This morning, we examine God's definition of love. And we'll see that to love (as God defines the word) doesn't always make you happy. In fact, it often has the very opposite effect as you humble yourself before another, and choose to serve them instead of yourself. True love is not just the fuzzy feeling that we get around another person, but is really self-sacrificing service for another.
So why would anyone choose to love? Why sacrifice your wants and desires for another person? For the love of God! For the love of God the Father, Jesus chose to love us and sacrifice himself on the cross! And now we, in turn, for the for of God that he showed to us choose to love and serve others, sacrificing ourselves in thanks to him! Listen to God's definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13...
1If I speak in the tongues[a] 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,[b] 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. 8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
I. ...Jesus Loved Us!
Out of Corinth, a city of commerce, culture and crudity, God called for himself a congregation of believers. And this congregation often reflected the wealthy and talented, but brawling city in which they lived. Though they were blessed with every spiritual gift (1:7) they weren't without their share of problems. They prided themselves in their talents and abilities, and used them, but improperly. They used their gifts, but they used them in service to themselves and not in self-sacrificing love to one another. So the apostle Paul wrote them to teach how to use their gifts in love.
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If 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. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
In other words, no how matter how great their gifts, they were worthless if they used them only to serve themselves. Can you imagine the awful noise if every member of the symphony or of a band would each selfishly choose to play their own favorite song to play and nothing else? Likewise, when people use the gifts that God has given them in selfish pursuits or with selfish motives, what a horrible sound it makes to God. You see everything done in service to self, no matter how nice it might seem, is a horrible sin in God's estimation. That's why he told Isaiah (in 64:6) that "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags."
And friends, if we're honest, we have to admit that we're not really all that different from those Corinthians. As I look around in the pews this morning I see some incredibly talented and gifted individuals! But, how do we use those gifts? In selfishness or in love? Do we use them in selfless service to others? Are you patient with others when they don't see things your way? When you're standing in a long line or stuck in traffic? And are you always kind when your patience wears thin? Do you lose your cool? Hold a grudge when you're hurt?
God through Paul defines love with action words. Love is not just something we feel, but what we choose to do: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ove never fails." When we hold up this definition of love as the standard by which we are to love others (and all the time! Notice how often Paul said, "always" and "never"!) then we quickly see how selfish and loveless we can be -- even as Christians, as redeemed children of God! And for such selfish use of the gifts that God has given us, for such lovelessness, we deserve to have our gifts stripped away. All of them! We deserve hell.
But, we don't get what we deserve. Instead, we receive God's love which receive in Christ. Paul began this letter of correction and rebuke with this statement in 1:4: "I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus." You see, in spite of how loveless they were acting, bickering and fighting and asserting their freedom at one another's expense, Paul could thank God for the grace God had given them through Jesus. And the same is true of us. In John 14:31 Jesus said on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane, "I love the Father.. I do exactly what my Father has commanded me." And in that garden, right before his arrest which led to his crucifixion, Jesus prayed to the Father in Luke 22:42, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
You see, Jesus loved the Father more than he loved his own desires or safety. And for the love of God, he sacrificed himself for us.
He was not self-seeking, but selfless giving his life on the cross to take away every impatient though, every unkind word, every loveless action, every sin! He keeps no record of wrongs with us at all! We are perfectly loving in God's sight! And Jesus is still patient with us in our weakness, kind to us in his blessings. He always protects us, always loves us no matter what we do, no matter how bad we've been! He will always love us! His love will never fail!
And when we know his love for us, we can't help but me moved to thank God in all that we do. And the one thing he asks of us to show our thanks is to love others. And for the love of God, we will!
You see, Christ's love changes us. It changes our attitudes, it changes our desires, it changes what we want most. We no longer use our gifts for selfish gain, use our gifts to express our gratitude and love for God by loving others. We no longer live to serve ourselves, but are eager to love others, even when they're acting unlovable! As we experience Jesus perfect love for us, we can't help but choose to love others in our attitudes and actions toward them. As the apostle John put it in 1 John 3(:16,18) "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. …let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
In thanks to Jesus, for his perfect love, the Corinthians could be patient, kind, content, humble, and polite. They could be selfless, calm, forgiving and honest. They could be trusting and hopeful. They could persevere unfailing to the end. And the same is true of us. Recognizing how great is the love the Father has lavished on us! (1 John 3:1) and how perfect the love that Jesus has shown to us, laying down his very life for us, we can't help but reflect that love toward others.
And so we use the gifts that God has given to us to serve others in love. Be patient with your co-workers, with the cashier or customer service agent that you can tell doesn't really like his or her job, and with the guy who cuts you off in traffic. Be kind to your spouse and kids, to your boss, and to your friends at church, to their face and behind their backs. Don't envy of the gifts of other, but be grateful for how much God has given you. On the other hand, don't boast or be proud, but remember that the gifts you have are given to you by God. Don't be rude, but gentle as you reflect the love of your Savior. Don't seek only what's in your best interest (self-seeking), but look for opportunities to sacrifice your self as Jesus sacrificed himself for you. Don't get angry, but but count to ten and take a few breaths. Then shred the record of wrongs
you've been keeping on file and forgive just as God has forgiven you in Christ. In short, be loving.
Go home and look at this list of loving actions in 1 Corinthians 13 again and put a plan into effect that will enable you to be more loving to the people in your life. For example: "I will be more patient when stuck in traffic by taking the opportunity to pray for someone. I will keep a list of people to pray for in the armrest of my car." Or, "I will be kind to my co-workers, looking for one thing to complement each of them on in the next week." Or, "I will not be rude, but will be more polite, thanking others for doing even the things they're expected to do." In other words, look for ways to be more loving in your life.
It won't always be fun. Self-sacrifice rarely is. It may not be appreciated. It may even be scorned. But when we remember Jesus' perfect love for us, we can't help but love others, not with some shallow emotion, but with loving actions. We will be patient, kind, content, humble, and polite. We will be selfless, calm, forgiving and honest. We will be trusting and hopeful. We will persevere unfailing to the end. As the apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:19, "We love because he first loved us." For the love of God that he has shown to us, we will love others.
Go ahead, be a fool and rush in to loving others. Launch a thousand ships in service to others. For Jesus' love is a many splendid thing. All we need is his love. It gives wings to our lives of service to him and to others. John summed it up in 1 John, the epistle known as God's love letter. In chapter 4(:10-12) he wrote: "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. …if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete." Amen.
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