Love As I Have Loved

Love as I have Loved

By

Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.

PRAYER

SCRIPTURE: - John 13:31-35 “Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”.

OPENING: - I Love You is a phrase that carries with it an immense power, a power that transcends mere words and resonates deeply within our emotional spectrum. Its utterance can be a pivotal moment in any relationship, often being the demarcation line of transition from casual to serious. It's a simple statement loaded with meaning, yet often misunderstood and misinterpreted, even by the person declaring those words. Sadly, in our mixed up, confused, unnatural society the phrase I Love You is so commonly used that the true meaning and power of it is lost and is now just a common phrase. So often my wife and I are watching some competition show like Chopped, Next Level Chief, Hell’s Kitchen, The Floor, or Farmer Wants a Wife for example and when a competitor leaves the show someone always says I Love You and we all know that is not true because 15 minutes ago you were trying to sabotage them and get them sent home but now as they are leaving you are saying I Love You, the true meaning of those words are lost.

The concept and the action of love are virtually non-existent, the words that at one time were the most powerful words in the spoken language no longer resonates deep in the emotions of the people of this world and are tossed around with such commonality that they are no different than saying Hello or Goodbye.

God gave a commandment in Leviticus 19:18 says, “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord” then in the New Testament in John 13:34 Jesus said “A New Commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another”.

So, what is Love:- According to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, it is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek his own, it is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails”. LOVE describes the nature of God, provides the basis of Christian ethics, and manifests the object of Christian faith and the culmination of Christian hope.

LOVE is how God deals with his creation. It was this Love that was shown to us through the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ – John 3:16 says, “For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life”.

There are 3 Greek words used to describe the different kinds of love.

Philia Brotherly love the word philia refers to mental or brotherly love as in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. It is a give-and-take kind of love.

Eros - Romanic Love. This is the love you have for your spouse. It is Erotic love. Eros is named after the Greek god of love and fertility

Agape - Unconditional Love. Agape is applied to the love that God has for man. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. There is nothing we can do to diminish His love for us. He loves us even if we don’t love Him back. An atheist that claims there is no God, God loves them also. God does not have split personality He is not walking around heaven talking about I don’t know why they don’t love me He just loves us. He doesn’t love us because of what we do or don’t do He loves us because He is Love.

Today I want to look at this subject: “Love as I have Loved”. Contrary to popular belief this Love surpasses the commonality of what we call Love, it supersedes the natural and encompasses the Supernatural, its a love that understand hurt, suffering, disappointment yet sacrifices prestige, power, comfort in order to truly be expressed.