40. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-JOHN 15: 12-17 (Focus on Love and Friendship)

Ana sat quietly next to her grand mother, as she listened intently to the speaker on television. He was talking about Christ’s love for us all, and the sacrifices he made on our behalf. The speaker concluded by expressing his pride and satisfaction that he is able to call Christ his true friend, and his willingness to go to any length to remain his friend. After he was finished, Ana turned to her grand mother and asked:
“Gramma, Jesus is the son of God who we honor and pray to, how could he also be our friend as well?
The old lady, with a smile of satisfaction, hugged her grand daughter and replied confidently:
“Yes indeed my dear child. In fact Jesus actually went as far as to tell us that we can only qualify to be his friend only if we love our neighbors as he loves us. Let me read to you from the Gospel of John Chapter 15, Verses 12-17, I will begin with Verse 12:

This is my commandment;
That you love one another, as I have loved you.

“Jesus could not be more direct. He actually commanded us to love one another in the same way that he loves us. We cannot expect to be considered a friend and a disciple, unless we do as he does by genuinely loving one another under any and all circumstances. Notice he makes no exceptions, nor should we.”
Anticipating Ana’s concern for this sweeping statement, the old lady continued to read Verse 13:

Greater love has no one than this;
That someone lay down his life for his friends.

“There is no stronger way to demonstrate the meaning of these words than to be willing to make the extreme sacrifice. How extraordinary the love of Jesus is for us, that he voluntarily accepts the pain and sacrifice and crucifixion for us. He expects no less from us, if we wish to be his friend and follower. We also must be willing, if the need arises, to accept extreme sacrifice for one another, in his name.”
Pausing briefly she looked at Ana, who was by now in deep thought. She then continued to read Verse 14:

You are my friends,
If you do what I command you.

“This is a declaration meant for the whole world. As far as Jesus is concerned, there are no exceptions to his friendship and only one condition, that we follow him! All Jesus asks of anyone of us to qualify for his total love and friendship is that we obey his commands."
Ana by now sitting up and obviously delighted at the thought that she too, can become a friend of Jesus, listened intently as the old lady continued to read Verse 15:

No longer do I call you servants,
for the servant does not know what his master is doing;
But I have called you friends,
for all that I have heard from my Father
I have made known to you.

“This is the ultimate promise and reward for our loyalty for being true followers of Jesus Christ. He promises us that our status will change from one of being subservient to a master to do what he says and what he wants, to one of being a partner and friend. We will be able to share in our hearts and our minds, in partnership with Jesus Christ, God’s plans and purpose to lead the world in a direction of truth and love to all. This is what it means to become a true member of God’s family!"
The old lady placed her hands gently on Ana’s shoulder to indicate that she was not quite finished and then continued to read Verses 16 and 17:

You did not choose me, but I chose you,
And appointed you that you should go and bear fruit,
And that your fruit should abide,
So that whatever you ask the Father in my name,
He may give it to you.
These things I command you;
So that you will love one another.

“This is a very important reminder that God’s power is not available on demand. Irrespective of who you are, whether the Apostles or anyone of us, no one will ever have the option or opportunity to select the Lord God as master, inthe same way you can choose a President. It is God, in his kindness and love, who chooses us, and voluntarily allows us to become part of his family and who answers our prayers and our requests. All of this is granted to us if we follow his commands to love one another."
The old lady closed her bible and with a sense of awe at the greatness of her loving God, she turned to her grand daughter with profound love in her heart and announced:

“My dear Ana, be forever grateful that you have been chosen by Almighty God
to be his disciple and his friend. You must never, ever fail to remember this,
to continually give thanks to him and to always live by his commandments. AMEN!”

39. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-PSALM 100:1-5 (A Psalm of Thanksgiving)

Little Ana sat comfortably enjoying her second piece of her mother’s pumpkin pie as she listened to her Uncle Joe lamenting the fact that this special day, set aside to thank God for all that he has provided to us and celebrated in many countries around the world, has become so commercialized that it has lost its real meaning.
“It seems” he said “we are more concerned with the size of the turkey and getting ready for black Friday’s shopping plans than praying to Almighty God and giving thanks for his bounties.”
He was very annoyed that the President goes on television to “pardon” a turkey but never took time to thank God for bringing us through another year. He concluded that as a society, we have lost the real meaning of giving thanks to God. It seems that that the more we get, the more we expect, the less grateful we become and the more we demand. God has now become an after thought. He concluded that we should all go back and read and digest Psalm 100, the most beautiful Psalm of Thanksgiving ever recorded.
Later that day, Ana approached her grand mother to ask her opinion of Uncle Joe’s comment and his recommendation. The old lady beckoned her to come and sit next to her and as she picked up her favorite bible she said:
“Yes indeed my dear child, your uncle Joe was very correct about the attitude in today’s society. No longer do we take the time to remember that we got here with the help of God and that he is the source of every blessing we have. Psalm 100 was actually written to help us to deal with this attitude and to remind us of our need to always give thanks.”
Opening her bible to Psalm 100 she began by explaining that in Verses 1-5, God, speaking through David, gave us a series of four commands to give thanks to the Almighty. She continued by reading Verse 1:

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all the Earth!

"This is the First Command;
The Psalmist is reminding us that in response to God’s goodness to us we must show our gratitude by shouting out with the strength of our feeling for the whole world to know. Instead, as your uncle said, God has become just a convenient after thought ”

Briefly pausing to allow Ana to assimilate the information, she began reading Verse 2:

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

"The Second Command is to serve the Lord with joy and happiness in everything you do in his name. Whether you feed the hungry, or comfort the sick, or clothe the naked, or help the needy, if you do so in God’s name, you are doing God’s work and you are giving thanks to God. To simply to show to the world the joy and happiness you feel toward God for all he has done for you is itself a way of thanking God.”
Ana by now marveling at her grand mother wonderful insight, listened intently as she read Verse 3:

Know that the Lord, He is our God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are his people and the sheep of His pasture.

"The Third Command is a firm reminder of who we are. We are the children of God. He will lead us in the right direction and Like the sheep who look to the shepherd to lead them to green pastures so too must we be. In the same way a child give thanks to the parents by honoring their wishes, so too, do we to God Almighty.”

Taking a deep breath, the old lady closed her eyes for a moment as she silently thanked God for giving her this opportunity to help her grand child, then she continued to read Verses 4 and 5:
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

"This is the Fourth Command that we come before him giving him thanks and praise and we recognize that his goodness and love for us and his faithfulness to us will be everlasting.
This indeed is the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Nothing else matters, not the turkey or the trimmings or the shopping."
As she raised her head, she also raised her open hands to heaven and exclaimed in a firm and definitive voice:

"God bless your Uncle Joe for reminding us of this fact!"

38. EPHESIANS 3:14-19 (The Fullness of God)

The old lady sat quietly with her eyes closed and deep in thought. She was genuinely disturbed by a remark made by one of the TV Evangelists that seems to suggest that God only favors the righteous and that the others may be left by the wayside on judgment day. This was definitely not her understanding and she wanted to be sure that her grand child, Ana, knew this.
Inviting Ana to sit next to her, she picked up her trusted Bible as she asked the child:
“Ana do you know what is meant by the term “The Fullness of God”?
Little Ana thought for a moment, and then responded negatively. The old lady was not really surprised at the response and opening her Bible she continued:
“let me read to you from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, Chapter 3, Verses 14-19 in which St. Paul expressed his awe in receiving his salvation and the promise that all believers will share in the Fullness of God.”
Beginning with Verses 14 and 15, she reads:

For this reason I kneel before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven
and on earth derives its name.

"Paul begins his prayer by going down on his knees to express his awe and humility to God and to recognize him as Father of everybody in Heaven and on Earth. He does not make any distinction. We are all his children, Christians and Non-Christians alike.”
Continuing, she slowly and carefully reads Verse 16:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you
with power through his Spirit in your inner being.

“Paul continues by reminding us of the Richness of God’s Glory to which we are all entitled, and which is readily available to anyone of us, to strengthen us in every way. Unlike our worldly ability, these gifts are endless in scope and in duration and freely available to all. He went further to explain that we can inherit this power within our inner spirit by the presence of the Holy Spirit”.
The old lady paused briefly to allow Ana to absorb the message and if necessary to respond to any questions. She then continued to read Verses 17 and 18:

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

“This is a powerful prayer. That as believers through our faith, strengthened by our beliefs and reinforced by our love of God the father, we pray that Christ will come into our hearts and take up permanent residence and control. In this way, together with all the believers, far and wide, we will get to know the enormous and endless capacity of Christ’s love for his children. To get to this state we must not only accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, but be willing to walk with him through faith. ”
The old lady raised her head and leaning back, looked to Ana who, by this time, appeared to be overwhelmed by the extent of God’s willingness to accommodate his family of believers. After a short time had elapsed, Ana sat up and addressed her grand mother:
“Gramma, does God really give us the knowledge to do all these things so that we may be acceptable to him?”
The old lady replied, with a smile of contentment at the child’s mature insight:
"Yes indeed my dear child, let me read the final Verse 19, you will then understand:"

And to know this love that surpasses knowledge
—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

“Paul is saying to us that our love in Christ completely surpasses all knowledge and understanding and by our love we are filled with a fullness that only God Almighty can give. It means that in this state you are completely able and capable to lead the life expected of a true believer."
Little Ana, jumped up and turning to her grand mother with joy in her face exclaimed:

“Gramma, thank God for you. For I know that you live with the Fullness of God, and with his help, you will show us all the way to get there.”