Title: Loving Like Jesus Loves Me
Text: Various
Truth: God wants us to love others like Jesus loves us.
Aim: To have the church practice accepting, valuing, forgiving, and believing in someone.
Life Question: What are the four ways Jesus loves you?
INTRODUCTION
A Christian man was at a conference away from his family when he received an urgent call. On the phone was the sobbing voice of his wife; she said their nine-month old baby had suddenly died in his crib. Understandably, he said this plunged him to the lowest point in his life. His grief seemed uncontainable, welling up from deep within him like a volcanic eruption.
He bought a train ticket home, and sat alone. Nearby sat a man reading his Bible; opposite the man sat two young people taunting him. One of the boys sneered, “If your God is so loving, why does He allow little children to die? What kind of love is that?”
The question stabbed this grieving father’s heart, and he himself wanted to exclaim, “Yes! Answer them and me, and tell us why He lets children die. What sort of love is that?” But a strange mental transformation occurred in this grieving Christian man. He said, “Do you mind if I enter your conversation? I’ll tell you how much God loves you; He gave His only Son to die for you.”
The young man who had spoken earlier interrupted him and argued it was easy for this Christian to make such pronouncements disconnected from the real world of death and desolation. The man waited for the appropriate moment, for he needed every ounce of courage to say it once, but to say it clearly. “No, no, my dear friends, I am not distanced from the real world of pain and death. I am on this train headed for my own son’s funeral. He died just a few hours ago, and it has given the cross a whole new meaning for me. Now I know what kind of God it is Who loves me, a God Who willingly gave His Son for me.”
We are not like the Muslims who have a God who is so transcendent we are left to simply do our best in this life. Our God is not so mystical like the Buddhist that the only hope of knowing him is to retreat from this world through self-renunciation or good works. Christians teach that God incarnated Himself into a human being Who loved us even to the point of dying as a substitute for our sins. This is the kind of God Who loves us.
We as a church are setting aside forty days to learn how to love God and to learn how to love others. This is what most pleases God. The best way to learn anything is to learn by model. You learned to hit a baseball by modeling it after someone not by reading a book. Jesus is the best example of loving God and loving others. We learn to love by loving God and others the way Jesus loves us.
This morning let us look at four ways Jesus loves you.
I. ACCEPT OTHERS THE WAY JESUS ACCEPTS ME.
John 6:37 says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
You are God the Father’s gift to God the Son. The Son will never reject the Father’s gift. He accepts you with all your sin, with all your baggage, and with all your disappointing failures in the future. Jesus turns not one single person away. All who come to Him are accepted.
Romans 15:7 says, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
He accepted us when we were sinners. He accepted us even though He knew that in the future we would hurt Him over and over with our rebellion. He accepted us despite our immaturity and selfishness. Why? Accepting us brought praise to God the Father. This was such a powerful testimony to the reality of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ that the watching world is quoted as saying, “Behold, how they love one another.”
As I thought about Jesus’ acceptance it occurred to me that story after story recorded in the Gospels must have stood out in the minds of the writers because of the stunning acceptance of Jesus. Zacchaeus, the despised tax collector, actually shares a meal with Jesus. A shared meal was the ultimate testimony of acceptance. Jesus saves from stoning the woman caught in adultery, He touches lepers and the dead, and His enemies accuse Him of being too accepting. They say He is the friend of tax collectors and prostitutes. His most famous stories are of acceptance: The Good Samaritan and The Prodigal Son.
A young couple went to Romania to adopt a little boy named George, who was born without arms. As they visited the orphanage, they noticed that nobody would even look in little George’s direction, because his handicap was viewed as an ill omen and a curse upon his family. But the couple was determined to bring George back to the United States and raise him as their son if his mother agreed. Something unforgettable happened.
The mother, when contacted, asked the couple why they wanted her child. “I have heard,” she said, “that in America they use babies for genetic experimentation. Is that why you want to take my son?” The would-be parents were as wise as they were accepting, and with the complete limitation of language, handed a Romanian Bible to the woman and opened it up to Psalm 139. She took it and began to read:
For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I’m fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
The mother wept as she read and clutched the Bible to her heart. She knew her little boy would grow up and want to see her, but she also knew he would be pointed not just to the source of his life but to the source of her life. With gratitude to God, the mother gave her armless son into the arms of one who stretched out her arms in acceptance.
There is a hunger in every one of us to be accepted by our God. Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” What we see in Jesus is His amazing acceptance of sinners. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The challenge of love is to accept others as Jesus accepts us.
The world largely perceives Christians as in-fighters, argumentative, and judgmental. We are to be concerned about the truth and defend it. We need to become more convincing in our arguments that support our beliefs. We must constantly be on our guard to not let the immorality of the world erode our stance and practice of purity. Yet in 1 Corinthians 13 Paul warns us that without love these things are meaningless. Do you think a possibility for why the Christian church is not known for its love and acceptance like it is known for its defense of truth and morality is because we have not pursued love and acceptance with the same kind of zeal? We have been good at speaking the truth but not so successful in delivering it in love.
Since Jesus said in Mark 12:29-31 that love is the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets—love God and love your neighbor as yourself—should we not see love as our chief responsibility and goal? One of the ways Jesus loves us is to accept us, and one way we practice His kind of love is to accept others. Complete this sentence: “I will show acceptance to…” Who comes to mind? Write down their name or initials. God wants you to love Him and others; that is why He put you on this earth. One way to do this is to be accepting of the hard to love.
Let us look at a second way Jesus loves you.
II. VALUE OTHERS THE WAY JESUS VALUES ME.
Luke 12:22 says,
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!”
It is an argument from lesser to greater. If God cares and provides for the lesser, birds, how much more will He care and provide for the greater, people. Why? He cares because He values people so much more.
There are two things that make something valuable. First, things are determined to be valuable based on who made it.
Ephesians 2:10 states, “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
The word workmanship is our word poem. A poem is the creation and design of an intelligent mind. All through the Bible we are reminded that God makes us.
Ravi Zacharias told this story:
Recently, I had breakfast with an atheist who repeatedly argued that there was no evidence for God. “Absolutely none,” he said. Later he told me how much he loved his wife. “She’s dying,” he said. After all the intellectual arguments had run into a headstrong willful resistance, I asked him why he loved his wife. He stared at me. “Don’t you see her as a unique woman of intrinsic value to you?” I asked. “Yes,” he answered. “But how can she have such value,” I replied, “if all life is nothing more than chemicals?” Suddenly, the conversation took a turn. As he got up, he said, “You just keep doing what you’re doing in life. You are bringing back common sense into our heads.”
Why is the Christian community opposed to abortion and euthanasia? Can you imagine what life would be like for the homeless and poor of this nation and world if there were no Christian shelters or soup kitchens? Who would feed the hungry and clothe the naked if there were no Christian food and clothes closets? Every benevolence service finds its roots in Christianity: hospitals, education, prison, and civil reforms. The church values people because God values people.
Secondly, things are determined to be valuable based on what someone will pay for it.
1 Peter 1:18-19 says,
(18) For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, (19) but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
In ancient times a slave could save enough money so that, if conditions were right, he could purchase his freedom. But there was only one currency which could ransom sinners from a hopeless life. To be set free from the rightly deserved judgment on our sin it would take the sacrificial death of the only begotten Son of God. The Father and the Son decided you were worth the price of the cross.
I have here a ten dollar bill. Who would like this ten dollars? I am going to give this ten dollars to one of you, but first let me do this. (Crumple up the ten dollars.) Who still wants it? Well, what if I do this? (Drop the bill on the floor and grind it on the carpet.) Now who wants it?
We have learned a valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth ten dollars. Many times people are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions they make and the circumstances which come their way. They feel worthless. But no matter what has happened or will happen, in God’s eyes they will never lose their value.
Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, all of us are still priceless to the God who made us. Jesus values us enough to die on the cross for our salvation. As Christians we are to value others like Jesus values us.
There is a practical way to show we value people. Just be polite. The whole atmosphere of this community, church, or your family could change overnight if just the Christians would simply be polite to others. It is shameful that restaurants consistently say the rudest, stingiest customers are the Sunday crowd. What a sad testimony to the failure to value others like Jesus values us. Show others how much you value them. Be nice to them.
There is a third way that Jesus loves you.
III. FORGIVE OTHERS THE WAY JESUS FORGIVES ME.
Let me read you one of Jesus’ parables found in Matthew 18:23-35:
(23) “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. (24) As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. (25) Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. (26) At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ (27) The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. (28) But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. (29) His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ (30) But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. (31) When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. (32) Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. (33) Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ (34) In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. (35) This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Look back with me at verses 32 and 33. Jesus, through the parable, points out that the man should have forgiven the little done to him because he was forgiven so much. Forgiveness is at the heart of Christianity. Sadly, instead of being people overflowing with forgiveness because we have been forgiven so greatly, we are too often, like the servant, unwilling to extend the same generous forgiveness.
I think it was Ernest Hemingway who told the story of an old Spanish father and his son who had a vicious falling out. The boy left home. Later the old man’s heart mellowed, and he went in search of his son. He came to the city where his son was to have lived, but his search was fruitless. Finally, he resorted to tacking a notice up at the newspaper office where people came to read the news. It read, “Pocko, (a common name,) meet me Tuesday at 2 p.m. I want to forgive you.” When the old man returned to the newspaper office at the appointed day and hour, there were 800 Pockos waiting to be forgiven.
Jesus told the story we just read about in Matthew in response to Peter’s question about how many times we should forgive. He asked if forgiving seven times was enough. He wanted to know when he could stop forgiving. Jesus’ answer was that none of us is in a position to ever withhold forgiveness.
This is not easy, and it is harder for some than others. There are things that have been done against you and you will never get a phone call asking for forgiveness. Nevertheless, God has called us to cultivate a forgiving heart. It is the only way to be set free from the bondage.
It begins with understanding that first and foremost I need to be forgiven. When that is understood then my heart is open to forgiving others, and I am at the doorway of entering into the very heart of God. Ephesians 4:2 says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven us.”
We are the people who claim as our God the One Who was killed in the holocaust of the cross. He said in Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” To withhold forgiveness we have received from Him is to be terribly ungrateful for the cross.
To enter into the love of God means you are going to have to cut someone loose from your grudge or infliction of pain. Forgiveness of others is one of the ways we love God and others.
There is a final way Jesus loves you.
IV. BELIEVE IN OTHERS LIKE JESUS BELIEVES IN YOU.
John 1:42 tells about Andrew bringing his brother Simon to meet Jesus. Jesus looked at him and gave him a new name: Peter. Simon meant “shift like sand.” Peter meant “rocky and stable.” Everyone else saw Simon Peter as a man who vacillated and was undependable. Jesus saw Peter as dependable and one day an uncompromising spokesman for Christ. Jesus did not see what people were but what they could become.
Fred Craddock, a preaching professor, tells the story of the time he and his wife were vacationing in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. He and his wife were seated at a table in a restaurant when an old man came up to them. “Are you folks vacationing?” the old man asked. “Yes,” said Fred, “and we’re having a good time.” The old man said, “So, what do you do for a living?” Fred said, “I’m a preacher.” “Oh!” said the old man. “Let me tell you a preacher story.”
He sat down. “I was born an illegitimate child. I never knew who my father was. It was very, very hard on me growing up. The kids in school made fun of me. Growing up, I didn’t have any friends at all. When I walked around our little town I always felt people were staring at me and looking at me and saying, ‘I wonder who’s the father of that boy.’ I spent a lot of time by myself. I didn’t have any friends.
“One day a pastor came to town. Everybody was talking about how good he was. I had never gone to church but I decided I’d go to church and hear this guy. So I went. He was good. So I kept going back. But each time I went to church I’d come in late and I’d leave early so I wouldn’t have to talk to anybody. Then one Sunday I got so caught up listening that I forgot to leave early and the service ended and the people stood and I couldn’t get out the door.
“Suddenly I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. When I turned, that big tall pastor was standing there with his hand on my shoulder looking at me and he said, ‘What’s your name, son? Whose boy are you? Whose son are you?’ I just shook when I heard those words and I heard that question. But before I could say anything that pastor said this, ‘I know who you are. I know who your family is. You have a distinct family resemblance. You’re the son of God!’ The man said, ‘You know, those words changed my life.’”
The old man left. A waitress came over and asked, “Do you know who you were talking to?” Fred admitted he didn’t. “That’s Ben Hooper,” she said. “Two time Governor of Tennessee.”
Psychologists tell you that your self-image is largely determined by what you think the most important person in your life thinks about you. The way you feel about yourself is greatly determined by what you think the most important person in your life feels about you. This man’s life was changed when he learned he was a child of God.
I wonder what some of the husbands in this church could become if their wives truly believed in them the way Jesus believes in them. I wonder what could happen to some children if their parents looked at them with the eyes of Jesus. I wonder how our lives would be different if we knew someone who says they believe we have potential to be so much more than we are.
Make Jesus the most important person in your life. He believes in you. He thinks you are acceptable, valuable, forgivable, and capable.
Did you hear something in your discussion group where you could express your confidence in someone? Maybe you just sensed someone could use a word of praise. One of the ways to love God and others is to convey our belief in others like Jesus believes in us.
CONCLUSION
The 40 Days of Love is not an emphasis to read or hear or discuss God’s love. It is forty days where we seek to practice the love of Jesus. This week we need to practice love by accepting, valuing, forgiving, and believing in others. Take that assignment to heart this week.
INVITATION
In John 5:6, Jesus comes to a man who has been paralyzed thirty-eight years and asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” In other words, do you really want to change or do you prefer the pain? Many complain about things which steal away the abundant life Jesus brought us, but they never change. Why? They prefer what paralyzes them than being changed. Do you really want to live like Jesus? Then give up your sick bed and follow Him. Otherwise you do not really want this change.
i. www.rzim.org, “Outstretched Arms
Based on sermon in 40 Days of Love
