OK

So I didn't realize that my last post was at the end of October. The end of October!?
What was I thinking?!
Thanks to David for encouraging me to get my butt in gear and post something - Also, thanks Naomi for bringing it up a month ago. Roommates seem to get better results though.

Quick recap of the past 2 months:
Thanksgiving in VA with my parents, sister, her husband and their 2 kids (tons of fun!!)
The end of the last semester that I will be taking 2 3-credit hour courses (a lot of work)
Graduation with my Master's (Dec. 15 - the graduation of about 1,400 people took longer than I anticipated)
Road trip with my parents who attended graduation closely followed graduation (I haven't spent that much time with my parents in a car in a long time - it was good)
Time at home in NY (No snow, more time with my niece and nephew)
I took my sister and my niece and nephew back to VA at the end of December (more fun)
The beginning of January I was at the Passion Conference in ATL (in one word: amazing)

Lately, I have been getting back in the school groove, and having the MLK Jr. holiday helped. I took the opportunity to start more Bible study than reading books about the Bible. This has always been encouraging because I have a great word study that taps the original Greek - the original Greek meanings behind the English words will blow your mind!!

I have resumed my study of 1 John, starting again at chapter 4, but here is a passage from chapter 3 as it was translated in my word study. The translation is not paraphrased, so it keeps the word order of the Greek. This means that it helps to imagine this passage the Yoda would say it:

1 John 3: 1-

Behold, what exotic [foreign to the human heart] love the Father has permanently bestowed upon us, to the end that we may be named children [born ones] of God. And we are. On this account the world does not have an experiential knowledge of us, becuase it has not come into an experiential knowledge of Him. Divinely loved ones, now born-ones of God we are. And not yet has it been made visible what we shall be. We know absolutely that whenever it is made visible, like ones to Him we shall be, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope continually set on Him is constantly purifying himself just as that One is pure.

v. 4 - Everyone who habitually commits sin, also commits lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. And you know absolutely that that One was manifested in order that He might take away our sins; and sin in Him does not exist. Everyone who in Him is constantly abiding is not habitually sinning. Everyone who is constantly sinning has not with discernment seen Him, nor has he known Him, with the result that that condition is true of him at present. Little born-ones, stop allowing anyone to be leading you astray. The one who habitually does righteousness is righteous, just as that One is righteous. The one who is habitually committing sin is out of the devil as a source, because from the beginning the devil has been sinning. For this purpose there was manifested the Son of God, in order that He might bring to naught the works of the devil (v. 8).

Most tranlations say, how great is manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God - But it is more than that; it is a foreign love. As you continue to read 1 John 3 and 4 you see that this is the same kind of love that we are to show to fellow Christ followers and even people of the world - this foreign kind of love; a love that is self-giving, agape love. But the world doesn't understand this love because it is foreign...they don't know what to do with it, so they discount it or marginalize those who show it...
What if the American Christian Church started showing love as the Father has shown us, this foreign love that He bestowed on us that we are His Children ---what if...