Love has to be the identifying mark of every Christian, because love is the identifying mark of God (1 John 4:8, John 13:35, 1 Cor 13:1-8). John reminds us that love is the thing that marks God’s people out as children of God and children of obedience. He says, ‘We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.’ (1 John 3:14) He tells us that love is involved in practical action, helping those in need (1 John 3:16-18). Love is action, not just feelings!

God’s love is focussed on others – therefore ours should be too. Paul tells us how Christ demonstrated His love: ‘just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.’ (Eph 5:2) God’s love is so much more than a feeling; it compelled Christ to leave His heavenly home and take on human flesh. There was a practical and outward focus to God’s love. Instead of being content with the love between the persons of the Godhead, God’s love looked at humanity and wanted to bring reconciliation. ‘God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.’ (2 Cor 5:19) He was doing something practical about the problem and now He has entrusted that message of reconciliation to us. Paul says, ‘Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.’ (2 Cor 5:14-15)

God’s love is not cautious and careful, but extravagant and lavish. It is a holy love, not ignoring sin, but it is also a positive force which is manifested in action. The message of the Gospel is one of God’s reckless love for His people. We have to understand His fierce, jealous, all-consuming love, the love that made Hosea persevere with Gomer, even after she left him and was unfaithful to him, the love that bought her back after adultery and nurtured her. (Hosea 1-3) We have to dip into the passion of the Song of Songs and not flinch from its endearments and fervour. We have to put aside our reticence and our cynicism and our disillusionment and disappointments and come back to the start of it all, back to our first love, back to that place where the love of God melted us. Only then can we hope to follow God’s example of love and live a life of love which people will recognise as not natural but supernatural.

Paul’s challenge to follow the example of God and live a life of love is pretty mind-blowing for us to take in. We are all too aware of our sinfulness – “but I’m not like God!” How can we, imperfect people that we are, hope to witness to the love of God in such a way that leads others to Him? All too often we identify with the comment of Mahatma Gandhi: I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”  

Paul does not want us to be hypocrites, pretending to be like God when we are not. He wants us to live out our God-given identities as ‘dearly loved children’ (Eph 5:1). God is love and His love is lavished upon us. As Peter reminds us, the Christian life is not meant to be lived in our own strength; rather, we become those who ‘participate in the divine nature.’ (2 Pet 1:4) God lives in us by His Spirit. The Message version of Eph 5:1-2 says, ‘Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behaviour from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love.’

Children learn by imitating others. They make plenty of mistakes on the way, but there is ongoing change and transformation. The average vocabulary of a 3 year old is 200 words, of a 5 year old 2000 words! How does the child learn? By listening, hearing, repeating and talking. A toddler learns to walk by attempting this solo effort again and again, copying what they have seen others do. We don’t expect instant perfection from our children, but give them encouragement and urge them to persevere. In the same way, God reminds us that we love because He first loved us; the family resemblance is there, however often we fail. Just as the heavens opened at the baptism of Jesus and He heard the words, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’ (Matt 3:17); just as on the Mount of Transfiguration, the words were heard, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’ (Matt 17:5), so too we need to hear the words that God loves us with the same kind of unfailing, unchanging love. Only people who know they are truly loved have the freedom and courage to love like God loves.

When a new baby arrives, there’s always the rush from doting family members to decide who the baby resembles: ‘he’s got his mother’s nose!’; ‘look at her daddy’s eyes!’ Family resemblances can be a blessing (though at times I am not grateful for the ‘Chafen calves’ which mean my legs will never be sleek and svelte like a model’s…), and as God’s dearly loved children, we are urged to live in the blessing of the family resemblance and imitate our heavenly Father. (Eph 5:1-2)

Imitation, they say, is the sincerest form of flattery, and certainly we learn best from imitating: ‘copy God and follow His example,‘ as the Amplified version puts these verses.The earliest name for Christians was followers of the Way. It was the way they lived that singled out God’s people and very soon they earned the name ‘Christians’ (Acts 11:26 tells us that ‘the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch’), which essentially meant ‘little Christs’. God’s people are called to be like Him, to reflect His nature, to copy His behaviour. After all, John reminds us, no one has ever seen God (John 1:18, 1 John 4:12), but people see us. God’s master plan is that by seeing us, people see Him and come to know Him (see also Matt 5:43-48).

We are called to show off the ‘family resemblance’ by being like God – an awesome (and slightly terrifying!) thought. Aspects of God’s character which need copying include:

• His capacity to forgive and keep on forgiving (Ps 103:11-12).
• His mercy, which doesn’t treat people as their sins deserve but instead offers favour and gifts: the fact that while we were still His enemies, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)
• His faithfulness, which perseveres, long after everyone else has given up and walked away. (Ps 36:5)
• His justice and righteousness and truth (Ps 50:6).
• His compassion and kindness to us all. (Is 63:7)

As we reflect God’s character and light, others will be curious and want to know more. We are the living letters, Paul says, that others will see and read. (2 Cor 3:1-3).God’s master plan is that by seeing us, people see Him and come to know Him.

Just a reminder of some things that are happening locally over the next few weeks…

Don’t forget to pray for the youth club which meets every Monday evening from 6:30 -8:00 p.m. and for all who are involved in this ministry. It’s a great chance for kids to play in a secure environment, with crafts always available.

On Tuesday 29th January we have our ‘Churches Together’ Prayer Meeting at the Salvation Army at 10.30 a.m. Join with us to pray for our churches, outreaches and local community. We serve an awesome God who longs for His people to join together and bring our petitions, requests, thanksgiving and worship to Him! We will also be praying at our own church prayer meeting on Thursday 31st January at 7:30 p.m.

Our Parent & Toddler group meets every Friday morning during term-time and it’s been great to welcome new Mums and toddlers since the Christmas break. If you fancy a cuppa and a chat, with the opportunity for your little ones to play together, come along for 9.30 a.m. on Fridays. We have been given some money for the group recently and have bought some new puzzles and books and are waiting for our new carpet! It costs just 50p per family, and toast/grapes, hot drinks and squash are included in this, so it’s great value for money!

Please don’t forget to let people know about the ‘Little Movers’ session for children aged 18 months to 4 years run by the Family Centre. This is held at GPCC on Friday afternoons, 2-3 p.m., and is a great opportunity to let little ones play with some great equipment and get to know other parents.

There is a special service at the Pentecostal church in Wath (Father’s House) on Saturday 2nd February at 7 p.m. with Jordan Morris. All welcome.

There are lots of activities for children and families planned for the half-term holiday. On Tuesday 19th February (11 a.m. – 2 p.m.), the Dearne Area Team will be hosting a family fun day at St Helen’s Church Hall on High Street in Thurnscoe, where there will be the opportunity to meet a variety of creatures (of the animal and insect types!), face painting, ping pong and various arts & crafts – and tuck into hot dogs or pie n peas. They are also hosting another fun day on Thursday 21st February at Furlong Road Methodist Church in Bolton-on-Dearne, where there will be the chance to meet Woody and Jessie from Toy Story, among other things!

On Wednesday 20th February, ‘Churches Together’ will be hosting a family fun day at GPCC from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Looking at the theme of new life and transformation, we’ll be meeting Claudia the Caterpillar, getting involved in a huge collage caterpillar and butterfly to be displayed at the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival later this year and having fun with painting, clay modelling and other crafts and games! Free refresments provided – hopefully we’ll be making butter and bread and pizza too!

So, lots to be involved in – if you can help at the February fun day, please let Julie know. We also need brightly coloured socks to transform into caterpillars, so please bring these too if you can!

Many fabrics today are made of several materials: polycotton is made combining strands of cotton and polyester, for example, a combinatin which makes an extremely versatile fabric, since cotton is noted for its softness and moisture absorption, whilst polyester is renowned for not creasing (less ironing, hooray!)

We often wish life were smooth and without suffering, 100% blessing, finding it difficult to cope with the vicissitudes of life. CIrcumstances, people, illness and loss all have a tendency to make us question God’s goodness and doubt His love.

The truth is that we live in a world tainted by sin, and pure, unadulterated joy and blessing will never be our lasting experience in this life. Lilfe is a mixture of battle and blessing, of suffering and victory, of sorrow and joy. Joseph recognised this. He saw many difficulties from a young age, experiencing ridicule, rejection, oppression and injustice, spending years as a slave and being wrongly imprisoned before rising to prosperity and power as Pharaoh’s right-hand man. The names he gave his children reflect the interweaving of sorrow and blessing: Manasseh (‘God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household’) and Ephraim (‘God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.’) (Gen 41:51-52)

Paul tells us that ‘God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.’ (2 Cor 9:8) Or, in the Message version, ‘God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done.’ This was Joseph’s experience. Even in a land of suffering, he saw fruitfulness and blessing. The threads of suffering and joy were woven together to make a resilient character which was ready to step up to what God had planned for his life.

Don’t despise fabrics made from different mateirals. They have resilience and versatility – and so can we as we allow suffering to refine us and purify us.