Again, we ask, what is love? Yesterday I quoted the West coast guys, who themselves quoted Aquinas, who said that love is wishing the best for the other. But today John tells us more.
- We need to obey the words of Christ
- We need to abide in his teaching and
- We must not add to it
For there are many who say that there is no reality in this. That Christ will not come in a body: that it is the soul that matters, and what we do here matters not. That was named as a heresy by the apostles, and that early heresy still exists.
We cannot love purely. We cannot obey the commands of Christ. By ourselves. But the Spirit of God can lead us, even this cross-grained blogger, into righteousness. So we become a better version of ourselves.
The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
The children of your elect sister greet you.
(2 John ESV)
You see, the instinct to self improve is within us. I was watching a very long YouTube video about the Froning, and in it — and be has moved from individual to team competition because he is now has a business to run and a daughter to raise — He did a personal record lift. He was quietly chuffed.
I’m fairly sure he would rather abide in Christ than get that PR,
At work, we are exploring various known medications and chemicals as treatments for serious mental illnesses. We are being more and more concerned about what we call the metabolic effects — that is effects on the body, such as increasing insulin resistance or prolactin, of medications we use to treat the same. We are starting to understand serious mental illness as a network problem of neurones — and at the same time, a condition that affects the whole body. And we don’t have a clue how the brain and mind interact — but we have seen serial MRIs of depressed people getting Cognitive therapy without medications and seen the brain change.
To think that the place of the mind is the pineal, as Descartes did, is the act of the fool. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are not a ghost in the machine. And our resurrection will be bodily, with bodies uninjured and whole.
Which, since this aging bloke is hobbling after a heavy squat session, is something to be desired.
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