What is Love?

What is Love?

Good Morning Friends,

Ok we have Christ’s command to do it and we have all read the definitions of it and the various types of its expressions so we might understand it. But because the term is synonymous with God there is a mystery around it for it is not an it at all. Still this morning we raise the question: What is Love?Top of Form

Scripture: Bottom of Form

²²let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:22-23 (NRSV)

⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1 John 4:8 (NRSV)

13By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. ¹⁵God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. ¹⁶So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. ¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. ¹⁹We love^* because he first loved us. ²⁰Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters,^* are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister^* whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters^* also.

1 John 4:13-21 (NRSV)

Message: People make a mess of their lives because they do not deal with the issue of God in their lives…love in their lives properly. They do not know how to love because they do not know true love. With so many concepts of love in the world, it is important we discover the personal, perfecting and preserving love of Jesus. John’s letters give wonderful and focused directions on how this works… how God and love are joined together in Jesus. He shows us how in the life of Jesus, the man, God and love became linked in an accurate, detailed and permanent, way. John guides us out of our own sin by pointing to Jesus. He reminds us that this unity of God and love becomes available to us when we focus on Jesus Christ. We learn to love God’s way, a way that casts out the wants of the world, the fear of the world.  We learn that we can live deeply in Christ’s love and the love of the Father as His children. We learn that we are His frail children burdened with a load beyond our strength, a burden that He is willing to carry for us. We begin to understand that though we live in a world where sin is fatal, the God begotten are the God loved and can become the God protected, the God forgiven. Adam feared when He sinned, so too will we if we do not die to self, live in the Spirit of love and let God carry the load.   It is this real love of Jesus, this bold strength and free love of God that He wants to be in us and shared through us. It is not the illusions of the world. It is only the complete, honest, undivided love of Jesus that casts out the fear of the world. Blessed with this love we pray that others too will choose and experience the mercy and love of Jesus, the manifestation of
God.

Pray that our hearts are big enough to love. Pray
we experience the gift of the dance between love and grace. Pray our sin of fear is caste out so we can change and be transformed in the glory of not just His forgiveness, but His perfect love. Pray we experience God as a power so constant, a perfect love so unconditional, that it brings us to say, “God is love.” Pray that the tension of rebirth and love we are connected, caught up, tied up and wrapped up as a witness to the Gospel. Pray that when we receive this love and the wonderful grace it bestows…when we learn that Jesus is a love that lasts and He is a Lord that lives that we also see in Him that we have a labor that lingers. Pray God’s infinite love prepares us for our inheritance. Pray we love others. Pray we forgive others. Pray we are justified. Pray we labor in love and are sanctified. Pray we rejoice that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Pray we live a lifestyle of love. Pray we do no one harm. Pray we gain the perfect love that casts out insecurity from our lives. Pray that we learn to love with the kind of love that changes everything. Pray that this love consume us, burning in our hearts with a passion that transforms our relationships and molds our speech and breaks our hearts for those in need. Pray that we pardon by faith, that we set at liberty even our enemies to enjoy peace, fellowship, joy and the hope of God’s glory. Pray that in God’s agape love…in this place of grace…this place of power we stand. Pray that we here practice responsible generosity. Pray that because of Jesus’ sacrificial love we be made whole. Pray that our hearts are big enough to love.
Pray that we fear only God so that we might not fear anything else. Pray that His perfect love would cast out all our earthly fears bringing us freedom from worry…freedom from hopelessness… freedom from a purposeless life…freedom from condemnation… Pray we trust Jesus to makes a success out of our failures.
Pray we not become
religious narcissists. Pray that we journey on the true path of love and here get to know God. Pray we realize the Holy Spirit is the source of agape love.

Blessings,

John Lawson