Text: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (I John 4:8).
The text tells us that “God is love.” We have heard these words many times, but have we given much thought to what they really mean?
Is it worldly to believe that “God is love?”
I believe the world’s interpretation of love is selfish love. I say this because many people believe that love is what makes one feel good. People sacrifice their common sense God has given them and in so doing let go of their moral standards or principles.
Every day we hear about broken relationships that have come about because of cheating on their spouse. We look in the daily paper and view all the divorce notices. People are killing other people because of greed, selfishness, anger, covetousness, envy, etc.
The world has turned the words “God is love” to read “love is God.” The world does not understand real love because it does not understand God. God is perfect, just, holy, compassionate, understanding and caring. God continuously reaches out to us in a Fatherly manner. No matter what we do or how little we pay attention to Him or think of Him, He is always there for us. We may not always stay focused on Him, but we are always in his midst.
Story: “God’s Great Love”
One time a father wanted to teach his son the lesson of God’s great goodness. He took him to the top of a high hill and pointed northward over Scotland, southward over England, eastward over the ocean, westward over hill and valley, and then sweeping his arm around the whole circling horizon, he said, “Johnny, my boy, God’s love is as big as all that.” “Why, father,” the boy replied with sparkling eyes, “then we must be right in the middle of it.” ---Earnest Worker
Whether people realizes it or not, they are indeed in the middle of God’s great love. God could have wiped man off the face of the earth as soon as disobedience entered the world, but instead He used his backup plan to give man an opportunity to come back into a right relationship with Him. If that is not love, then I don’t know what it is.
In chapter 12 of I Corinthians, Paul talks about spiritual gifts given to people by the Holy Spirit. These gifts, such as, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers and prophecy were given so they could be used to minister to the needs of the believers.
These gifts were given out of love and were expected to be used under the leadership of the Holy Spirit to lead people to Jesus. Some people possess only one gift and some possess more than one gift. The main function of the gifts is to build the church which is the body of Christ.
The Corinthian church was being torn apart because the spiritual gifts given to the believers were being misused. Some believers thought they were extra special because of the gift they possessed and used that gift in a selfish manner instead of using it with the love of God attached. They led people to believe they were teaching the Word of God, but in reality they were false teachers. The leader of the false teacher is Satan.
Paul is trying to impress upon the people that one gift is not superior or inferior to another gift, but that all gifts are necessary to build up the body of believers. Paul goes on to say that the gift of speaking in tongues, or the gift of prophecy or the gift of knowledge, or the gift of faith means nothing if one important binding ingredient is missing. The binding ingredient is love.
Love is the reason we are here today. Love is the reason God had plan 2 ready when disobedience came into the world. Love is the reason God sacrificed all He had so that we could have the option to spend eternity with Him in his Kingdom.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
God’s love is the silver thread that goes from Genesis to Revelation. God’s love is not self-centered, but instead reaches out to others. God’s love is the pattern we are to follow and in doing so relationships will be formed in the name of Jesus.
As Jesus went about preaching and teaching the Word of the Father, He was offering to the people a new way of life. Yes, there were some who believed and understood and followed Him, but then there were some who did not believe and the “seed of God” rolled off their backs and landed on the hard stony ground of the wayside. Satan came along and convinced these people that they were doing the right thing in rejecting the Word.
I believe that you and I know that there is power in love. Listen to this story:
Story: “He Still Loves Us”
It is said that one of the most distinguished statesmen of the times of the American Revolution was once a hopeless drunkard. He had been engaged to a beautiful girl, but his indulgence had compelled her to break the engagement and sever herself from his influence, which was dragging her down. She had not ceased to love him, or to pray for him.
One day she was passing along a suburban road. She saw him lying intoxicated by the sidewalk, his face exposed to the broiling, blistering sun, and swollen with drink and exposure.
Her tender heart was moved, and, as she passed by, she took her handkerchief and gently spread it over his stupid, sleeping face. An hour or two later he awoke and saw the handkerchief and her name upon the corner of it. He sprang to his feet, and a glad thrill of hope and courage came to his heart.
“She loves me still,” he said, “all is not yet lost. For her sake I will redeem my life.” And he did.
Oh, how much more power there is in the love of Christ to save every man, woman, boy and girl from despair, if they can only believe that He loves them.
---A.B. Simpson, in the Alliance Weekly
The woman did not like the drinking habit this man had, but she still loved him. She did not give up on him just as God did not give up on mankind. Her heart was broken because of his actions, but she did want to see him suffer and so she placed her handkerchief on his face to protect it from the sun. She gave him an opportunity to make a choice and the rest of his life would depend on that choice.
God does not want to see us suffer because of His love for us, but then He does not want to manipulate us like puppets. Jesus said, “God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:17).
He does not want us to be lost, but He does want us to spend eternity with Him in His kingdom. That is the reason He sent His Son into the world. Paul told the Romans, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 3:23 and 6:26).
God’s love for us is so great that He offers us the gift of eternal life. When someone gives you a gift, they do not intend for you to pay them or give them something in return.
Paul told the Ephesians these words: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
Story: “Too Busy to Love”
A father and his young daughter were great friends and much in each other’s company. Then the father noted a change in his daughter. If he went for a walk, she excused herself from going. He grieved about it, but could not understand.
When his birthday came, she presented him with a pair of exquisitely worked slippers, saying, “I have made them for you.”
Then he understood what had been the matter for the past three months, and he said, “My darling, I like these slippers very much, but next time buy the slippers and let me have you all the days. I would rather have my child than anything she can make for me.”
Some of us are so busy for the Lord that He cannot get much of us. To us He would say, ‘I know your works, your labor, your patience, but I miss the first love.”
---G. Campbell Morgan
God wants us to stay in touch with Him. He wants us to communicate with Him through prayer. He wants us to show forth our love for Him in our speech, our actions, and our encounters with His other children. God wants to hear our praises of love and He wants to speak to us through His Word on a daily basis.
God’s gift of salvation comes with His love. His love carried our past, present and future sins to the Cross. There is no better love than God’s love.
Paul tells us that “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres” (I Corinthians 13:4-7).
Worldly love is mainly concerned with lust. What do you hear and see when you tune into the soap operas on television? Many of the programs and many of the musical videos coming over the airwaves are worldly and disgusting to God. What do you see when you look at advertisements; cars, clothing, beauty aids, diet programs or exercise equipment? In each of these advertisements you will see love as expressed by worldly standards.
I am not saying these products being advertised are wrong or not good, but I am just commenting on the underlying suggestions made through these advertisements. Worldly love is directed to oneself whereas God’s love is always directed out to other people. Worldly love is selfish, but God’s love is not selfish.
God’s love is very patient and kind to his children. Some people are not very patient and kind, but they are impatient, rude and sarcastic. They seem to think they are the only ones who know things, do things correctly and never make mistakes.
I’m sure you know people who exhibit these traits. Everyday we meet people who are rude and sarcastic. They never say “please, excuse me, thank you; I’m sorry, may I…etc.” You know what I am talking about. You also know that you and I fall into this category every so often.
Have you ever been envious of what someone has? Have you ever said things that boosted your image or set you upon a pedestal? Have you ever felt overly proud of yourself because of some accomplishment or something you have acquired?
We have all done these things. If we ask God to help us with these issues, He will help us because He loves us and wants His love to show through us. God will also remind us when we fall short of His expectations. That little voice within our heart will prompts us to repent and ask for forgiveness for our thoughts or wrongdoings.
God’s love will never fail us or let us down. Everything else in life is only temporary, but God’s love is eternal. Things in life will come and things will go. Stages of life will soon fade into the past. Worldly love will pass, but God’s love will remain forever.
We have made many mistakes in our life time, but God has covered those mistakes with his love. We will make mistakes in the future, but if we maintain a close relationship with our Maker, those mistakes will be covered with the blanket of His love.
We will make mistakes in the presence of our friends, but they will understand and cover our mistakes with their love. When our friends or family make mistakes in our presence, our love for them will forgive and forget those mistakes.
I heard a story about a maintenance man riding on a trolley car who noticed that every time the trolley door was opened it would squeak. After a little while, the man got up from his seat and went over near the door. He removed a small can of 3-1 oil from his pocket and put a few drops on the door where the squeak came from. He went back to his seat with a smile on his face and sat down. One curious rider looked at him but said nothing. The maintenance said, “I always carry an oil can in my pocket, for there are so many squeaky things that a drop of oil will correct.”
When you stop and think about it, isn’t that rather like the everyday occurrence of life? Don’t you think that the squeaks of impatience, rudeness, sarcasm and a host of other situations and issues in daily life could be corrected with a drop of the oil of love? This container of oil is always with us. It is in our hearts and it is under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
We don’t have all the answers to everything today, but some day we will. Paul said, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (I Corinthians 13:12). One day we will see Jesus in person and He will reveal to us what things look like from his point of view.
Conclusion:
Paul says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (I Corinthians 13:13).
Our faith is what anchors us to the Word of God.
Our hope is what maintains our focus on God’s Word.
Our love is the freedom expressed through God’s love.
Perfect Love
Slow to suspect – quick to trust,
Slow to condemn – quick to justify,
Slow to offend – quick to defend,
Slow to expose – quick to shield,
Slow to reprimand – quick to forbear,
Slow to belittle – quick to appreciate,
Slow to demand – quick to give,
Slow to provoke – quick to make peace,
Slow to hinder – quick to help,
Slow to resent – quick to forgive.
---Herald of Holiness
The Greatest Gift is God’s love expressed in the life, death, and resurrection of His Son and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.
