Let's Talk About Love, # 2 Series

LET’S TALK ABOUT LOVE, Part 2

Warsaw Christian Church, (1/18/09)

Richard M. Bowman, Pastor

Text: 1 John 4:7-12

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

We began our study of Christian love (agape) last week. I mentioned three Greek words which we translate with the one English word, “love.” Eros is the Greek word used to describe romantic love. Philos is the Greek word used to describe love between friends and love within the family. Agape is the word used in the New Testament to define the love of God. We saw that divine love is that goodwill we express toward others, motivated by our love for Jesus Christ and informed by His commandments. We focused on the truth that in view of the fact that God is love it is imperative that we practice love in all our relationships. John says the one who does not love (agape) does not know God.

Today we begin with a common sense distinction between three aspects present in our human nature. We are rational beings who think and reason. We are also emotional beings who possess both positive and negative emotions. We are also beings who possess the power to make choices, usually described as the “will.” Thus, we humans think, we feel, and we make choices. Some of our choices are determined by how we feel, while others are determined by what we think, or a combination of the two.

Christian love centers in the will under the influence of reason. It has little to do with how we feel, at least initially. The mind has embraced the truth of Jesus, and our choices are governed by His commandments. Since we just completed a national election, we can use that as an example. Some people vote a certain way based on emotions planted in childhood. Others vote based on some attempt to understand the positions of the candidates. Their vote is based more on reason than emotion.

Agape centers in the will. It is choosing to act according to the teachings of Jesus even if our emotions and reason are trying hard to pull us in another direction. This aspect of love is seen most clearly in Jesus' command to love your enemies. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…” (Matt. 5:44). "

Some read these words of Jesus and dismiss them as impossible. How can anyone love an enemy or desire blessings on those who curse you? How can anyone do good to those who hate you, and even persecute you? Jesus is not asking us to feel warm and fuzzy toward an enemy. That would be impossible. You naturally feel wary and distrustful of a real enemy. Your reason may tell you that you have a right to get even. We even have a saying, “I don’t get mad, I get even.” The idea that we have the right to wish bad things to happen to those who have hurt us is common. Revenge is built into our fallen DNA.

What is Jesus commanding in this verse? He is asking us to want good things to happen to our enemies. He is asking us to act towards them with goodness and to pray for them. And why should we do those things? Because our highest commitment is to Jesus Christ, and He has commanded us so to act. He is not asking us to “feel” anything but to act in positive ways toward those who have hurt us. Feelings are basically involuntary. Even God cannot command us to feel things we do not feel. If you hear of a tragic death of a child, you feel sad for the family. You can’t help it unless you are so hard-hearted that the suffering of others doesn’t move you.

Jesus is simply telling us to act with good will toward our enemies. He is telling us to act toward them in ways that will promote their happiness and to pray for them. Do we trust them? No, of course not. Do we want to be with them socially? Probably not. Your mind and your emotions may be screaming, REVENGE! However, because of your love for Jesus and for His commands you refrain from vengeance. Divine love has little to do with how we feel, and everything to do with how we choose to act. If vengeance is needed, we follow Paul’s advice and leave that to God: “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).