Dale Cresap's blog

Do you love me? Do you love to do my will and obey my commandments? What believer would say no to the first question? Yet would you expect less enthusiastic responses to the second question? Many people, even among those who affirm the faith, have a vague notion of love as a positive feeling. Yet it would be wrong to draw a distinction between the first two questions given above, for one implies the other. My will is inherent in my being and inseparable from it. So my word tells you that by this you know that you love me, when you keep my commandments. He who loves me will also love those I love, including his brother.

If you seek me with all your heart do you expect others to approve? Does it bother you to be misunderstood? Do you find it comforting in difficult times to be surrounded by those who understand and sympathize? Do you expect that those far from you and with different experiences will not understand you but expect that your family and fellow believers will? Yet my own family and my community did not understand me, and in some cases my own disciples didn’t either. If a servant is not greater than his master then this same experience should come as no surprise to you. Yet you have my comfort for your obedience and my approval is better than any other can offer. 

Have I not promised that you shall have anything you ask me for? Yet I did not promise to give it to you immediately. Are you accustomed to having anything you want without delay? Do you lose interest in things you have to wait for? This is impatience and it is a problem in your modern culture of immediacy. Some things of real value you can have immediately, but in most cases the greater things take the longest times to obtain. This applies not just to material things, but to desirable items like education and experience, and even to spiritual things, and so patience is a fruit of the Spirit. The wait is part of the value of what you want, and the process of waiting transforms you into my likeness. 

Have you been through a church split? Most believers are familiar with these even if they haven’t experienced one themselves. Would you guess that all of these were unavoidable due to differences in non-negotiable core beliefs? Have you ever been through a church merger? You are correct in thinking these are rare. Yet in the fullness of my Kingdom there will be no denominational distinctions, for all believers will merge together, and there will be one head with one body, one God and one people. Until then do all that is in your power to accept and affirm what I am doing in others. Be as inclusive as you can. 

Do you find it easier to love those who are trustworthy than those who are not? Yet my word commands you to love everyone. It goes on to acknowledge that even sinners love those who love them, and it is easy for you to do this, to give kindness to those who are kind to you, but how do you respond to those persecute you? To show them favor in the same manner that you love those who love you is above and beyond the ways of this world, and it is a testimony to the greater realm and reality of my Kingdom. True love is not a response but a characteristic showing that you are the children of your Father in heaven.

[I'll be away all but one night for the next 10 days] 

I have given you talents, abilities, and gifts. Do you think they are for you? I have given you the illustration of your relationship to others as members of a body. Every member of a body serves some vital purpose for the good of the whole. None exists in isolation, and none exists to serve its own interests alone. If you are gifted to write, it is so others may read. If you create beauty it is for others to enjoy. If you minister life, it is that others may receive life, even as you also receive life from them. You should be grateful for what I have given you and eager to use it. Be unselfish with it, for it is blessed to give.  

Do you have a mental image of me? Is it correct? Do you see me singing? This is how I rejoice over you and I am the Chief Musician after all. If your image of me is grim and austere then you will move in the same direction in error. I rebuked a wicked and slothful servant not because he failed to make money in the marketplace, but because he falsely accused me of being a hard man. Even though you see in a glass darkly I want your image of me to be correct, for that is the image you will be transformed into. If you do what you see me doing, then you should rejoice, for I rejoice over you. 

Do you have an inquiring mind? Do you investigate to find the underlying mechanisms that connect cause and effect? My word teaches you that your light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work for you an exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Do you understand how this works? Do not be discouraged if you can’t figure out the method by which this works, nor frustrated if you ask me about it and I don’t explain it. Would it be easier to go through the trials and difficulties of life if you saw how they were connected to some beneficial purpose? For now you can take comfort in knowing you have this on my good authority. 

My word tells you that you understand in part and prophesy in part. At this point you have a limited understanding. Do you realize that this applies to others as well? Even those with sincere devotion know the truth in part and others you encounter may know a different subset of the truth than yourself. Do you see how this can lead to conflicts? If you contradict one another you cannot both be right, but incomplete understanding of the same truth should not lead to contradiction or strife. I have called you to be lifelong seeker. Desire to interact with those who know things you do not, and learn from them, and I will lead you into all truth, and you shall see face to face, and know as you are known.

Do you understand the importance of unity? Yet before you can understand the importance of it you must understand what it is. For many have mistakenly assumed that unity requires uniformity, and have gained control over others to dominate and compel them into compliance. Yet true unity does not require this. It is more like harmony in music, in which all the different notes combine together to make a beautiful song. How interesting would music be if all the notes were the same? Yet it is possible to have different notes without common purpose. Look for the positive reinforcement and complement between yourself and others that you may be in true unity.