Redemptive Relationships
“Loving Your Brother”
1 John 3:11-24
1 John 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
I. Love is the preeminent commandment
A. The background for the directive – “to you that believe” ch. 5:13
B. The teachings of the Savior
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
C. The behavior of the early church
Tertullian, an early Christian author, reported that the Romans would exclaim, “See how they love one another,” and
Justin Martyr, a Greek speaking Christian apologist, sketched Christian love this way: “We who used to value the acquisition of wealth and possessions more than anything else now bring what we have into a common fund and share it with anyone who needs it. We used to hate and destroy one another and refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people and pray for our enemies.”
Clement of Alexandria, describing the person who has come to know God, wrote, “He impoverishes himself out of love, so that he is certain he may never overlook a brother in need, especially if he knows he can bear poverty better than his brother. He likewise considers the pain of another as his own pain. And if he suffers any hardship because of having given out of his own poverty, he does not complain.”
Compare these statements with a Gallup poll from several years back…
There's little difference in ethical behavior between the churched and the unchurched. There's as much pilferage and dishonesty among the churched as the unchurched. And I'm afraid that applies pretty much across the board: Religion, per se, is not really life changing. People cite it as important, for instance, in overcoming depression--but it doesn't have primacy in determining behavior.
George H. Gallup, "Vital Signs," Leadership, Fall 1987, p. 17.
II. Love puts care in practice – v. 18 “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
A. The caution – v. 12 “Not as Cain…”
Genesis 4:9 “And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?”
Someone has said that, “Hate is like acid. It can damage the vessel in which it is stored as well as destroy the object on which it is poured.”
One of the worst cases of hatred I have ever come across is found in a will written in 1935 by a Mr. Donohoe. It says, "Unto my two daughters, Frances Marie and Denise Victoria, by reason of their unfilial attitude toward a doting father...I leave the sum of $1.00 to each and a father's curse. May their lives be fraught with misery, unhappiness, and poignant sorrow. May their deaths be soon and of a lingering malignant and torturous nature."
The last line of the will is so vicious I shudder to quote it. It reads, "May their souls rest in hell and suffer the torments of the condemned for eternity."
Our Daily Bread, February 18, 1994
B. The condemnation – v. 14b-15 “…He that loveth not his brother, abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer…”
C. The comparison – v. 16 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
10 yr old boy was failing math, his parents did everything, even hired tutors; finally as a last option they send him to a Catholic school. Right on the first day of school he began to spend every night pouring over his books. When the 1st report card came back, he had an A for math. So the parents were curious "what made the difference." they asked. "The nuns; the textbooks?" "Well, I never took math seriously but the 1st day I walked in
to math class I saw this guy nailed to a plus sign. I knew then they meant business."This is just it. Jesus meant business when he showed us what love is. We broke all the rules and Jesus could have spent eternity counting all our infractions, mistakes, every sin – but what did he do instead to communicate love… Jesus laid down his life for us. He chose to forgive, to put love with action, coming and die in our place.
If you and I really love our brother we will do what Jesus did; we will lay down our lives for our brother!
On May 2, 1962, a dramatic advertisement appeared in the San Francisco Examiner: "I don't want my husband to die in the gas chamber for a crime he did not commit. I will therefore offer my services for 10 years as a cook, maid, or housekeeper to any leading attorney who will defend him and bring about his vindication."
One of San Francisco's greatest attorneys, Vincent Hallinan, read or heard about the ad and contacted Gladys Kidd, who had placed it. Her husband, Robert Lee Kidd, was about to be tried for the slaying of an elderly antique dealer. Kidd's fingerprints had been found on a bloodstained ornate sword in the victim's shop. During the trial, Hallinan proved that the antique dealer had not been killed by the sword, and that Kidd's fingerprints and blood on the sword got there because Kidd had once toyed with it while playfully dueling with a friend when they were both out shopping. The jury, after 11 hours, found Kidd to be not guilty. Attorney Hallinan refused Gladys Kidd's offer of 10 years' servitude.
III. Love gives credibility to our profession
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
A. The assurance of love
1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren…”
1 John 3:19 “And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.”
1 John 3:24 “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
B. The argument for love
Profession without possession exposes us to the charge of hypocrisy!
1 John 3:18 “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
1 John 3:20 “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.”
Two taxidermists stopped in front of a window where an owl was on display. They immediately began to criticize the way it was mounted. Its eyes were not natural; its wings were not in proportion with its head; its feathers were not neatly arranged; and its feet could be improved. Just when they had finished with their criticism, the owl turned his head...and blinked. It’s easier to be critical than correct.
When I Was Diagnosed With Cancer
My first friend came and expressed his shock by saying,
"I can’t believe that you have cancer.
I always thought you were so active and healthy."
He left and I felt alienated and somehow very different.
My second friend came and brought me information
about different treatments being used for cancer. He said,
"Whatever you do, don’t take chemotherapy. It’s a poison!"
He left and I felt scared and confused.
My third friend came and tried to answer my "whys?"
with the statement,
"Perhaps God is disciplining you for some sin in your life?"
He left and I felt guilty.
My fourth friend came and told me,
"If your faith is just great enough God will heal you."
He left and I felt my faith must be inadequate.
My fifth friend came and told me to remember that,
"All things work together for good."
He left and I felt angry.
My sixth friend never came at all.
I felt sad and alone.
My seventh friend came and held my hand and said,
"I care, I’m here, I want to help you through this."
He left and I felt LOVED!
C. The attraction of love
Someone said, “It's no wonder that Christianity spread rapidly throughout the ancient world, even though there were few organized missionary or evangelism programs. The love they practiced drew the attention of the world, just as Jesus said it would.”
Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench (pure) love; neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned (money cannot buy this kind of love).
NO GREATER LOVE
It was February 1941, Auschwitz, Poland. Maximilian Kolbe
was a Franciscan priest put in the infamous death camp for helping Jews escape Nazi terrorism.
Months went by and in desperation an escape took place. The camp rule was enforced. Ten people would be rounded up randomly and herded into a cell where they would die of starvation and exposure as a lesson against future escape attempts.
Names were called. A Polish Jew Frandishek Gasovnachek was called. He cried, "Wait, I have a wife and children!" Kolbe stepped forward and said, "I will take his place."
Kolbe was marched into the cell with nine others where he managed to live until August 14.
This story was chronicled on an NBC news special several years ago. Gasovnachek, by this time 82, was shown telling this story while tears streamed down his cheeks. A mobile camera followed him around his little white house to a marble monument carefully tended with flowers. The inscription read:
IN MEMORY OF MAXIMILIAN KOLBE
HE DIED IN MY PLACE.
Every day Gasovnachek lived since 1941, he lived with the knowledge, "I live because someone died for me." Every year on August 14 he travels to Auschwitz in memory of Kolbe.
"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13).
When elderly Adele Gaboury turned up missing four years ago, concerned neighbors in Worcester, Massachusetts, informed the police. A brother told police she had gone into a nursing home. Satisfied with that information, Gaboury’s neighbors began watching her property. Michael Crowley noticed her mail, delivered through a slot in the door, piling high. When he opened the door, hundreds of pieces of mail drifted out. He notified police, and the deliveries were stopped. Gaboury’s next-door neighbor, Eileen Dugan, started paying her grandson $10 twice a month to mow Gaboury’s lawn. Later Dugan’s son noticed Gaboury’s pipes had frozen, spilling water out the door. The utility company was called to shut off the water. What no one guessed was that while they’d been trying to help, Gaboury had been inside her home. When police finally investigated the house as a health hazard, they were shocked to find her body. The Washington Post (10/27/93) reported that police believe Gaboury died of natural causes four years ago. The respectable, external appearance of Gaboury’s house had hidden the reality of what was on the inside. Something similar can happen to people: We may appear outwardly proper while spiritually dead. All sorts of religious activity may be happening outside, while the real problem is missed: spiritual death on the inside.
