You probably know the song: “Jesus loves me this I know….”
“…for the Bible tells me so.”
Those lines aren’t just sentimental, they are a great theological statement. In the world of theology, there are two identifying statements for Christian denominations. They are called the “Material Principle” and the “Formal Principle”. The “Material Principle” is the content, the upfront idea of the theology, in this song, it is “Jesus loves me, this I know.” The Material Principle is a substance, it is what we’re talking about. The Formal Principle really answers the question, “How do we know that?” The song tells us, “For the Bible tells me so.” How do we know that Jesus loves me? It’s simple, the Bible.
When Liz and I were first married, I remember that I would get up earlier than she did. I got into the habit on a lot of those mornings to write a post-it note and leave it on the bathroom mirror. My hope was that she would know that I love her. You can imagine how hurt I would be if she just tore up the note without reading it. If she did that, it wouldn’t change the fact that I loved her, but I wanted her to know that – that’s why I wrote the note.
Likewise, let’s read Scripture and see how we know that God loves us. Let’s read the note.