I doubt there are too many church-goers who have not heard of the “Love Chapter.” What I do suspect is that that word love is perceived by many as merely a friendly feeling or a pleasing emotion to be expressed by fellow Christians to fellow Christians. Love is much, much more than a sentimental emotion. It’s more than “Kum-bay-a” Christianity or “Precious Moments” faith. In fact, real love is not at all sentimental. Sentimentalism makes love out to be about niceness rather than gentleness, acceptance rather than kindness, cowardice rather than patience. Sentimentalism is deadly to the church. It means looking not for service and truth to God, but for a good-vibe feeling, for everybody to just be happy and get along. This is not the Love that Scripture speaks of at all! But I suspect it’s what most churchgoers envision when we speak of “Love.”
Love is the very heart of the Word – in the sense of both Scripture and Savior. In other words, love is about as important as you can get—so important, in fact that the Apostle John was so bold as to say, “God is LOVE” (1 John 4:8). In our culture, of course, “love” is a frivolous word. We associate love with desire, sexuality, and especially sentimentality. But if we’re paying attention to what the Bible says, particularly in First Corinthians 13, we find a radically different idea of what love really is.
Where did our culture get the idea that following Christ and being spiritually mature will make us feel all good and happy and warm towards each other? Do you think that Paul felt good and happy being flogged? Was Jesus all warm and cozy while he hung bleeding on the cross? Love takes action, and sometimes that action isn’t very pretty. Love is not embodied with hugs and tenderness.
Jesus told his disciples that by their love the world would know they belong to God (John 13:35). God’s love is an identifying characteristic of Christians. Everybody, saint or sinner, can have warm sentiments. Radical jihadists get along with one another and feel warmly toward their friends and family. Gangsters can be very affectionate toward their own. But not everyone has the Holy Spirit of God. And“Love” is the fruit of that Spirit (Galatians 5:22). You need the Spirit before you can have and demonstrate love. Christians don’t receive God’s love just by acting patient, kind, etc. Yes, we do need to act like we love one another. But love doesn’t come into our hearts through pretending. That’s hypocrisy. You have to have the nature. You have to actually be a Christian – you have to be born anew to have genuine Love (Romans 5:5).
Even when we are born anew, putting God’s love into practice is not automatic. It’s something we have to learn and practice. There’s no shortcut to discipleship. Paul’s words in I Corinthians 13 about love are actually a description of having already attained Christian maturity. (Remember: Mature Christians swim in the deep-end of the pool. They are not the noisemakers.) …And there’s no secret to it. Maturity arises from the same kinds of things we do from the very first steps of discipleship: studying the Scriptures alone and in the community of faith, worshiping God in the assembly, giving up selfish and sinful practices, beginning to do good for others. Those may be boring activities, but they bring about very un-boring results: joy, peace, patience, kindness, and most importantly, love.
When Austin looks at Crane Community Chapel, it will see a bunch of flawed disciples. (Because, frankly, that’s what we are.) But does it also see Love as the preeminent quality of God himself? In a very real sense, when the world looks at a church that loves, they see God. And what they see has the power to change the church and the world. Let’s pursue spiritually maturity so we can Love. That’s what the Apostle calls us to do. And as our Lord Jesus told us, what we pursue, we’ll find (Matthew 7:7).
Love is the very heart of the Word – in the sense of both Scripture and Savior. In other words, love is about as important as you can get—so important, in fact that the Apostle John was so bold as to say, “God is LOVE” (1 John 4:8). In our culture, of course, “love” is a frivolous word. We associate love with desire, sexuality, and especially sentimentality. But if we’re paying attention to what the Bible says, particularly in First Corinthians 13, we find a radically different idea of what love really is.
Where did our culture get the idea that following Christ and being spiritually mature will make us feel all good and happy and warm towards each other? Do you think that Paul felt good and happy being flogged? Was Jesus all warm and cozy while he hung bleeding on the cross? Love takes action, and sometimes that action isn’t very pretty. Love is not embodied with hugs and tenderness.
Jesus told his disciples that by their love the world would know they belong to God (John 13:35). God’s love is an identifying characteristic of Christians. Everybody, saint or sinner, can have warm sentiments. Radical jihadists get along with one another and feel warmly toward their friends and family. Gangsters can be very affectionate toward their own. But not everyone has the Holy Spirit of God. And“Love” is the fruit of that Spirit (Galatians 5:22). You need the Spirit before you can have and demonstrate love. Christians don’t receive God’s love just by acting patient, kind, etc. Yes, we do need to act like we love one another. But love doesn’t come into our hearts through pretending. That’s hypocrisy. You have to have the nature. You have to actually be a Christian – you have to be born anew to have genuine Love (Romans 5:5).
Even when we are born anew, putting God’s love into practice is not automatic. It’s something we have to learn and practice. There’s no shortcut to discipleship. Paul’s words in I Corinthians 13 about love are actually a description of having already attained Christian maturity. (Remember: Mature Christians swim in the deep-end of the pool. They are not the noisemakers.) …And there’s no secret to it. Maturity arises from the same kinds of things we do from the very first steps of discipleship: studying the Scriptures alone and in the community of faith, worshiping God in the assembly, giving up selfish and sinful practices, beginning to do good for others. Those may be boring activities, but they bring about very un-boring results: joy, peace, patience, kindness, and most importantly, love.
When Austin looks at Crane Community Chapel, it will see a bunch of flawed disciples. (Because, frankly, that’s what we are.) But does it also see Love as the preeminent quality of God himself? In a very real sense, when the world looks at a church that loves, they see God. And what they see has the power to change the church and the world. Let’s pursue spiritually maturity so we can Love. That’s what the Apostle calls us to do. And as our Lord Jesus told us, what we pursue, we’ll find (Matthew 7:7).
- Pastor Mark
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