What's Love Got To Do With It?

What's Love Got to do with it?

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that who so ever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

In July 1984 pop singer Tina Turner released a hit song, "What's Love Got To Do With It?" It won a Grammy Award in 1985 and became the title of a 1993 movie about the life of Turner and her escape from an abusive relationship with her husband.

Although an important milestone in Turner's career the song hardly carved out new territory in society's misunderstood notion of love. Turner's song called it "a second hand emotion." Elton John wondered if you can "feel the love tonight." Dolly Parton crooned that she would "always love you."

Songs about love are really not about love at all, but rather about affection, longing, goose-bumpy types of emotional thrills at the thought of someone who means a lot to us. This love runs hot, it runs cold, it runs lukewarm. It brings tears of joy, tears of depression, screams of excitement and hollers of disappointment.

But what I'm talking about this morning is a different kind of love. Not Philio but Agape love. The love through hell or high water love. The love that the bible speaks of in John 15:23 when it says that greater love has no one than this, that he lay his life down for his friends.

Our text today in John 3:16 is a familiar one to us all. We have memorized it, and quoted it all of our lives, But I want to point out what it shows us today.

For God so loved the world, shows us that He has feelings for its people. We are the world and we were made in the image of God and if one can not truly love others until they love themselves first is proof of how God loves us because it's written.

Love is a action word it doesn't describe it moves it does something first and it does something in return. To love is to put yourself last. It's not about you but it's about the loved one and here we are in the text and God so loved us that He gave us Jesus.

His only son. Not for a show. Not for a religion. Not for a separation of people. But He gave His only son to die for us, to save us, to have a relationship with us. God wanted His people reconciled back to Him and to get us there he had to love us enough to send a sacrifice.

What have you sacrificed? What have you given up in the name of love. The bible tells us that love endures all.

My question to us this morning is does it really? Or have we changed love to meet our right now needs?

When things are good, I love you. When you are doing all I want you to do, I love you.

When my bills are being paid, I love you. As long as it's for me and about me, I love you.

But when things become bad, and the honeymoon is over, when I stop doing you and focus someplace else. When I run out of money and out of time. When I can no longer cope with day to day.

What often happens now is that someone has to be replaced. Families fall apart, friendship die, relationships and marriages break away. Out with the old and in with the new is the way now. Boo thing and side chick are here. New clicks of friends are here and some of us even move and change locations.

We have gotten in a habit not wanting to put up with certain obstacles or people in life. We give up. But God, our model for everyday life won't give up on us. His love is unconditional. No matter how we act, talk, walk or think, he's still right there.

Am I my brothers keeper?

Yes Cain, you are your brothers keeper.

We are suppose to help keep each other. The village is still needed to raise a child.

But love is required for all of that to take place. With love the homeless are housed.

With love the beggar is fed.

With love the back biting stops.

With love the overlooked are seen.

With love the darkness turns to light.

So what's love got to do with it?

John13:34 says

A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

So with this love grace also has come and it's by this grace, faith, and love we are saved.

Jesus brought with him grace, and our faith alone in him activates His grace for us.