1 John 3:11-18
July 21, 2008
so… the heart of this week’s text is found in verses 16-18:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
if there is one thing people think they know about, it’s love. we love stuff. cars, dogs, enchiladas, television shows, over-stuffed chairs, electronic gadgets, football teams, air conditioning, chocolate chip cookies. we love this stuff, right? we know all about love, right?
could it be that our understanding of love is so warped, so shaped, so twisted by culture’s definitions that we just can’t see it for what it is? this is love: jesus laying down his life for us. that’s what love is. love is not a feeling. love is not an impulse. love is not an expression. love is not an urge. love is not a sensation. love is selfless action taken in the best interest of another person. love is doing what another person needs. period.
as long as you have the stuff of life (the world’s possessions…breath and energy), you can love people. you can disregard your own selfish interests and seek the higher good for another. you can do it any time, any place, to anyone.
all you need is a little splangkna. (compassion that moves to action)
- is this your view of love? why or why not?
- is this too black and white?
- are you a hater or a lover?
- what would life a north point really be like if we started loving each other with laying-it-down-jesus-style kind of love?
This is a site to talk about the sermon from this past week...a place to ask questions, to give opinions, to disagree, to encourage, to dig deeper, to seek truth, to offer criticism, to affirm trust, and to build commitment.
I'm up for it. Are you?
July 21, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
That stuck with me all day and I woke up thinking about it again this morning. Rarely can you find something summed up in such a simple sentence. You say you love people Prove It. We say we want to be like Christ Live It. Love isn’t a spectator sport you just have to get in and get your hands dirty.
July 22, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I was very struck by the love of our church family this week, when Buzzy and Justin came over to work on my dryer. (Sorry to put you guys on the spot). I kept thinking about how you’re supposed to take care of widows and children – not that I am either, but I don’t have those regular people in my life who would normally take care of things like appliance maintenance. You know – husbands, fathers, or grandfathers. I don’t have those around (ok…my dad is around, but he was out of town on business…and besides that, he’s awfully busy these days and doesn’t seem too keen on helping sometimes).
Anyways…I was just struck by the way Buzzy just offered to come over and work on it. He gave of his time and resources to come and help someone who’s not his relative, but who’s a member of our church family, and I think that was incredibly loving. I think that’s the way things should work, and i don’t think there are very many people out there who would do something like that. It also made me want to make sure I’m giving of myself…anybody need anything? I thought I was dog sitting last week but never got a call….
July 23, 2008 at 10:19 am
Awesome post, Mike…
I once read that the opposite of love is not hate it is indifference. When we stop caring about others and their needs (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, etc.) then we do become a people gravitated to hating and not loving.
God’s Love is a black/white issue – we either live it tangibly or we don’t live it at all. There is no halfway with this form of love because there is no circumstance in which we would love-heartedly that wouldn’t result in actions and behaviours that would be self-interested and self-motivated.
NP living out this sort of love would become more of a place where everyone felt appreciated, comforted, defined, sharpened and equipped for the greatest purpose of our lives – living to give glory to God.