If you ever wondered what true love is? If you have, I have good news for you! Recently Northwestel sent out an email with the following as the “subject”. It said this: “True love is unlimited Northwestel Internet and TV”!
You know the old song, “All You Need is Love”. Well, apparently we need to have that modified to “All you need is love… and Northwestel Internet!”
Love, of course, is a key part of our lives and is a huge theme in our Bible. I don’t think it is a coincidence that “love” is the first fruit of the Spirit – mentioned in Galatians 5:22.
1 Corinthians 13 clearly lays it out, that “love” is of utmost importance. I could sound like an angel; I could have the gift of prophecy, I could have the most superior wisdom and knowledge, I could even have faith that moves mountains. Even if I gave everything away and went as far as forfeiting my own life… if I didn’t have love in my heart, I’m getting nowhere, I am nothing. That’s a very strong statement, but it shows just how important love is.
Love is more important than being right. Love is more important than insisting on rights. That’s why Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 13 to the church. It wasn’t written to a young couple who had fallen in love, it was written to a church that had forgotten how to love. Paul was telling them how important love is for the church to function well together.
As beautiful as (and as clear as) 1 Corinthians 13 is, we still get confused about love. Maybe it’s because of the world we’re living in. Many people wonder what love is – maybe because they’ve been hurt. And to make confusing matters worse, at this time of year, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, many people mistake romance with love. There is a big difference between the two.
Let me tell you: Love is not flowers and chocolates; it isn’t about cards; and it certainly isn’t sexy outfits. Now, there is a place for flowers and chocolates – they are a good thing; and if you are married, go ahead and get into whatever outfit you like in the privacy of your home… but flowers, chocolates, cards, even dinner dates, are not love. They are acts of romance (which may or may not be coming from a heart of love). Romantic gestures and love are two different things.
Romance comes and goes. Sometimes it is way up there on “cloud nine” and you are enamored with one another, and at other times romance takes a back seat to other things that come up in life that seem to drown it out (like bills, and diapers, and what not…).
In the old film, Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye has six daughters, and one by one they are getting married off. But as each one gets married, they break further and further away from tradition. The girls, it seems, don’t want the matchmaker to find them a match with some random person. They want to get married because of “love”. This creates all kinds of conflict because it goes against tradition; so much so that the father finds it impossible to bless his third daughter’s marriage. The daughter insists on marrying the man anyway… why… because they love each another.
This gets Tevye thinking about his own relationship with his wife. They were married 25 years, and the first time they even met each other was on their wedding day. They didn’t marry because of “love”.
Tevye, after seeing his daughters pursue love, he asks his wife of 25 years: “do you love me”. She thinks that’s a ridiculous question. But he persists “do you love me?” Finally, she states her case: For twenty-five years I've washed your clothes, Cooked your meals, cleaned your house, given you children, milked the cow, After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?
That’s not good enough, so Tevye asks again: “But do you love me?” Golde reminisces: For twenty-five years I've lived with him, Fought him, starved with him, twenty-five years my bed is his, If that's not love, what is?
Tevye then gets his answer: “then you do love me!” Golde comes to realize, “I suppose I do”.
Two people, working together through the ups and downs of life – that is love!
This morning, I’d like to present a different picture of love. Skip the cards, chocolates and overly priced flowers. Wait a week and you’ll be able to buy two dozen flowers for the price of one dozen this week. :)
These are the pictures of what love looks like:
Those are all wonderful expressions of love. But there is an even better picture of love: Jesus on a cross.
Above anything else, love is a sacrifice. Love is putting someone else ahead of yourself. We see that no better than in the love of God through Jesus who loved us, even while we didn’t love him. That’s what makes God’s love for us so special. It is easy to love those who love you.
Love is tough. Think of it this way. Relationships require two people to cooperate. Two people need to mutually agree to care for one another. You can’t have a relationship with someone who is not interested in having one with you.
But love is different. It might not be ideal, but you can love even if the other person does not love you back.
Here’s the point: You don’t need someone to cooperate with you in order for you to love them… which is exactly why love is tough … because sometimes you are not loved back – and that makes it hard. But love, in its truest form, (and of course, this is hard) is not tied to how someone responds to you.
We see that in Jesus. He loved us, long before we ever loved him.
Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”. Why did he die for us? Because he loves us.
John 3:16, “for God so loved the world that he gave…”
God didn’t wait until we entered into a relationship with him before he loved us. He didn’t wait until we got our act together before he decided to take up the cross on our behalf.
The Bible speaks so much about God’s amazing love for us… but what is truly remarkable is that God’s love for us was there even while we were turning our backs to him. THAT is love!
And if you want to take this up one more level… it’s not just that someone showed us what love is when he took our sin and became an atoning sacrifice in our place… what is truly remarkable is that the One who did this was completely innocent himself. Jesus knew no sin. He was tempted, for sure, but he rejected sin. He was perfect.
The last person who should have paid for our sins became the only one whoever could or whoever did. That is love!
Jesus loved us, even when we had no relationship with him. But of course, he does seek a relationship. Jesus doesn’t want anyone to perish. He wants you no matter where you’ve been, what you’ve done, who you have been with… he doesn’t look at your stature, your bank account, or anything outward. He wants you… he wants to be your Lord… and he wants you to be his son or daughter.
Jesus is the good shepherd. When one of his sheep gets lost, he goes out looking for it. That’s love.
This is why nothing can ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus; not trouble or hardship or persecution, neither life nor death, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus! Wow. (Romans 8:38-39).
This is why Jesus promises to never leave us nor forsake us. This is why Jesus invites us to come to him, whether we are weary or broken hearted. This is why God is a god of comfort who comforts us in our affliction.
This is the love that God freely extends to us and then calls us to extend to one another.
You know the old song, “All You Need is Love”. Well, apparently we need to have that modified to “All you need is love… and Northwestel Internet!”
Love, of course, is a key part of our lives and is a huge theme in our Bible. I don’t think it is a coincidence that “love” is the first fruit of the Spirit – mentioned in Galatians 5:22.
1 Corinthians 13 clearly lays it out, that “love” is of utmost importance. I could sound like an angel; I could have the gift of prophecy, I could have the most superior wisdom and knowledge, I could even have faith that moves mountains. Even if I gave everything away and went as far as forfeiting my own life… if I didn’t have love in my heart, I’m getting nowhere, I am nothing. That’s a very strong statement, but it shows just how important love is.
Love is more important than being right. Love is more important than insisting on rights. That’s why Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 13 to the church. It wasn’t written to a young couple who had fallen in love, it was written to a church that had forgotten how to love. Paul was telling them how important love is for the church to function well together.
As beautiful as (and as clear as) 1 Corinthians 13 is, we still get confused about love. Maybe it’s because of the world we’re living in. Many people wonder what love is – maybe because they’ve been hurt. And to make confusing matters worse, at this time of year, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, many people mistake romance with love. There is a big difference between the two.
Let me tell you: Love is not flowers and chocolates; it isn’t about cards; and it certainly isn’t sexy outfits. Now, there is a place for flowers and chocolates – they are a good thing; and if you are married, go ahead and get into whatever outfit you like in the privacy of your home… but flowers, chocolates, cards, even dinner dates, are not love. They are acts of romance (which may or may not be coming from a heart of love). Romantic gestures and love are two different things.
Romance comes and goes. Sometimes it is way up there on “cloud nine” and you are enamored with one another, and at other times romance takes a back seat to other things that come up in life that seem to drown it out (like bills, and diapers, and what not…).
In the old film, Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye has six daughters, and one by one they are getting married off. But as each one gets married, they break further and further away from tradition. The girls, it seems, don’t want the matchmaker to find them a match with some random person. They want to get married because of “love”. This creates all kinds of conflict because it goes against tradition; so much so that the father finds it impossible to bless his third daughter’s marriage. The daughter insists on marrying the man anyway… why… because they love each another.
This gets Tevye thinking about his own relationship with his wife. They were married 25 years, and the first time they even met each other was on their wedding day. They didn’t marry because of “love”.
Tevye, after seeing his daughters pursue love, he asks his wife of 25 years: “do you love me”. She thinks that’s a ridiculous question. But he persists “do you love me?” Finally, she states her case: For twenty-five years I've washed your clothes, Cooked your meals, cleaned your house, given you children, milked the cow, After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?
That’s not good enough, so Tevye asks again: “But do you love me?” Golde reminisces: For twenty-five years I've lived with him, Fought him, starved with him, twenty-five years my bed is his, If that's not love, what is?
Tevye then gets his answer: “then you do love me!” Golde comes to realize, “I suppose I do”.
Two people, working together through the ups and downs of life – that is love!
This morning, I’d like to present a different picture of love. Skip the cards, chocolates and overly priced flowers. Wait a week and you’ll be able to buy two dozen flowers for the price of one dozen this week. :)
These are the pictures of what love looks like:
- A man with calloused hands
- A woman exhausted in the chair
- A man praying for his children
- A woman tending to her sick children
- A man or a woman fleeing sexual temptation
- A couple, staying together well into their old age
Those are all wonderful expressions of love. But there is an even better picture of love: Jesus on a cross.
Above anything else, love is a sacrifice. Love is putting someone else ahead of yourself. We see that no better than in the love of God through Jesus who loved us, even while we didn’t love him. That’s what makes God’s love for us so special. It is easy to love those who love you.
Love is tough. Think of it this way. Relationships require two people to cooperate. Two people need to mutually agree to care for one another. You can’t have a relationship with someone who is not interested in having one with you.
But love is different. It might not be ideal, but you can love even if the other person does not love you back.
Here’s the point: You don’t need someone to cooperate with you in order for you to love them… which is exactly why love is tough … because sometimes you are not loved back – and that makes it hard. But love, in its truest form, (and of course, this is hard) is not tied to how someone responds to you.
We see that in Jesus. He loved us, long before we ever loved him.
Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”. Why did he die for us? Because he loves us.
John 3:16, “for God so loved the world that he gave…”
God didn’t wait until we entered into a relationship with him before he loved us. He didn’t wait until we got our act together before he decided to take up the cross on our behalf.
The Bible speaks so much about God’s amazing love for us… but what is truly remarkable is that God’s love for us was there even while we were turning our backs to him. THAT is love!
And if you want to take this up one more level… it’s not just that someone showed us what love is when he took our sin and became an atoning sacrifice in our place… what is truly remarkable is that the One who did this was completely innocent himself. Jesus knew no sin. He was tempted, for sure, but he rejected sin. He was perfect.
The last person who should have paid for our sins became the only one whoever could or whoever did. That is love!
Jesus loved us, even when we had no relationship with him. But of course, he does seek a relationship. Jesus doesn’t want anyone to perish. He wants you no matter where you’ve been, what you’ve done, who you have been with… he doesn’t look at your stature, your bank account, or anything outward. He wants you… he wants to be your Lord… and he wants you to be his son or daughter.
Jesus is the good shepherd. When one of his sheep gets lost, he goes out looking for it. That’s love.
This is why nothing can ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus; not trouble or hardship or persecution, neither life nor death, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus! Wow. (Romans 8:38-39).
This is why Jesus promises to never leave us nor forsake us. This is why Jesus invites us to come to him, whether we are weary or broken hearted. This is why God is a god of comfort who comforts us in our affliction.
This is the love that God freely extends to us and then calls us to extend to one another.
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