing with the aftershocks… not just the earth shakes, but financially, emotionally, and day-to-day. Then when Eastern Japan was rocked by a triple tragedy less than one month later, there began a sense of ‘kindred’ love between the two nations. Still today their citizens are coming together here or there to bring hope in the midst of recovery.
“Experts” really can’t say how long the rebuild of NZ South Island’s largest city will take, but we do know that thousands of homes are ‘red zoned’ and those neighbourhoods will never be rebuilt. The soil is too fragile to support any kind utilities infrastructure. Some people only began using their indoor plumbing and toilets in the last couple of months. However, they are not keen to give up the port-a-loo’s in their front yard, being always wary of another quake that could knock out the system once again.
It was a real blessing to watch the Rugby World Cup Game between NZ’s All Blacks vs. Japan. Once again those emotions were raw as a moment of silence was observed before the start of the game. Now, as the Rugby World Cup comes to a close, with our mighty All Blacks making it to the finals (for the first time in 16 years) to face France, the nation is distracted by another ecological disaster which was purely the fault of man.
The Rena, a container ship, ran aground on a reef off the coast of the Bay of Islands. Between the 90 containers which have already fallen off the ship and floated to shore or sunk, the tons and tons of thick ‘marmite-like’ oil that has poisoned our beaches, and the risk that the ship will break apart on the reef… it’s been a real drama. Yet, the thousands of NZ citizens who have signed up as volunteers for the clean up effort is a real blessing and warms the heart of world. And in the midst of it all lies the hope that our beloved All Blacks could win the Rugby World Cup, right here in Auckland!
So, what does this have to do with Paul’s prayer in his letter to the Philippians? Nothing on the surface, but as I study the prayer, I see it somehow being modelled by people who are united through tragedy, trials and triumph. I know personally these events have given me a depth of love I never had before for the people of New Zealand, Japan and indeed around the world. It’s not a natural feeling at all. It’s something that can only be explained as divine.
The Apostle Paul understood where the seed of that love comes from. It is truly a part of the nature of Christ – God with us – and for Christians, God-in-Us through His Holy Spirit. Jesus’ love was so deep, so compassionate, so full of tender mercy, that He sacrificed His life for the very sinners who want nothing to do with Him. He loved His enemies purely, He continues to bless those who persecute Him, He continues to do good to those who hate Him.
The Apostle John says it best, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” And Paul echoes that reality, “But God demonstrated His deep, unconditional love for us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
So as I my love has grown deeper and deeper for others, I am also growing in my understanding of it and am able to discern when I am ‘faking it’ or truly experiencing deep compassion from the core of my being.
I pray that it doesn’t always take the extreme joys and sorrows and tragedies and triumphs in life to move us to love one another. I pray that our love may abound more and more because we truly understand and experience the deep love of Jesus that He sacrificially gives to us each and every day.
Oh, and one more thing... GO THE ALL BLACKS!
The All Blacks Haka in the face of their opponents... Australia. Ka Mate!
Aaron Cruden, a graduate of Palmerston North Boys High,is THE MAN... A true inspiration at 22! Drop kick - SCORE!
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