Do the Little Things. 1 John 3:16-18
Everything in the Christian life is based imitating Christ
As Christ-imitators, we need to remember that:
1. Our acts of service imitate Jesus v.16
Romans 5:8 Matthew 20:26-28 John 13
2. Our acts of service demonstrate our love v.17
Love demonstrated is love amplified.
3. Our acts of service validate our words v.18
You may have experienced a “Pay it forward” at a local Starbucks drive-thru. The world record appears to be in China where 19,000 customers paid it forward at a Starbucks store. “A customer ordered a cup of coffee to start his work day and was surprised when his Starbucks barista said the beverage was free. If he wanted, she said, instead of paying for his own drink he could purchase coffee for the person behind him in line. One after another, customers began buying coffee for others.”
It appears that the U.S. record for “Pay it forwards” at Starbucks may be 750 people in Florida who each paid for the drinks in line behind them. The streak was ended by blogger Peter Schorsch who intentionally ended the chain. Schorsch said,
“In case any of you are caught up in the Pay It Forward baloney at Starbucks. I just drove through the line, bought a venti mocha frap AND DID NOT PAY IT FORWARD. The chain is broken and this silliness should stop. (P.S. I tipped the baristas $100, just so you can't call me a grinch.),” Schorsch posted on his Facebook account. In a post on his website Schorsch wrote “Customers were being told that they had had their drink paid for and then asked would they like to pay for the drink of the person next in line. That's not generosity, that's guilt.” I’d say Mr. Schorsch is not right, he’s wrong. I’d also say Mr. Schorsch is stupid, not smart. I’d also say acts of kindness, even to random strangers, is a beautiful thing, not something to be denigrated.
Turn to 1 John 3:16-18. This morning we discuss the 4th of the 5 love languages. We’ve discussed Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, and this morning we are going to discuss Acts of Service; Acts of Kindness.
We’re using Gary Chapman’s book, “Five Love Languages (pic) as auxiliary reading on the subject. You can get a copy in our bookstore back by the coffee bar. It is an excellent tool to help us love better the people we love.
Each of us has a love tank, a desire and capacity to be loved and what goes in that love tank to make us FEEEL love may be different than others. If my dominant love language is words of affirmation and Sue tries to express her love by giving gifts, I don’t feel as loved as when she affirms me with her words. If your love language is physical touch and your spouse performs acts of service for you, you’re not going to feel as loved as if he/she just sat down next to you and put their arm around you or held your hand. The expressions of love, though well intended, gets lost in translation.
So let’s dig into the text and see what the Scripture says about demonstrating our love with acts of kindness. 1 John 3:16-18. (on screen)
The Apostle John, as he is entering the final season of his life, is intent on sending out 3 letters, 3 directives to the 1st century churches. This first directive, we call 1 John, had a number of themes, but it seems the most dominant is that of light. Of course, John’s gospel begins with the theme of light: John 1:4-5 “In Him was life,,g and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.”
So John’s letters were written so that we might know the Light and follow the Light. Most of us here this morning claim to know the Light, the Lord Jesus. But are we following the Light? Are we walking in the Light?
If we’re Christ-followers, we follow Him; we imitate Him. This may seem obvious, but it needs to be stated: Everything in the Christian life is based imitating Christ. And there is no doubt that imitating Jesus includes serving others.
Of course, the most important people in our lives are the ones we should be most intent on serving. Does your spouse, your family member have the love language of acts of service? As I said last week, these 5 languages are baseline for all relationships. But if your loved on feels most loved when you do acts of service, no matter how small they are, you will fill their love tank up faster and better than anything else you can do.
As Christ-imitaters, we need to remember that:
1. Our acts of service imitate Jesus v.16 (on screen)
John reminds us that love is a verb. What does a verb do in a sentence: it describes action. Love is something you do. Here is love in action: Romans 5:8 “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Think about the times Jesus extolled the virtue of serving. The disciples were arguing about who should be first in line; who should get their way. What did Jesus tell them? “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many Matthew 20:26-28
His whole life was that of serving others. On the night that He was betrayed, John 13, He got up and washed the feet of His disciples, remember that? It’s kind of difficult for most of us to imagine the sanitary conditions in the day of Jesus. No cars, trains, or buses. If you went anywhere, you rode a donkey or you walked. You walked on the same paths that the donkeys walked, moved along the same roads that the livestock was moved along. There was no sanitary department with street sweepers to clean off the dirt roads and paths. Are you getting the picture? Add to that the fact that people either went barefoot or wore thin sandals—you can imagine what someone’s feet were like after walking just a little ways.
So when you arrived at your home, the first thing you did was wash your feet off either just outside or just inside your door. When you arrived at someone else’s house, a servant or child would wash your feet. At the very least, they would provide a bowl for you to wash your feet to soothe after a long trip. In the society of the time, foot-washing was reserved for the lowliest of menial servants. Peers rarely washed one another's feet; considered below them. But not for Jesus. “The idea of a rabbi washing His students’ feet was unthinkable in the ancient Jewish culture. What Jesus was doing to them simply was not done. It was considered beneath His dignity. It would lower Him in most people’s opinion—which is something He was willing to risk.”
Of course, His ultimate act of service was Calvary. Billy Graham said, ““The greatest act of humility in the history of the universe was when Jesus Christ stooped to die on the cross of Calvary.”
As Christ-imitators, we’ve got to remember this and keep this central: when we conduct acts of kindness and acts of service to others, particularly our loved ones, we are imitating the Lord Jesus Himself. When I load or unload the dishwasher, I am imitating Jesus.
2. Our acts of service demonstrate our love v.17 (on screen)
John is saying, if you have the chance to demonstrate your love to someone, if God’s love resides in you, you will do it. He is reminding us of what we know is true: since love is a verb, then love can actually be observed in action. Love demonstrated is love amplified.
Sue knows I love her, but she feels VERY loved when I do something for her; when I make it a priority to demonstrate that love for her. I know this is a little thing, but the shower in our master bath is clear glass. Every time I shower, the glass wet and with a little bit of soap on it. There’s a little squeegee in there to clean it off each time I shower. If it was up to me, I’d clean it…once or twice a year. But she prefers it done each time I shower. Gonna get honest here: every time I finish showering, not most times, but EVERY time I finish showering, I am tempted to step out of the shower w/o squeeging the glass. But I think to myself, “I’m going to do this for my bride.” I’m tempted to throw my dirty dishes/silverware in the sink,or worse, just leave them in the kitchen til the roaches clean em, but I put them in the dishwasher because I know it’s important to her. I’d leave my clothes stacked in a pile on the bedroom floor, out of the way of course, so we wouldn’t trip over them. I’m not a barbarian! But I hang them up, I wash my own clothes, I keep the bedroom straight, because I know that’s important to her.
Many husbands struggle to identify the acts of service that our wives value the most. Some argue that they are already doing a lot: putting gas in the car or taking out the trash. And we expect our wives to feel loved based on those things. Chapman says, “In order to become fluent in acts of service, we need to kick that mindset to the curb. We need to let our wife guide us in determining what is and isn’t an effective act. We need to let her instruct us on how to make an impact.” Gary Chapman, The Five Love Languages. He then suggests we ask our wives to make a list of 4 or 5 things that we husbands could do that would best communicate our love for her. Or ladies, if your husband speaks this language, ask him what 4 or 5 things you could do for him that best communicate your love for him. Now, we’re not talking about physical touch and intimacy—that’s next week!
Love demonstrated is love amplified. I have found personally, that the more I fall in love with her, the more I really want to put it into action and demonstrate thru acts of service.
3. Our acts of service validate our words v.18 (on screen)
It’s one thing to SAY I love Sue, it’s another thing to prove or validate my love for her. Way too often my actions don’t validate my love; way too often my actions invalidate my love for her.
If I say I love her but if I consistently treat her with disrespect; speak to her harshly; ignore her feelings…then my words have to be questioned. Telling your loved one that you love them is incredibly important. I tell Sue that 10 times a day, every time we hang up on the phone or walk out the door or just sitting around the house or standing down there worshipping together. Same with my 6 kids and 8 grandkids (eye love u). I can’t tell them often enough. It’s important to verbally affirm your love.
But it’s even more important to validate your love by how you treat them; how you serve them.
Challenge: if you’re here with your spouse, here’s a challenge: turn to them and ask: “What’s one thing I can do today or this week to demonstrate my love for you.” If you’re single, text this to your roommate or a close friend. Go!
