We shift gears for Thomas’ remaining time at Circle to look at 6 verbs of what love is. Today we talk about that love is active, actively pursuing as God pursues us, actively responding to each other with what we actually need, and actively seeking the best thing for each other.

The Parable of the Sower is a well-known parable, but what’s important to realize is not only what the parable means as far as how Jesus explains it, but also realizing the context in which it’s said and the extent of the application to the other sowers of God’s word – Kingdom citizens, you and me.

Jesus is undeniably demonstrating what the Kingdom is like by His miracles, His teachings, and His ministry. But, the religious leaders of the day, while they can’t deny what Christ is doing, do try to discredit Him, going so far as to call Him empowered by Satan. What does this clash of the true Kingdom and Religious Kingdom then teach us about the clash of the true Kingdom against the Worldly Kingdom today?

The Pharisees and religious leaders prided themselves on keeping the law of Moses. Except they didn’t. Oh, they may have kept it according to how they had made it – fences around the law and all, but Jesus reminds them that by keeping the law so strictly that they’re breaking a higher law, the law of love, of doing good, and of being like God.