Measuring Love

Yr A Lent 2 - Measuring love

John 3:16-17

Talk #1 – 3 little words

There are you know 3 little words that we use quite a lot – we say them to our partners, our children, our parents, our friends. They are 3 of the most used words in the world – anyone guess what they are?

Yes I love you.

The problem is that we often find it hard to work out whether people actually mean it or how much they love us – that’s true isn’t it? It is just so hard to work out & often its only with the passing of time that we get to see if love was real or fake, deep or shallow. Certainly one lesson that I hope I can teach my children is that just because someone says those 3 magic words ’I love you’ doesn’t mean you have to give your heart away.

Don’t you wish you could scientifically use one of these (scales) to measure if someone we love loves us back enough?! But though these scales are great for measuring flour for my bread making machine or sugar for biscuits, how on earth would you weigh love?

These 3 words are not just said by us to one another, if we listen carefully we will hear God say them to us too. One of the most famous times the Bible says this to us is found in John 3:16 – which we will read together now & think about later in worship.

Talk #2 – Measuring God’s love

We ended the last part of the talk thinking about how we can’t measure human love but what about God’s love?

Another famous verse in the Bible which I am sure all the adults will be able to recite me is the 23rd Psalm. Lets test them - ’The Lord . . . ’

You’ll have noticed that the Psalmist talks about how God’s blessing or love runs over the top of the cup we have – the cup of course stands for our lives. If it runs over like that then I don’t think we could ever get God’s love for us in a cup or a jug or on scales.

What about a tape measure? When my wife is knitting or altering trousers (& before you ask I can’t do either of those things!) she uses a tape measure to make sure things are the right length. But how on earth would a tape measure ever come close to measuring God’s love for us? Where would we start, how big would the tape have to be?

The Psalmist must have been thinking about this - look at the screen & see Psalm 108:4 (NRSV) ’For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. ’

If God’s loving kindness & faithfulness extends to the skies we would need a big tape wouldn’t we?! But the Psalmist says that isn’t the end of it, for God’s love extends even higher the heavens. Seeing as we can’t see the heavens we stand no chance do we or measuring God’s love do we?

We’ll think more about this later, but for now lets bring to God our intercessions.

Talk #3 – Feel the quality of His love

There are lots of different ways of measuring things: scales & jugs & tapes like we have seen. We use metronomes to measure the pace of music. We use speedometers on our cars to measure speed & word count on our computers to check we haven’t said too much. We even measure the Minister’s sermons on our watches to make sure we get home for lunch! But none of these will work for God.

I am convinced that you just can;t measure human or divine love in the kind of ways we have thought about today. The only way to measure it I suppose is to feel it, to experience it.

I said earlier we only really know if love is deep & real not fake & shallow over time & in the way we experience it. That is just as true for God you know.

That fabulous verse we looked at earlier in John 3 said God loved us so much that he gave His Son so that we might have life in all its fullness now & enjoy & celebrate in heaven with Him for all eternity.

God wants you & me & the whole world to understand this for ourselves. He wants us to taste & see the quality of His love for us. He wants us to feel deep in our hearts that love for ourselves – don;t settle for hearing about it – feel the quality of His love for yourself.

I pray that you all might know just how just how high & wide & deep & true His love for us & all the world truly is.