Greetings friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighborhood monk in dogs.
Welcome to this next installment of our series,
How Deep Is Your Love?
As we look at how God shows us what love truly is.
In the first letter of John.
As always,
As we begin,
I invite you just to take a few moments to become still.
Notice your breathing.
As you breathe in,
Breathe in the life of God.
As you breathe out,
Just allow your whole body to settle and rest.
Into this moment.
Perhaps you might take up the breath prayer as you breathe in,
Speak Lord.
And as you breathe out,
Your servant is listening.
Now over the past seven days,
John's been patiently teaching us how to live within love.
We discover that love's the deepest reality of existence,
That it reveals truth like light entering a room.
We've heard that love becomes our identity and naturally overflows into compassion.
And generosity.
And today John turns to something that we all long for.
How do we know what to trust?
How do we recognize the voice of God?
Amongst all the countless voices that are competing for our attention.
So listen carefully to these words from 1 John chapter 4 verses 1 to 6.
Sean Wrights.
Beloved.
Do not believe every spirit,
But test the spirits.
To see whether they are from God.
For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
By this you know the Spirit of God.
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.
And this is the spirit of the Antichrist.
Of which you have heard.
That it is coming.
And now it is already in the world.
Little children,
You are from God.
And have conquered them.
For the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
They are from the world.
Therefore what they say is from the world and the world listens to them.
We are from God.
Whoever knows God listens to us,
And whoever is not from God does not listen to us.
From this we know the spirit of truth.
And the spirit of error.
There's nothing more confusing,
I don't think,
Than trying to discern God's voice.
I think most of us have asked questions like,
Is this really God?
Or is it just my own thinking?
How do I know which way to go?
And it seems John knew that question well.
The early Christian communities were surrounded by competing teachers,
Competing ideas,
And competing claims about truth.
And in many ways there's not much that's changed.
Today we're surrounded by more voices than any generation before us.
We've got news and podcasts and social media and advertising and politics and commentary and opinion columns all competing for our attention.
And even within Christianity itself and religion itself.
There's countless voices insisting,
This is the way,
This is the truth,
Listen to me.
It truly can be exhausting.
But John offers this.
Seemingly simple idea.
Test the spirits.
And what's interesting about it is what he isn't saying.
Here's the saying,
Be suspicious of everything or believe everything either.
John's inviting us to be discerning.
Now the Soma is one of the great gifts of the spiritual life.
It's the art of learning to recognize what leads towards God and what doesn't.
But how do we do that?
Well,
I think people imagine discernment as trying to decode some hidden messages,
Searching for signs,
You know,
Analyzing circumstances,
Waiting for some sort of dramatic confirmation from the sky,
Something you know,
That just a miracle occurs.
And maybe some of those things have their place,
But John's test.
I think it's actually much better.
As we've journeyed through the letter.
He's already given us the key.
And the key is this,
Just ask one simple question.
Does this lead me more deeply into love?
Now,
See here what John has consistently done.
He doesn't separate truth from love,
Light from love,
Life from love,
Christ from love.
For John.
These things are never competing realities.
They are one reality viewed from different angles.
And if God is love,
Then whatever draws us away from love.
Cannot ultimately draw us towards God.
Now this is how simple it is,
And it is a wonderfully practical way of living.
Imagine two voices within you.
One says,
You're not enough.
Protect yourself.
Make sure you win.
Don't forgive.
Hold onto resentment.
But the other voice says,
You're deeply loved.
Be patient,
Show mercy,
Tell the truth with kindness.
Crust.
Which voice sounds more like Christ?
And I think maybe discernment is as simple.
And at the same time as difficult as that.
The Desert Mothers and Fathers spoke often about learning to notice the movements of the heart.
Some thoughts led towards peace and other thoughts led towards anxiety.
Some opened the heart and others closed it.
And over time.
.
.
They learn that not every thought deserves to be believed.
And that might be one of the most freeing discoveries that you'll ever make.
You don't have to believe every thought that enters your mind.
Some thoughts come and go like clouds,
Some.
.
.
Carry truth,
Others carry fear.
And discernment.
Is learning the difference.
And that's why time in silence is so important.
Because when our lives are constantly noisy,
Every voice sounds equally urgent,
But in silence.
In silence,
The quieter voice of love becomes easier to recognise.
Have you ever noticed that fear particularly usually shouts?
It demands immediate attention.
Pressures,
It insists on certainty.
Love never behaves that way though.
Love's patient,
Steady.
Gentle.
It doesn't coerce,
It invites.
This is because love has no need to force itself on anyone.
Think about Jesus.
Again and again he invited people,
Follow me,
Come and see.
Don't be afraid.
And even when people walked away,
He doesn't chase them down with threats.
Love honours freedom.
It's fear that tries to control it.
So this can become a helpful practice throughout the day.
When faced with a decision,
Just pause for a moment and ask yourself,
Which choice allows me to become more loving?
Not just more comfortable or successful or.
.
.
But more loving.
And sometimes that's going to involve some courage and some honesty.
Maybe setting some healthy boundaries.
Love's not always soft,
But it's always life-giving.
And the beautiful thing about John's teaching is that discernment becomes less and less about predicting the future and more about becoming the kind of person who naturally recognizes love.
Just like a musician comes to recognise harmony,
Or a gardener learns the seasons,
Or a shepherd knows the voice of the sheep,
We can slowly learn the sound of God's heart.
And that happens because we've spent time abiding.
And after enough time abiding.
.
.
Love begins to sound familiar.
Its voice becomes the one that we most trust.
Now let's just consciously bring ourselves into some stillness.
Imagine yourself sitting beside a stream,
The water flows gently.
It's peaceful,
No hurry.
And as thoughts arise,
Just simply see them coming along the water and watch them drift past.
Just like you might a leaf that sits on top.
There's no need to hold on to the thoughts,
Just let them flow on.
And as you do,
Just quietly pray,
Breathing in,
Teach me the sound of your love.
Breathing out,
Help me recognize your voice.
Teach me the sound of your love.
Help me recognize your voice.
Teach me the sound of your love.
Help me.
Recognize your voice.
You can trust,
Friend,
That the God who speaks through love is already nearer than your next breath.
And so let us pray.
God of wisdom.
In a world filled with countless voices,
Teach us to recognize yours.
When fear shouts,
Help us to wait.
When anxiety rushes us,
Help us become still.
When confusion surrounds us,
Anchor us again in love.
May we become people of deep discernment.
Because we have learnt to recognise the gentle movement of your spirit.
Teach us to listen with the ears of Christ,
To see with the eyes of love,
And to walk in the quiet wisdom.
That comes from abiding in you.
May every decision we make today draw us more deeply into the life that has always been holding us.
And may the grace,
Peace and love found in this life be with us and remain with us today and always.
Until tomorrow my friends,
Grace and peace be with you.
