" 1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." -- 1 Corinthians 13:1-7
The Greeks had many words for love, which, if you think about it, makes a lot more sense then the way we do it in English. I can say I love hamburgers and I love my wife, and one could think I put a hamburger on the same level as I do my wife. The Greeks were smart about it though, they gave "the world Philosophy 101, gyro sandwiches, the Olympic games, and four--count 'em, four--separate words for love."[1] There is eros, the sensual love, phileo, the friendship love, storge, the familial love, and agape.
"Agape love is a willful, deliberate, I-choose-to-love-you love. (The Latin word is 'caritas' from which we get 'charity.') This love is not based on warm mushy feelings or even on a relationship. It is unconditional--just like the love Cubs fans have for their team even during its usual losing season."[1] Agape is the love that God has for us. Agape is the love Paul is describing. Agape, that is the love we should have for each other as Christians.
When I was on the USS CARL VINSON, there was a song we sang at just about every fellowship meeting. The title escapes me, but the words themselves are what made such an impression. The chorus goes like this: "And they'll know we are Christians by our love by our love/Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love..." This song comes right out of the Bible, in Jesus discourse to his disciples at the last supper he tells them:
"33My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." -- John 13:33-35Love is the very mark of a Christian. We should display our love for all the world to see. Francis Shaeffer, and Evangelical Christian apologist once said, "Upon his authority he gives the world the right to judge whether you or I are born-again Christians on the basis of our observable love toward all Christians... [If] people come up to us and cast in our teeth the judgment that we are not Christians because we have not shown love toward other Christians, we must understand that they are only exercising a prerogative which Jesus gave them." The world does watch Christians closely. How we treat each other is watched even more than how we treat the world.
In the past year alone, I have seen both good examples and bad ones. When I first moved down here, I joined a Christian forum. It was great at the time, we no longer had a home church, and though we were searching, I was lacking constant Christian fellowship. This board filled the gap, if you will, until we settled into a church. As time went on, I became active in the debate section of the forum, and while I was able to grow a lot during that time, I witnessed a lot bitterness and even hatred that some 'Christians' had towards others. It got worse and worse, and now I no longer frequent that forum.
It is very sad, because there were non-Christians who would browse the topics and see some of the hurtful things that were said, and would be turned off by it. As Christians we really should know better. We should love each other unconditionally, because how we treat each other is a reflection not only of us as Christians, but also of the Sovereign Lord we serve.
It almost makes me want to say, "Not all Christians are bad", and in deed, there are a lot Christians with a lot of love. I have to admit, I almost feel like I am preaching to the choir given the love you have all shown my family and I last week. There is another incident that sticks out in my mind as well. The first church we settled into here, was an inter-denominational church affiliated with the Willow Creek Association. On this particular Sunday, and elder lady and her daughter had recently lost their mother/grandmother. At the end of the service, the minister invited the two of them to the front of the church, and every single person, both member and visitor, went up to these to women to offer some kind of support and encouragement. Much like the e-mails I received this week.
That is what love is. That is what we as Christians should do. There is more to it than saying, "I love you". It is providing for those who are in need. Be it physically, or emotionally. When one of our brothers or sisters is in need, we help them, provide for them, or encourage them. We need to love them unconditionally.
"37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." -- Matthew 22:37:40Both the question of the Pharisees and the response of Jesus are typical of the way they tested and He responded, but look at how Jesus treated love. Not only does He say it is the most important commandment, but He goes on to say that all the commandments are hung on that very principle! Love God and love you neighbor. The most important command is to Love. Paul takes this one step further in his letter to the Romans:
"8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not covet,' and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 10Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." -- Romans 13:8-10If you love, then you have met all the commandments. In fact, love supercedes the law. By walking in love, we will have, by default, kept all the commandments. By doing this one thing, loving both God and our neighbor, we can fulfill everything. It is that important.
But who is our neighbor? Just Christians? Just those who are nice to us? Just those who live near us? Jesus answered this question with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). The point that Jesus made there was that our neighbor is anyone we see in need. When Jesus asked the expert of the law who robbed man's neighbor was, he responded, "The one who showed mercy." Jesus then told him, "Go and do likewise." We are to show love and provide for whoever is in need.
That is not as easy as it seems, especially if the one in need is some one we have had "issues" with. Jesus expounds a lot about love during His sermon on the mount, but the most profound and, at the same time, hardest to swallow, was when he says to love your enemies:
" 43You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." -- Matthew 5:43-48The "hate your enemy" was not scriptural and not in Jewish law, but it was still a popular concept of Jesus' day. The admonition to love your enemies was one of the greatest statements Jesus made. The love mentioned in this passage is the love that comes from God Himself. Man is not commanded to love his enemy on the basis of mere human affection, but on the basis of love that comes only from God. Indeed, true agape love can only come from God, whether it be enemy or friend, for God is Love:
"7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." -- 1 John 4:7-8I encourage you all to take some time this week and read 1 John 4:8-21. It is another excellent chapter on love, and sums up, very well, why we need to love: God is Love, and if we have God we will love. God loved us and we need to love others. As Christians we are commanded to love. Love God and love our neighbor. That term "neighbor" includes everyone and anyone, even our those who seek to do us harm.
This week has been an interesting week, both for my family and I, and for Christianity. I personally have learned a lot in the last few days, especially on that last point I made above. I know how hard it can be to love our neighbors sometimes, but sometimes there is more to love, than just love. It goes back to the agape concept. Unconditional love. Total, I don't care what you have done, I will still love you, love. That is the love God has for us, and that is the love we should have for each other, but I have learned there is still more to it than that.
It is true that love is a command from God. It is the command from God, the "golden rule". There is more to it than that as well. One of the statements John makes in Chapter 4 is, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (v. 10) Jesus willingly gave all He had, for us. A coworker and I were talking about THE PASSION yesterday, and how graphic it is. While I fully intend to go see it, I have not done so yet. But I have heard it is very graphic. While I am not a fan of blood and gore, I do believe that in order to fully tell the story of Jesus' sacrifice, you do need to show it. Just like Saving Private Ryan did, only on a much more important scale. Jesus did not only die for our sins, but he was beaten, spit on, whipped to within an inch of his life, completely and utterly humiliated, made to drag his own instrument of death...it is really mind boggling, and to top it all off, at any point during that whole experience He could have called on the Father and asked for it to stop. He could have said, "I am sorry Father but this is too much, please get me out of here". He could have called legions of angels. But He did not. He went through and endured every lash, every punch, every spit, every taunt...all of it...for you...for me....
It really blows my mind. It makes me want to do everything I possibly can for our Lord, and I know that is still not enough. Jesus Christ has done so much for me. First, he gave up the glory of Heaven to become a man, and then He gave up his life as a man:
" 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:Jesus Christ gave up His life for me. He endured every, well, everything they threw at Him, even though He did not have to. He loves us so much, that He was willing to suffer so much. It is literally mind blowing. There is a saying, where a man asks Jesus how much He loves him. Jesus says, "This much", stretches out His arm, and dies. He really does love us that much, and I think that is why love is so important. Not just because we are commanded, not just because we should, but because Jesus loves us so much that He was willing to suffer and die on account of OUR sins. John tells, "We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). That is one of the shorter verses in the Bible, but as I reflect on the events of this past week, I know it is one of the most profound as well.
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross!" -- Philippians 2:5-8
Love seems like such a simple concept, but once you get digging, you find there is a lot behind it. We, as Christians, need to love God, love one another, love the world and love our enemies. We must love, because God loves us. In fact we can only love because God loves us. What we need to do is let God's love overflow in us so it can be spread to other people. Picture this: there is an empty glass in the sink, a bare, cold metal sink. The glass is cold from sitting in the sink. Then you take a pitcher of warm water and fill the glass. The glass would get warm from the water, but eventually would cool. Now picture the glass tilted slightly, so the water overflows and goes into the sink. The glass can only pour out the water it received from the pitcher, but the sink will warm as well, and if the glass stays open to the pitcher and open to the sink, the glass will stay warm and the sink will be warm as well. As Christians, we can warm up the world with God's love, but we must be open to His love and open to the world as well. We need to let God's love overflow from us so it can pour out on the world. I believe that is the only way we can love each other, by tapping into God's love...willingly submitting ourselves to Him, and willingly pouring out His love on others.
*****************************************************Tomorrow is a very special day. It is the Birthday of a very special man of God. Just over one year ago, I had the pleasure and the luck of crossing paths with minister in New Mexico, named Al Maxey. In addition to ministering a church, Al puts out a out a newsletter entitled REFLECTIONS. His articles are both deep and thought provoking. Many times he has opened my eyes to issues and expanding my way of thinking. We have never met face to face, but we began corresponding via e-mail shortly after I subscribed to his newsletter, and now we correspond regularly. While we have only "known" each other a short time, has still greatly inspired me with his "writings and by the courageous example" of his life. He has been a tremendous help to me, in my studies and in my articles. Al has had a large impact on my life, both with his REFLECTIONS, and him personally. I can honestly say I would not be serving the Lord in the way I am not if it were not for this great man of God. Thank you, Al, and have a very Happy Birthday!