Good Morning. It’s nearly Christmas so I brought some presents for you guys. The sweet you got as you came in! I want to know: Why did you choose the sweet you chose?
We choose the celebration we like because we are naturally selfish. We live in a world that is out for its own gain. We are not excused from it. I’ll say it again, we are all selfish. However, there is always hope. Our God loves by nature.
It’s even more than that (read 7 & 8 together). This is a very broad statement, what does John mean? In Greek there are four words for love.
Éros – pagan, romantic
Storgé – parents and children
Philia - friends
Agapé – unselfish love taught by Jesus, explained in 1 Corinthians 13
In this passage Agapé is the sort of love that John is talking about. We have to remember when this was written, to understand a little bit more about the reason why John writes with such urgency and passion. He was writing at a time where the Christians were being mistreated because of their faith and with that in mind, imagine how hard it would be to love others around you when they are intent on killing you.
Agapé comes without condition. We don’t deserve Agapé. We can’t do anything to earn it, yet at the same time if we do nothing with it we get told off. Agapé is shown in the cross, the shedding of Jesus’ blood which makes us clean from sin and enables us to love as God has loved us.
Do we do that though? The final few verses of chapter 4 highlight the importance of loving others. If we love God, but don’t love our family we will be called a liar! John has already said this earlier in his letter 1:10-11. He talks about light and contrasts it to darkness. I’m sure you’ve got up in the night and walked around without the lights on and had bruises in the morning. We worshipped at Soul Survivor in the dark, because of a massive power cut. I distinctly remember the singing getting louder and torches going on. In the dark with 10,000 people! The lights soon came on and there was a massive cheer. Can you really argue with 10,000 people that it’s better to be in the light than in the dark?
John also sees through the reality of being human. How can we profess to love a God we can’t see if we don’t love those we do see? I think this is about building relationships with those whom God has already placed in our lives. We can practice the love we have from God on our family. Jesus talks about lamps and cities shining. A lamp is a strong light, but a city can be seen from space. If in your family you love each other the way God teaches and has shown, then you’ll be more like a city than a lamp.
The challenge of loving your family like God loves you means you have to break bad habits. Back to 1 Corinthians 13, God doesn’t have bad habits when he loves. For years we called my littlest brother by a pet name. Even now, though he’s built like a sprinter and plays a great game of football, we still call him chubby cheeks. A friend of mine has problems with food and eating because for one week many years ago her brother called her fat. The banter between family members can be dangerous ground, especially if it is many years old. Be aware of the way you talk to your children and you siblings.
Loving others doesn’t just stay in our family. Our schools and work places can benefit from the love that God has too. Remember that no-one, not even us, deserves God’s love. What difference would it make in your school or work place if we firmly believed and practiced what God has set before us? Not ‘love’ that gets people into Church, but love that is simply serving. This love can change the world.
God’s love for us also has personal consequences. We had Southfields Year 3 visit on Wednesday, during our time together we sang a song about God’s love being a never ending circle. Somewhere in that circle we are included. The more we realise God loves us the more we want to and can love others, the more we love others the more we realise God loves us… and so on. This is reflected in Revelation 4v8-11. There is a never ending circle of praise in heaven too. One of the young people I know is really scared on heaven, thinking that eternity will be a really boring place. How so! In the glory of God, all we can do is worship. I want to worship God forever and what a better place to start than right here, right now. Not just on Sunday mornings, putting my hands up and singing, but everyday in sharing God’s love with others, without an agenda.
The problem is we are naturally selfish; we choose the sweets we want, we make others laugh at the expense of one person, we keep the light of Jesus to ourselves because it makes us feel warm. It stops us from loving others as we have been loved. God is our hope, He is love and he loves us all. Let our only response be to love others.
