Still Talking About Love
When you look around, when you think about the wars, the shootings and crime, all the bad things in the world - would you say things are going good? So what's the answer? How do we turn things around? Is the answer more laws? Can the government stop the fighting and conflict? What if we found a new miraculous, cheap, sustainable energy that could supply the power needs of everyone in the world? What if there was a huge breakthrough in medicine where we could cure every disease? Would any of those solutions fix our problems and bring world peace?
What IF the answer is much more simple? What IF we all showed love to one another? Now, of course, we can quickly think of many reasons why that wouldn't work. - It's pretty simplistic, not everyone would do it, not everyone wants to do it, and it's kind of 'Pollyannaish' thinking... But put all of that away for a moment; don't worry about how unrealistic it might sound... But just imagine - what IF we all did simply 'love one another'? If it actually happened, would that make a greater contribution to world peace than any government or scientific advancement...?
And I know it's just a hypothetical in this fallen world - but those who have chosen to follow Jesus, we are called to...
I. Love one another
The apostle John wrote this in 1 John 3:11-14 (NIV)...
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. (12) Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. (13) Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. (14) We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
We are called to love our 'brothers' - those in the Church family. And for the most part, it's somewhat easy to love many of our brothers and sisters - somewhat easy. Many have similar values; we all at least agree that Jesus is Lord and that being a part of His Church is important.
But we also know that Jesus called His followers to even love those who see things differently than we do. We see Jesus' hard words in Matthew 5:43-45a (NIV)...
You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' (44) But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (45) that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.
And admittedly that's frequently easier said than done. 'Saying it' is easy in a sense - but most of us have experienced that words, many times, can only go so far. We've probably all heard it said, but it's true...
A. Love is an action
Love, as Jesus speaks of it, is so much more than just a feeling, or an emotion. Biblically speaking, love is always tied to an action, a response. I want us to jump back to the first passage from which we read in I John, now in 1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)...
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. (17) 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? (18) Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
Jesus laid down His life - an action. He didn't just say it generically or as a 'social nicety' that He loved us, but He showed it in the most costly way.
And, when you read that part about sharing with a 'brother in need', do you automatically seek to define exactly what 'need' means there? Does your mind immediately try to exclude many perceived 'needs' because of extenuating conditions or details - rather than first thinking about how you can more fully show love regardless of circumstances? If you're like me, your mind may not have immediately gone to 'thinking about others' but more to 'what it might cost me'.
When Jesus says "love one another", he means more than just 'saying' the words "I love you." The strongest proof of love can be shown through action by putting another person's needs ahead of our own needs. And of course it's easy to show love to those who show love to you. - But what about those who aren't as lovable? The fact remains...
B. Love is a command
Let's go back again to I John...
1 John 3:23-24 (NIV)
And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. (24) Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
Jesus commands us to love one another, as a demonstration that we are indeed His followers. It's not optional for the Christian; as much as we want to put qualifiers on 'who' and 'how much'. How do I know that Jesus is speaking about "actions" rather than an "emotion"? - Because you can't command an emotion. The way you feel towards a person will ebb and flow with circumstances. Jesus wants the way you act towards people to stay consistent. He wants us to "love one another" even when we don't feel like it. But that's hard...
And what can you frequently expect for learning to consistently show love to both brothers and enemies...?
II. A response of hate
That may not be exactly the kind of reward that many are looking for, but remember what we just read at the beginning from I John, "Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you." It's very possible that you will be shown hate if you consistently show the love of Jesus to people.
'But that's not fair, people may hate me? If I show love to someone, they should show love in return.' Yes, they should, but it doesn't always work that way. But just because someone doesn't show love in return doesn't mean I'm not commanded to love them. I can only control my actions, not theirs. Why might the "world hate you" as Jesus points out? Love is an action, but love is also speaking God's truth. Sometimes, people don't want to hear the truth. People don't like to hear that something they're doing is wrong, according to God's Word.
And this is not about judging or condemning - that's not our job - but about simply taking a stand for God's truth. For example - If I repeat Jesus' claim to be THE Son of God; THE way to Heaven. If I say - like just last week - that sex was created by God for the context of marriage alone and that marriage is between a man and a woman, if I speak Biblical truths - I will be told by many that I'm being a judgmental religious bigot.
And admittedly, it's a fine line - to speak truth in love without sounding condemning. But I've seen many Christians live such lives of graciousness, even as they are accused of hate.
In today's world, if we follow Jesus, we can expect to be treated the same way He was. If you agree that the Bible is true and that Jesus is THE Son of God and THE way to Heaven as Jesus Himself claimed, some in the world will hate you - all for speaking God's truth.
Tony Dungy is a widely respected hall of fame NFL coach and now an analyst on NBC. Many sportswriters loved him as a coach - but some now want him banned. Tony Dungy spoke about his faith at the March for Life and one sportswriter described his speech as 'obscene'. This past Sunday on a Super Bowl pregame show he talked about the national need for prayer, he mentioned his pro-life views, and even talked about the Super Bowl sanctioned event, the Super Bowl Breakfast, which is a Christian ministry, where he shared the Gospel message.
Tony Dungy was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame by a selection committee of mostly sports media - and now some in that same media are calling for him to be fired because he talks openly about his faith. "Do not be surprised if the world hates you."
'But can't we just keep our mouths closed on some of these controversial issues? We don't want to be labeled as extremists. We're just making the people we're called to reach mad at us! Why stir up so much trouble?'
Because - we are called to love one another - and Christian love speaks the truth, even when it makes us unpopular. Jesus said...
Matthew 10:34-39 (NIV)
Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (35) For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law (36) a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'
(37) Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; (38) and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (39) Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
We are to love one another, but we can't compromise the truth just to 'get along'. I'm not suggesting we go looking for a fight - and we are called to show love, even to our enemies - but we see in God's Word that...
A. Love is bold
Genuine Christian love is bold. It's a love that says, 'I love you enough to tell you the truth - even if you hate me for it...' If you never have anyone upset with you for taking a stand for Christ - maybe you're not doing it publicly enough. If we are truly trying to be "Christ-like", if we are saying what Jesus said, why should we expect everyone to love us? Paul wrote in 2 Tim. 1:7-9a (NIV)...
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (8) So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, (9) who has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.
If you never have anyone upset with you for speaking Biblical truth, it could be that you're not really taking a stand. Again - I'm not talking about going out and causing conflict for conflict's sake, but taking an unpopular stand in an unchristian world. But, because of the risk of being 'hated' for speaking the truth in love, are we afraid of telling others?
If you're anything like me, you don't really like conflict. I don't enjoy having people mad at me. When people ask you about your faith, do you ever want to downplay it a bit just to keep the peace? When people ask you about God or the Bible or about Church - have you ever thought, 'what do I say in those situations?' Or - 'What if I say the wrong thing?'
And if no one has ever asked you about any of those things, perhaps you're being a little too covert in your Christianity... But what do we say when asked...?
B. God will provide
All four Gospels have a similar speech from Jesus - spoken to Peter, James, John and Andrew. Let's look at Mark 13:9-13 (NIV)...
You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. (10) And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. (11) Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
(12) Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. (13) All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
God provided them with answers in challenging situations. God will provide you with answers, if you ask Him. Don't be afraid of telling people the truth of God's Word. You don't have to be a scholar; you just have to trust God's Holy Spirit in you to help.
Some have said - 'Well, I tried that and no answers came!' Sometimes the best, most honest answer to an unbelievers question is, "I don't know." Sometimes we just don't know. However, it should always be followed up with "but I know where we can look for the answer - in God's Word." I guess the best advice I've heard when you're afraid to speak the truth in love is - 'be afraid, and do it anyway'.
I'm sure the disciples were apprehensive when they started preaching God's truth. But love demands that we share the message that Jesus died on a cross for you and for me, and that HE is THE way to Heaven! Sure, we can just try to 'get along', but that's not necessarily love. We can say we love others, but if we fail to speak the truth - people will be lost because of our reluctance to take a stand.
So What?
We can't personally control world peace - but we can certainly shape our immediate world by loving others. The call to show love to one another isn't always easy. When we stand for truth, we don't always get to choose the labels people will place on us or how they will respond.
Love the world, even though they may hate you. The only way we can ever hope to love the world, carry on through the hate and preach the Gospel is by the power of God. It is His Spirit in us that will accomplish what He wants us to accomplish in this life.
You get to Heaven based on your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You either accept Him or reject Him. If you accept Him, you also accept what He says. Since He commands that we love one another, we need to start acting on that - today!
I read an interesting quote several years back, "Life in Christ comes to us on its way to someone else - congregations exist for those who are not yet a part of them. Life is meant to be given away not kept, God does not honor congregations that seek merely to raise money and survive."
We need to take a stand personally and corporately. Are we going to take Jesus' command seriously, or not? And remember - "he who stands firm to the end will be saved."