Text: “Love has been perfected among us…” (v. 17)
How long has love been around? How would you answer that question? We have all experienced love in some form. Our families love us. As babies, we had parents who loved us. As we grew older we “fell in love” with a particular person.
Love has been around as long as God has been present. God wanted to share that love with some being, so He created mankind. When God breathed life into man, that breath contained His love.
Knowing and believing this, we can say that God is our source of love. The love given us by God is the love we share with other people. There are some people who view love as merely a feeling. At times, these people demonstrate love when it is to their advantage. Other times, their love is hidden somewhere down deep in the subconscious because their feelings are negative.
We can choose to love or not to love. We can act upon our choice and our love will be evident to others. If our actions toward other people are positive, our love will be brought to surface. If our outward actions are negative as perceived by people, then our love will not shine forth as the love of God.
There are couples, husband and wife, who start a relationship with a warm peaceful feeling for each other and then the tide seems to turn. The unity of love they once possessed as husband and wife comes apart. What has happened?
They have lost the bond of unity that once held them together. At first that unity could have been merely a physical attraction. People often look to the opposite sex based on appearance, beauty or possessions. A quick relationship develops marriage occurs and lasts until a disagreement arises the newness wears off or someone else enters the picture.
True love for each other does not wear out or wear off. True love is not physical, but true love is spiritual. I say that because God gave each of us the spirit of love. The love of Almighty God forms a bond between two people that will never break no matter what may come in the life of those two people.
The love of God is so strong that people will stick together no matter what circumstances arise. The family that prays together stays together. People who love God will love each other regardless of what might transpire. Listen to this story of love:
Story: “These Hands”
A young man and a young woman were engaged to be married and were looking forward to a near wedding day when the young man was suddenly called to serve his country. From the field of warfare letters regularly came and went and love shone brightly in all of them.
The letters from the young man abruptly ceased. A few weeks passed and then there came a letter in a strange handwriting. In it the young woman read:
“There has been another battle. I have lost both my arms. I asked my comrade to write this for me, and to tell you that I release you from our engagement for now I will not be able to work and support you.”
That letter was never answered. By the next train the young woman journeyed southward. She left the train and went directly to the hospital. Inquiring the location of the young man’s room she quietly approached.
Upon seeing her fiancé, she looked into his sad eyes, kissed him and whispered in his ear the words, “I will never give you up. These hands of mine will work for you. We will live our life of love together.”
---------------S. E. DuBois, in Gospel Herald
True love does not come apart when God is the bonding adhesive. God is our source of life and our source of love. Our love for God is demonstrated by our love for all His children. Hurts, disagreements, and differences are swallowed up by the love of God.
Christians are permitted to disagree with one another, but the disagreement should be done with the love of Jesus. Our unity is with God the Father through the love of His Son and initiated by the Person of the Holy Spirit who lives within our heart. As a true and devoted Christian and follower of the “words in red” we should have peace within our heart, a smile on our face, and an understanding and compassionate respect for all God’s children.
How do you show that God is the source of your love?
We can follow the illustrations that Jesus set before us. He was always ready to step in and help when people called upon Him.
For example, when He attended the wedding at Cana and the wine supply was exhausted, His mother called upon Him. He didn’t refuse, but instead He was obedient. He turned the water into wine which was much better than what was originally being served.
He did more than was expected and that is exactly what we should do when we are called upon to do a task. The master of the ceremony recognized the difference in the wine and when we perform our very best people will recognize we are different because the love of God will be evident. We will be acknowledged, but more important, God will receive the Glory and honor of our actions.
People will know our source of love by the way we treat them. When we provide or do things for them without expecting anything in return, God’s love will shine through us. His love will be evident when we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and care for the needy.
God’s love will be demonstrated by our words of encouragement; understanding; compassion; caring, and our willingness to help in their time of need. We can’t heal multitudes of people of sickness or disease, for only God can do that, but we can keep them in our prayers asking God to take care of their needs.
We can do good deeds and say marvelous positive words to those who disagree with us or hurt us by their words or actions. We can follow Jesus’ words to: “…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” (Matthew 5:44).
When we do things for people, we should not be doing them just to “blow our own horn.” Jesus said, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them…do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets...do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:1-3). Almighty God will reward us for the good things we do and the glory will be His.
Jesus was a very humble person. He didn’t own worldly possession as we do. He didn’t want earthly possessions as we do. If we are to shine as followers of Jesus, we too must conduct our life in a humble manner. Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58).
We don’t need “things” to demonstrate to people we are Jesus’ disciples. All we need is the love of Jesus in our life and we project that love by following the “words in red”. Jesus never talked down to people or made them feel inferior, but He did speak uplifting words to them.
He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house” (Matthew 9:6). These were words of encouragement spoken in love. By the same token, when the woman who had a bleeding problem for twelve years touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, He felt power leave His body, but He did not reprimand her, instead Jesus looked at her and said, “Be of good cheer, daughter, your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22).
These are examples of encouragement spoken out of love for the needy and the hurting. When we act in the same manner, we are following in the footsteps of the One who gave all He had so that we could spend eternity with Him in His kingdom.
John was given these words to write: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). We are to love one another and we have no excuse to do otherwise because we love God. God is our source of love and this love was demonstrated at the Cross.
Without the love of God we are lost. Without the love of God we will never be able to reach the mansion just over the hilltop that He has prepared for us. Without the love of God it is impossible for us to love each other. One who does not know God cannot love because God is love.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). In this manner the love of God was made obvious toward us.
God’s greatest gift of love to us was His Son. The reason He gave the best gift He could was to give each of us the opportunity to be redeemed or saved. Man has a sinful nature and sins on a daily basis. Sin separates man from God and places him in close proximity with Satan.
Man lost His perfect relationship with the Father through disobedience. Satan considered it a victory for him, but God had other plans. God’s love is very strong, but Satan is still trying to win the battle and prevent man from being restored to his original place relative to the Father.
Some people say that love is something that makes them feel good and that may be so, but this is a feeling and not real love. This type of love is a selfish love. Scripture does not say that “love is God” but in reality it says, “God is love”. True and real love is concerned, holy, understanding, caring, and perfect. True or real love can only be attained by knowing God and then following His Word.
God is perfect love and perfect love is:
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
“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us” (I John 4:12).
It is true that we have not seen God, but we know that He loves us. If God loves us, then God abides in us and we should love other people in the same manner. Jesus is God incarnate or in the flesh. Jesus, who lives within our heart as the Person of the Holy Spirit, shines forth from us when we show love to other people.
God loves us regardless of our position in life. His love for us is not based on our love for Him. We have all made mistakes. We have all done things we now regret. We haven’t always been the person God would like us to be. Bottom line – He still loves us and this is the way we should feel about other people. It is not that they love us, but instead, that we love them.
Story: “He Still Loves Us”
There is a strange power in the consciousness of being loved…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 lost men from despair, if they can only believe that He loves them!
------------A. B. Simpson, in the Alliance Weekly
The woman loved this sin-sick man. God demonstrated a greater love for us when He sent His Son Jesus to the Cross so that we might spend eternity with Him in Heaven. As children of God, we possess the power to love as God loves because He is our source of love.
I want to close with these words:
“No Farewell to Love” (I Corinthians 13:13)
As an aged Christian lay dying, a friend called to say farewell. “I have just had three other visitors, said the dying man, “and with two of them I parted: but the third I shall keep with me forever.”
“Who are they?”
“The first was Faith, and I said, ‘Goodbye, Faith! I thank God for your company ever since I first trusted Christ; but now I am going where faith is lost in sight.’
“Then came Hope. Farewell, Hope!’ I cried. ‘You have helped me in many an hour of battle and distress, but now I shall not need you, for I am going where hope passes into fruition.’
“Last of all came Love. ‘Love,’ said I, ‘you have indeed been my friend; you have linked me with God and with my fellow men; you have comforted and gladdened all my pilgrimage. I cannot leave you behind; you must come with me through the gates, into the city of God, for love is perfected in heaven.’”
---------------------Sunday School Chronicle
God is love!
Amen.
