How Are You Showing Your Love?

How Are You Showing Your Love?

Good Morning Friends,

We say we know Jesus but I am not sure we all do. Some of us are good at the not doing commandments and terrible at the to doing commandments. Some are good at believing in Jesus, but not so good at caring for one another. The thing is that sinners loved to hang out with Jesus because he helped them to see how to really enjoy life. They appreciate and are attracted to Jesus for not being a moralistic judge condemning them even though he knew about their sins. Jesus was happy and made others feel happy too. He argued the case for a commitment to life. How Are You Showing Your Love?

Scripture: We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

1 John 3:16-24 (NRSV)

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”

Matthew 4:19 (NRSV)

Message: There may be a time in our lives when we might be called upon to sacrifice our life for others. But the message of today’s scripture I do not think should focus there. You see, the losers of the world love Jesus because he lays down what he is doing to love them. And calls us to lay down what we are doing to love too. Picture the disciples laying down their nets and labor to follow Jesus. Jesus promoted the idea that religion should focus on people not just principle. Action is required. We must lay down something to pick up something better. The religious leaders of Jerusalem would have undoubtedly considered Jesus a fine upstanding religious man if He had just said the right words and kept away from the bad elements of society. They did not consider that he was picking up a better Way. All they could focus on was that His behavior challenged them at their core. They did not understand that the character of Jesus and the character of God was of love. So instead of following the Pharisees Jesus followed the will of the Father and humbled himself even unto death. Jesus could have been a good Pharisee and I am sure the Devil tempted him many times to be just that. But Jesus came so we might have abundant life and so he spends time showing us how to live, even at the cost of his own life. I am sure that the legal experts and the Pharisees would have loved Him if he had not been so committed to love. But they could not stand the thought of one of their own dying a shameful death on a cross. They could not swallow the obligation Jesus’ standard of love required. It made them look bad and frankly Jesus’ love often makes the institutional church of today look bad too. The problem then and now is that we do not understand commitment like Jesus. We are pathetic lovers. John tells us that how we know what love is, is whether we are willing to lay down our lives for others. But before you reject the idea, know that this does not mean that we all are called to be crucified like Jesus. Jesus already paid for our sins, but it does mean that on occasion we might have to lay down what we are doing to respond to other people’s needs. Laying down our lives means responding to people in need. It means making time for others. It means befriending the homeless, the ailing, the hurting, the drug addict, the mentally ill. It means allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us in such ways that when our fellow human beings are hurting it changes us. Being available at the risk of being inefficient but totally effective is sometimes what it takes. It means we do not shut the rest of the world out, and just go about our business spending our lives just on ourselves. But it does not mean leaving our post either…it means loving on the people we meet as our day develops. This is love that is essentially time and is what makes our lives worthwhile and full and close to God. Friends, Jesus’ love is so amazing and perfect and yet mingled with the joy and gratitude it prompts in us is always an obligation. Our corporate consciousness as well as individual awareness must be molded by love in the power of the Spirit. This is how we develop the confidence to be Christians.

Pray we make time for Jesus. Pray we know the redeeming love of his character that brings us into life. Pray we feed the hungry. Pray we love the poor and not just in foreign ministry but right here and right now with the people we meet each day. Pray we help take care of people’s immediate needs. Pray also that this love is manifested and visible in history itself moving in the Spirit and abiding in the Spirit to glorify God. Pray we have compassion. Pray that as Christ-imitators, we remember that our acts of service are to imitate Jesus, and demonstrate our love, and validate our words about being Christians. Pray we deny ourselves so that we might become more like Christ. Pray our love not be for a cause or principle but for people. Pray we have a confidence in Christ that helps us to both believe and love.

Blessings,

John Lawson