LOVE is culturally CoNFusING!!!!
“if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.” - 1 Corinthians 13:3-8 NIV
Love is a confusing thing in our culture. And the reason it’s a confusing thing in our culture is because we love everything! We will use that word to describe everything from breakfast to our sporting team, to our spouse, to our children. It’s like the only word we have that denotes positive emotion.
Now, normally when we say or hear or think the word “love” in our culture, we get this emotive kind of idea of “Cupid love” that I think we got from the Romans. It’s this idea that love is this powerful, emotional force that, when it strikes you, you can’t do anything but give in to the mysterious weight of it. And it sweeps us away into everlasting joy. Now, if we are to be honest that’s somewhat of a FREAKY idea! It’s just this force, the naked angel in a diaper—bam—got somebody—and now they have been swept away in this mysterious force called “love.” We can’t control it. It’s either there, or it’s not there. Either the naked angel in a diaper shoots us, or he doesn’t; but we can’t control it. I mean, I can’t just decide to love you. Something’s got to happen. That mysterious force has to grab me. It’s not sustaining. It’s not fulfilling. It’s not safe, and in the end it brings about monumentally more destruction than it ever brings joy. A part of love is being deeply trusted which results in both individual’s experiencing safety. So what safety is there in my wife’s life if, at any moment, in any hotel room across the country that I’ve ever been in, the naked angel in a diaper pops me, and now I all of a sudden I love somebody else?!!? “Sorry. It’s this mysterious, monumental force—It’s struck me. I never saw it coming. And now all the love that was once on you has completely gone. And I cannot control Cupid, mama. Sorry. I’m out. I don’t love you anymore. I don’t love you anymore, and I can’t control it. It’s just too powerful.” There’s no safety there. So it’s not fulfilling. It is cheap! The reason you have all that is because usually you’re under the delusion that the person’s perfect. So how quickly does perfection fade and the need for grace begin to reveal itself?
I have monumental biblical reasons that this is problematic - if the Scriptures are the triune God’s self-disclosure of life as He designed it, revealing Himself to us in all things, then what God is trying to lead us to when He teaches on love is the deepest, most vibrant, most sustaining, life-giving kind of love there is. And He’s going to take love to a place that’s very, very, very difficult to comprehend. Outside of His regenerate work in your heart, there’s no possible way you can experience the kind of love that He’s unpacks to us in the Bible - no way! I don’t care how virtuous you are, this will take a divine act. It’s here Luke 6:27 says, “But I say to you who hear...” Now I need to stop.... ....Over and over and over again in the teachings of Jesus, He’s going to say things like this: “He who has an ear, let him hear. He who has been given eyes, let him see.” And here He goes again,“For those of you who can hear.” He’s saying, There are some of you who will be unable to hear what I’m about to say. You do not posses the spiritual depth, width, the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit in your life, so what I’m about to say to you might even sound offensive. But he who has an ear, let him hear. He who has the ability to hear, listen. And if you’ve ever wondered why religious people get angry, nothing is more precious to religious people than the illusion of their own virtue. And when Jesus starts to attack and remove that and reveal the need for grace in everybody, those who have, in their mind, bought into the illusion of their grandeur, tend to get a little upset.
So already we’ve got some problems in regards to our current definition of Cupid love and biblical love. “Love your enemies.” So the question we’ve got to answer is: how? How do you love your enemies?
APPLICATION =A:
Let’s look at how we’re to do that; we’ll talk about each. “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” These are the ones that require initiative on our part. So watch what He does to love here and how He expands it. He just says, “Do good to those who hate you.” Here’s our initiative as believers, those who hear or those sealed with the Holy Spirit. Here’s our job for those outside the kingdom who hate us. What is our role? What is our response? What is our initiative? Do good. Which means if the crazy neighbor hates me, I mow that part of the lawn. If the crazy neighbor hates me, then I go get his trashcan, and I bring it up and set it up next to his garage door. If the coworker hates me, I do good. If the crazy cousin—you know, crazy cousin Carl— everybody’s got him. If you don’t—hey, Carl. We do good. Let’s NOT merely be good church people - and what I mean by that is, let’s not hear biblical truth and apply it in some ambiguous fashion. Or maybe know it but don’t apply it at all. Or—here’s my favorite down here—know it so we can tell others to do it. So is there someone who’s an antagonist against you? Someone who hates you? Someone who would actively work against you? The Scripture says you take the initiative.
A church can grow daily in numbers if people are strengthened in their faith daily. In other words, if individuals are strengthened in their faith daily the organization of the church will grow in numbers - one person at a time!
My bottom line personal application today: To choose and live out biblical love! A love that I don’t always understand and continually need God’s direction in.
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