When I was a child, a long, long time ago, here in the
United States of America, someone read to me, or I read what were called “Nursery Rhymes.”
Honestly, I don’t know why these stories (rhymes) were read
to young children, for most all of them were about something bad that happened
to someone, such as Jack and Jill fell down the hill, and Jack broke his crown.
And, Old Mother Hubbard had an empty cupboard, and so she couldn’t feed her
dog, etc. And, this following one is no exception:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.All the king's horses and all the king's menCouldn't put Humpty together again.
I don’t know about the original version of this nursery
rhyme, but here in America, anyway, Humpty Dumpty was a very large personified
fat egg.
Now, the word “fat” can mean wealthy and powerful, which
certainly describes the USA, as nation. A fat belly can signify an insatiable
appetite for the lusts of the flesh, which also describes the USA, as a nation.
And, an egghead is someone who is intellectual and/or prideful (big headed).
And, an egg has a hard outer shell, which reminds me of
someone who is hardheaded, stubborn and unyielding. And, at the center of this
egg is a yellow yolk, and yellow is often a term used for someone who is a
coward, and the core of us is our hearts. So, this describes someone whose
heart is cowardly, and who is stubborn and unyielding, unwilling to submit to
God.
And, then there is the egg white that is in between this
cowardly heart and this hard outer shell (façade, mask, disguise). That egg
white is slimy, which indicates someone who is immoral, lewd, and depraved
inside, but who covers it up (with pretense) with a hard (firm, tough) outer
shell (mask, disguise), which is a false righteousness (for it is white).
Like, for example, America is called a “Christian nation,” but as a nation, we are not “Christian” in a
biblical sense. Our nation is very worldly, and even those who call themselves “Christians”
in this nation are very worldly, for the most part. Therefore, the American
church, at large, could easily be compared to the church in Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22).
But, not every church congregation in America is like this,
and not everyone in America who calls himself or herself a Christian is like
this. There are many godly people in America, although we may be in the
minority.
Born of God
1 John 4:7-8 ESV
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
So, what is the remedy to all of this worldliness? It is to
love God, and to love one another with the love of God, that is from God, and
which is defined by God, and as he models love, which is agape love. But, it is
not the kind of “love” the world speaks of which is human (fleshly) love and/or
lust.
For, many people, looking for what they think is love, are
going to what is false, i.e. to the idols and to the gods of men in order to
find what they think is love and intimacy, only to come up empty, continually
thirsting for more. They are going after broken cisterns which do not hold
water, mere dolls (idols) which promise much but which only deliver hell, in
reality.
So many Americans, and those who call themselves Christians
in America are continually seeking after what is not of God, and what is
against God, and what is against his holiness and righteousness. And, to ease
their consciences, they also adopt a cheap grace gospel which permits them to
remain on that lustful course, while still claiming heaven as their home.
Pornography addiction is very high in America, including
among Christians and even pastors of churches, and among young children now,
too, largely due to easy access to pornography via smart phones, tablets and
personal computers which provide private and unaccountable viewing even in the
corner of a crowded room, and frequently unsupervised by adults, too.
So, what this scripture is teaching us here is that the way
in which we know if we are born of God, i.e. that we are children of God, in
Christ, and on our way to heaven, is if we (agape) love God and others. And,
this type of love prefers what is holy and righteous and pure, and it submits
to God, and it walks in obedience to his commands. It walks the walk, and it
doesn’t just talk the walk while living a secretive immoral life (1 Jn. 2:3-6;
1 Jn. 1:5-9).
And, if we are truly loving others with God’s love, we aren’t
going to be those who are addicted to porn, who use others to satisfy our
lustful desires, and who cheat, lie, steal and commit adultery in order to get
what we want without regard for who we are hurting in the process. But, we will
be those who are following our Lord in obedience, and who are treating others
with the love and kindness of Christ, which includes speaking the truth in love
about such issues as these, too, in order to rescue people out of darkness.
But, this doesn’t mean we are sinless, but that empowered by
the Holy Spirit we are no longer walking according to the flesh, but we are now
walking (living, conducting our lives) according to the Holy Spirit of God
(Romans 8).
He Loved Us First
1 John 4:9-10 ESV
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
We can only (agape) love God and others, though, because God
first loved us, and because he sent Jesus to die on a cross for our sins, so
that we could be delivered out of our slavery to sin, and so that, empowered by
the Spirit of God, we can walk in holiness and purity of devotion to our Lord.
We can only (agape) love God and others if, by faith in
Jesus Christ, we have surrendered our lives to the control of the Spirit and to
the Lordship of Christ over our lives. We can only love God and others with
this agape love if we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and if
we have been resurrected with Christ to newness of life in Christ, created to
be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph.
4:17-24).
Then God, in the person of his Spirit, comes to live within
us, which means his love is now living within us and can be poured out through
us into the lives of others via submission to our Lord and obedience to his guidance
and direction in our lives. For, every day we have to deny self and take up our
cross and follow (obey) Jesus Christ. And, we have to continually, by the
Spirit, be putting the flesh and sin to death in our lives (Rom. 8:1-17).
So, the point of all of this is that this love we must put
into practice in our lives does not come from within ourselves, but it comes
from God, and it is manifest within our lives via the Holy Spirit as we yield
control of our lives over to God and as we submit to the leadership and
guidance of our Lord.
So, this is not works-based salvation. This is not us trying
to earn or to deserve our own salvation. This is the love of Jesus living his
life out through us for the praise of his glory, as we submit to his will for
our lives.
Love One Another
1 John 4:11-12 ESV
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
We are not saved by good works. We don’t get saved by
demonstrating love to others. But when we love others and we love God with this
agape love, which submits to God, and which follows our Lord in obedience, it
is the evidence that God and his love abide in us and us in him. It is the
fruit of that relationship that reveals that a true relationship with God
exists.
If the fruit is not there, not at all, and if we are still
walking in the flesh, living to please self, addicted to sin, following after
our own stubborn and cowardly hearts, then this is evidence that we are not in
relationship with Almighty God (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn.
1:5-9).
So, our works do not save us, but we are saved to do the
good works God planned in advance that we should walk (live) in them, and they
do give evidence as to whether or not we are in Christ or still in the flesh
(Eph. 2:10; Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6; Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8; Rom. 8:1-17).
Wrapping it Up
America, as a nation, can easily be described as this Humpty
Dumpty on a wall who has had a great fall. All the plans, schemes and works of
humans, though, can do nothing to put this nation back together again, or to
put individual lives back together again, which have had a great fall.
Only God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, has the power to
do what no human can do, which is to save us from ourselves, and to deliver us
out of darkness, and to bring us into his wonderful light. He is our ONLY HOPE
for what ails this nation of ours. So, we need to turn our lives over to him.
Our God, He is Alive
Music and Lyrics by
A.W. Dicus
There was a long, long time ago,
A God whose voice the prophets heard.
He is the God that we should know,
Who speaks from His inspired word…
Our God, whose Son upon a tree,
A life was willing there to give,
That He from sin might set man free,
And evermore with Him could live…
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