Category: love

“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?” (I Corinthians 3:1-3)

Kinsey’s husband Jordan went to a conference in Philadelphia last week so she and Owen got to come visit. While Susan and Kinsey ran an errand Saturday morning, I was asked to feed the baby… who only has two teeth. No bacon and eggs for Owen… only gooey baby food and milk.

Though Paul told his brothers and sisters in Corinth that they were the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, he said it was clear they were not living by the Spirit. Though they should have been mature, they were ‘mere infants.’ Paul called them ‘worldly’ because they could not get along.

What are signs of maturity in Christ? What is the difference between the ‘worldly’ Christian and the Christian who lives by the Spirit? Since ‘God is love’ and the Gospel is centered in the Father sacrificing His Son for the salvation of the world, I would propose that the most mature are those whose lives are most consumed with the love of God. The most mature are those who love like Jesus loves.

I asked Kinsey to share anything that had been on her heart at church Sunday. In her younger days, our oldest daughter was a pretty good math student, so I was not surprised as she shared in a logical, forthright manner words from John. Perhaps this is a path to maturity.

How do I know if I really love Jesus? “Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me.” (John 14:21)

What are His commands? “And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us.” (I John 3:23)

How do I love? “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (I John 3:18) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)

How did Jesus love? “He began to wash His disciples’ feet…” (John 13:5) “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.” (I John 3:16)

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13

“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.” I John 3:24

Who can self-generate joy and peace when the world is falling apart? I can’t… and I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who can. But I’ve known people who have displayed unbelievable peace and joy through incredible trials. Jesus offers what we cannot produce. “I want to give you My joy… in full measure. And I want you to have My peace… I am the Prince of Peace so I can give it. You are going to have trouble in this world, but take hope! I have overcome the world!”

Who can self-generate the ability to love God with every part of mind, soul, heart, and strength? And who really loves his neighbor as himself? And how many followers of Jesus always follow His greatest commandment… to love others the way He loves us?

Only God loves this way. So without Him, the supernatural love this world needs does not exist. Jesus prayed that the Father’s love would be in us. “Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me. I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:25-26) We need His love to love!

It is our sinful nature that prevents us from loving well, but Paul revealed that when Jesus died, we died. ”For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin… Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:6-7, 11)

The hope for any of us to love the way God loves is to live in Christ. We can love because His Spirit lives in us. “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” (Romans 5:5)

What does such love look like on earth? There is care for the poor, the sick and afflicted are helped, the grief-stricken are comforted, those in prison are visited, the hungry are fed, the orphans are rescued, wrong-doers are forgiven, prodigals are welcomed, families thrive, mercy and kindness rule… God is seen.

“My command is this: love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12

The Father, Son, and Spirit invite us into holy communion. We celebrate this blessing as we gather around the Lord’s table and remember what Jesus did for us.

“The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way, after supper, He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it in remembrance of Me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.’” (I Corinthians 11:24-26)

But communion does not stop with the conclusion of the Lord’s Supper. Just as Jesus walked with His disciples through the towns of Israel, so we are to walk in fellowship with Him and with one another.

Some say such practice is impossible in our day and time with all the busyness of life, but God knows what is best and vital for our spiritual lives. We can’t do it alone. When we share communion we are willingly opening our lives to one another.

Christ is the Center and we are His disciples who give thanks for what He has done and what He is doing. And what is He doing? Jesus is building His Church, a holy Temple, a Body, a Community that will reflect the love and truth of God. As believers live honest lives with one another, the world sees a difference.

Power plays, manipulation, competition, and strife have no place in God’s family… instead, love covers all. As we live the way Jesus teaches — treating others the way we want to be treated, considering others better than ourselves, laying down our lives for one another — the world will know that He is real.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31-32

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22

“We will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:15-16

“By this all men will know you are My disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

It was a legitimate question coming from the prophet who sat in Herod’s prison, not realizing he would soon be executed.  He sent representatives to ask: “Are you the One who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

“Jesus replied, ‘Go back and tell John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are being raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of Me.”

In other words, Jesus said: “The Scripture I read from Isaiah in my hometown of Nazareth is coming to pass. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on Me…’”

The more we see and understand that Jesus is the One, the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed Son of the Living God… the more we can lay down our lives as John the Baptist did or pour out our treasure as a sinful woman did or sit at Jesus’ feet as Mary did.

But why did Jesus say: “Blessed is the man (or woman) who does not fall away on account of Me…”? Isn’t it because things don’t always go the way we expect? John was arrested while doing God’s will; the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet was criticized for being wasteful; Mary was basically called a ‘slacker’ by her sister.

As important as it is to know that Jesus is King, there’s another question to be answered: “Do I love Him?” Love for the One will carry us through the criticism and the trials and even death. The one who ‘loves much’ can persevere through the mysteries of suffering.

Simon the Pharisee did not understand why Jesus let a sinful woman wash His feet, but it was because Simon the Pharisee did not understand love. “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give Me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give Me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing My feet, Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

“Lord, let our faith be great… and let our love be greater.”

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13

We know the method God uses to fulfill His purpose is best defined as ‘love’… a love so great that He gave His only Son to bring us to Him. And love is the method He gives us to show the world who He is. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)

I plan to be in Ecuador next week, so I probably won’t be able to write. Such trips cause me to ask God to teach me to love. I know I should request this every day, but when I find myself among the poor of another nation, I quickly remember my great need.

We will work again with Pastor Manuel and his family who demonstrate how to be humble servants of love among their own people. As we witness selfless love, we see the power and heart of Father God.

An eighteen-year-old girl from Albania left home in 1928 to pursue Heaven’s purposes. Her life-long journey resulted in demonstrating to the whole world God’s great love for the poor, the sick, and the dying. She called her group ‘Missionaries of Charity’ because she knew love is what the world needs.

These quotes from Mother Teresa help me remember God’s method:

“God loves you tenderly. What He gives you is not to be kept under lock and key, but to be shared. The more you save, the less you will be able to give. The less you have, the more you will know how to share. Let us ask God, when it comes time to ask Him for something, to help us to be generous.”

“I will never tire of repeating this: what the poor need most is not pity but love. They need to feel the respect for their human dignity, which is neither less nor different from the dignity of any other human being.”

“God pays attention to our love. We can work until we drop. We can work excessively. If what we do is not connected to love, however, our work is useless in God’s eyes.”

“Jesus announced which will be the final judgment of our lives: we will be judged according to love. Judged according to the love we have shown the poor, with whom God identifies: ‘You did it to Me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13

(“Mother Teresa in My Own Words,” by Mother Teresa, compiled by Jose Luis Gonzalez-Balado, ©1997 Gramercy Books)