How often are we enticed with the idea of escaping the reality we live in each day? That’s why we have television, video games, radio, and every other form of entertainment. Some of you quilt, make food, work, scrap book, etc. all just to move out of this world with all its troubles. A little escape can feel really good until you have to re-enter reality. What would you say to the idea of living in an entirely different reality? Not just a short escape but a life-time and possibly an eternity in a totally different place. It might be a difficult journey but wouldn’t the journey and hardships be worth it? The entire new world I am referring to has a name. You might call it “Real Love.”
The world we live in now tells us so much about what “love” is and yet all of their examples are shallow at best. They barely scrape the surface of real beauty, love, happiness, joy, among many other awesome parts of God’s creation. Sometimes I think children may have a better idea than adults. You’ve heard children spout out the blatant, non-watered down truth usually with some random and obscure twist. I looked up some quotes by kids about their concept of love. When asked, “How do people in love act?” one child replied, "Mushy ... like puppy dogs ... except puppy dogs don’t wag their tails nearly as much." When asked what falling in love was like, one child replied, “Like an avalanche where you have to run for your life.” You have to love kid’s perspectives on these things. Sometimes kids get a little too close to the truth however. One girl said, "One of you should know how to write a check because, even if you have tons of love, there is still going to be a lot of bills." If only she knew how right she was on that bill issues. These are many of the ideas, although in children’s terms, floating around the world we live in. Ideas that love should be like a fairy tale and that we must focus on money issues within marriages. All quotes taken from http://funnies.paco.to/fallingInLove.html
I hate to say it but we have all been influenced by these ideas in one way or another. Yet, in today’s text, John places before us 5 particular facts about faith, hope, and especially love that we should examine carefully. We must accept the facts of love so that we can enter into that new realm I spoke of earlier. This realm exists in God’s love and imitates it as best as humanly possibly. This realm is known as fellowship; both with God and with each other. The facts surrounding this realm counteract and contradict every single rule of love in society today. Where love comes from, how does it work, how can you tell, why do we need it, and why should we give it are all excellent questions and this text answers every single one of them. John tells us in this text all about the love of God and how powerful it really is. We must face the facts of love. The facts are the keys to the greatest reality we could ever want to experience. The text opens the door to a realm of real love and joy. Let’s look at each key specifically.
Key #1: The Origin of Real Love (7-8) – Where does love come from? (GOD)
“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” - NLT
Where does love come from? According to the text, “love comes from God.” I personally wonder about this because I have always felt that I had the capability to love, even before I chose Christ. You may have met people who were very loving and caring people and yet not Christians. So how can God be the author of love? Two ideas need to be pondered upon; 1) what kind of love and 2) how God’s love affects the world. There is a major difference between the love of God and the love of mankind. Although more will be said in the next key, God’s love is unconditional. We don’t have to do anything to receive it. The second idea is actually a question: what happens if God’s love leaves the world? The day God takes His love away, the earth will basically become hell. Hell is the absolute absence of God and therefore the absence of all love. Without God, this world would have no love whatsoever; even from “good” people. Love comes from God.
God’s existence in our world allows us to enjoy the love we have and even opens the door for us to experience a greater love; the unconditional love of God. I now realize that I did have the capability to love in some ways before Christ but they were selfish corruptions of God’s love. I was always seeking something for myself. God is the beginning, the origin of love and only through Him does love even exist. Without Him even my worthless tries at love wouldn’t have existed. Love doesn’t come from within and isn’t at the end of some magic wand. Love doesn’t just pop up out of nowhere or just appear between two people; that’s called lust. The realm of joy and love called fellowship must start with God’s love. Real love comes from God in the form of unconditional love which happens to be second key.
Key #2: The Power of Real Love (9-11) – How does it work? (UNCONDITIONALLY)
“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.” - NLT
The text tells us pretty plainly what real love looks like; real love looks like Jesus Christ and His willingness to give up His life for mankind. The text even uses a specific word for this action; God called it a sacrifice. Jesus sacrificed His own human life and physical body to take away mankind’s sins. Jesus didn’t ask for anything in return for dying and he didn’t charge everyone for taking away their sins. Jesus even says, “No greater love can anyone have than to lay down their life for their friends.” Jesus didn’t just say it but he lived it too. God sent Jesus Christ into the world so that mankind might have a chance at eternal life. His love was unconditional, even to the point of giving up His own Son. Jesus’ love was unconditional; he didn’t even withhold His own life.
The power of real love comes from God’s unconditional, limitless amount of love. How does love work? Well, which love are you referring to? The selfish love we handle daily that focuses on us and what we get out of it doesn’t really work at all except in making everyone feel used and unloved. The love God has given to us and shown us in Christ works absolutely wonderfully because we never should have to feel that we have to perform to be loved. Unconditional love means that I don’t have to do something to be loved by you and you don’t have to do anything for me to love you. That means I can be me and still be loved; that’s pretty powerful in my opinion. The second key fact is that real unconditional love is powerful. You can still be you and be loved. To enter the realm called fellowship with God and with each other we must understand this key, we must love unconditionally because no one is perfect except Christ.
Key #3: The Evidence of Real Love (12-16) – How can you tell? (WITNESSES)
“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.” – NLT
What evidence exists for this type of love? I know that many times I have questioned exactly how you find proof that such abstract things exist. This part of John’s love text gives at least three witnesses to the fact that real love exists and can exist within a human being. The first witness, the Holy Spirit, lives within a person after they become baptized. Anyone can tell if someone has the Holy Spirit, just check their fruit (Gal. 5:22-23). They should have some attributes and characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The second witness exhibits itself in the love Christians have for one another; is it unconditional or selfish? The third witness is a person’s confession of who Christ is. Not just, “I believe in Jesus” but an honest heartfelt profession of belief in Christ as the Son of God who came to save the world.
Tangible evidence exists in our world of the love of God. How can you tell real love exists? You should be able to see it in each of your lives. You should see the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 developing in your life. Look at your spouse, your children, your family, and your friends. Do you expect them to do something in return for your love? You love them and yet to get it they must do their chores and make good grades. She must have supper on the table when you get home or you get angry at her. He must live and act how you want, including the honey do list before you will become intimate with him. Key #3 says that evidence exists in favor of real unconditional love and you might want to show it. Fellowship in Christ, sharing our lives together, must show some evidence that real love exists. Evidence must be present or it isn’t fellowship at all.
Key #4: The Need for Real Love (17-18) – Why do we need it? (OVERCOMES FEAR)
“God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the Day of Judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”
There is a deep need in the world we live in today. Listen to what John says, “So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment…” There will be a judgment one day where everyone will be expected to answer for the life they lived during their lifetime. God is love and if anyone will live with God, in unconditional love, they will have no fear of judgment day. The love of God has absolutely no fear in it at all. Yet, today unlike back in those days men no longer fear God, or they at least act like it. Actually most people seem to be ignorant of the wrath of God; either out of choice or innocence. Many lack a reverence and fear of God just because they have no idea what’s coming. John tries to warn these men and women that a judgment will come but with God’s love there is no need to fear.
I say this is the need for real love. Why do we need real love? Many do not have a clue what’s coming but oh will they fear when they stand before a mighty and awesome God. Everyone will fall to their knees and cry out that God is supreme. Some will do so willingly and some will do so by force. You may not know what is coming but if you did you would probably wet yourself. I don’t want anyone of you or anyone period to stand before God without knowing Christ because that will be the most terrifying moment anyone could every possibly feel. People NEED the real love of Jesus Christ so that they will not have to fear the Almighty God we serve. To have fellowship, we need to have real love within us so that we can give that confidence to others. With the love of God, all fear disappears. Are you afraid of judgment day, if you didn’t know Christ, I would be too?
Key #5: The Sway of Real Love (19-21) – Why should we give it? (JESUS DID FIRST)
Finally the last key entering the new realm of existence called fellowship. There must be some sway or pull when real love exists in your life. Listen to the text carefully. “We love each other because he loved us first. If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.” Beginning with God’s love for us, we have a reason to share our faith in Christ (He loved us first) and we also have a command directly from Him to do so. Those who love God will also love each other.
What makes Christ’s love so precious and even irresistible to me? He loved me first and didn’t expect me to make straight A’s or be perfect. He loved me for me and nothing more. That drew me to Him because I was always expected to perform by everyone else. That swayed me to the opinion that there was something more about this Jesus. Why should we give love? Jesus loved me unconditionally and I have no right to keep Him to myself. I have no right to hide Him in my heart and never let Him out. Jesus not only sacrificed Himself but also commanded me to give Him to others. His love holds me when I feel weak, carries me when I cannot stand, protects me from painful words and enemies, gives me other Christians to get close to and love, and so many other things. His love has a powerful attraction to it kind of like a gigantic magnet pulling everything towards Him. Anyone who needs love only needs to look towards Him. Our love should have a wondrous attraction to it just like Jesus’ love did. Real love sways people to its side.
Five keys; each one a critical part of God’s plan for a new realm on earth called fellowship. Through each of these keys God opens the door for fellowship and true joy and love among His children otherwise known as Christians. Actually, all the keys together spells OPENS because God opens the door to a realm much greater than this world; one with unconditional love. Real love comes from God, is empowered through Christ’s sacrifice, finds evidence in our lives, is desperately needed in our world, and has a wondrous attraction to it. What an awesome God we serve! He has opened the way to a place of true joy and peace even within the world of chaos we live in today. Hopefully you understand these keys and accept them because they are the only way in. If you are looking for a better place to live with real friends and real love, then you must look to Jesus Christ and God. You will never find unconditional love in this world but you can find it by getting to know Jesus. Want to know you are loved regardless of your failures? Jesus already does! Come in and fellowship with Christ and find true joy, peace, and love.
