Karl Barth is considered as one of the top 5 Christian theologians in our church history. Once a young student asked Barth if he could sum up what was most important about his life’s work and theology in just a few words. All the seminary students were sitting on the edge their seats to hear some great, profound, deep, complicated answer. Barth just thought for a moment and then smiled, “Yes, in the words of a song my mother used to sing me, ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.'”
If we have to define Christianity in one word, it would be “love.” Christianity is love, for God is love. Christianity is not a set of do’s and don’ts, but it is to know Christ and be more like him. It is to love God and love others. When Jesus was asked which commandment is the most important of all, he said, “The first is… ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mk 12:29-31) “Love God, Love others.”
In verse 9 of today’s passage Paul says, “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”” Some of you may wonder why they are just summed up in the second commandment. Why not the first commandment, or both of them? It is because loving others is our fruit, the surest sign, the natural outcome of our authentic relationship with Christ. I like the way the Apostle John puts it: “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16 NLT). And he also says, in 1 John 4:11, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” In other words, our love to others is flowing out from what Christ gave us, not something from our own. The love of God for us is a foundation of our love to others.
Love of God
If we have to define Christianity in one word, it would be “love.” Christianity is love, for God is love. Christianity is not a set of do’s and don’ts, but it is to know Christ and be more like him. It is to love God and love others. When Jesus was asked which commandment is the most important of all, he said, “The first is… ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mk 12:29-31) “Love God, Love others.”
In verse 9 of today’s passage Paul says, “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”” Some of you may wonder why they are just summed up in the second commandment. Why not the first commandment, or both of them? It is because loving others is our fruit, the surest sign, the natural outcome of our authentic relationship with Christ. I like the way the Apostle John puts it: “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16 NLT). And he also says, in 1 John 4:11, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” In other words, our love to others is flowing out from what Christ gave us, not something from our own. The love of God for us is a foundation of our love to others.
Love of God
I don’t know about you, but for me personally, I had struggled a long time with a sense of not loving people enough. When I was a youth group teacher, I didn’t feel that I had enough love for my students. When I was a student pastor, most of the time I felt that I didn’t love my young adult group enough. As a result, I thought perhaps I was not a right person to do that ministry. I struggled with a sense of failure. But then, one day I was listening to the sermon on the Book of Romans on internet. The word of God, particularly Romans 5:5, did penetrate. It says, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Here Bible doesn’t say, “Sometime in the future, God’s love will be poured into our hearts.” But it does say, “When we did receive Jesus and believe in his name, God’s love has been poured into our hearts regardless our feeling!” That is the truth. I said, “Amen” by faith. I did take God at his word. Since then, the sense of failure has gone. Since then, I have focused on Jesus. I asked more of Christ. I asked more of the Holy Spirit, instead of asking to have the feeling. Are any of you in this room struggling with loving others? Focus on Jesus. Ask more of Christ. Ask more of the Holy Spirit, and you will be able to love them by the power of the Holy Spirit.
If we are truly honest about ourselves, we know we are incapable of loving God with all our hearts and loving others as ourselves, because of our fallen, self-centered nature. We have desire, but we don’t have power to do it (cf. Romans 7). That is why we need Jesus. And that is what he came to do. Romans 8:3 says, “God has done for us what the law, weakened by our sinful nature, could not do. God did by sending his own Son and gave him as a sacrifice for our sins, so that we might no longer follow our sinful nature, but instead of follow the Spirit.” God did it for us. This is the gospel. When we humbly believe this good news, God gives us a new life, a new spirit, a new nature in Christ. The Apostle Paul said, “I am a debtor. I owe the debt of love to all people” (Rom 1:14). Paul said this, because God’s love for him was too good, too lavish, too compelling to have it just inside of him. He had to pass it on. He had to share it with others. So in 2 2 Corinthians 5:14 he said, “Christ’s love compels us!” My prayer is that all of us in this room may experience this lavish, compelling love of Christ, so that we will love others as Jesus has loved us.
Love to Others
If we are truly honest about ourselves, we know we are incapable of loving God with all our hearts and loving others as ourselves, because of our fallen, self-centered nature. We have desire, but we don’t have power to do it (cf. Romans 7). That is why we need Jesus. And that is what he came to do. Romans 8:3 says, “God has done for us what the law, weakened by our sinful nature, could not do. God did by sending his own Son and gave him as a sacrifice for our sins, so that we might no longer follow our sinful nature, but instead of follow the Spirit.” God did it for us. This is the gospel. When we humbly believe this good news, God gives us a new life, a new spirit, a new nature in Christ. The Apostle Paul said, “I am a debtor. I owe the debt of love to all people” (Rom 1:14). Paul said this, because God’s love for him was too good, too lavish, too compelling to have it just inside of him. He had to pass it on. He had to share it with others. So in 2 2 Corinthians 5:14 he said, “Christ’s love compels us!” My prayer is that all of us in this room may experience this lavish, compelling love of Christ, so that we will love others as Jesus has loved us.
Love to Others
Love is much more than just an outward action. Love is a mindset, an attitude, an inner disposition that produces behaviors that do no harm and do good for people. In fact, love is the mindset of Christ Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul describes love in this way:
Love is the mindset of Christ Jesus. The more Christ is our focus, the more we love others as described in 1 Cor 13. The more we have Christ, the more we do everything with love. In Corinthians 16:14, as he closes, Paul sums up his letter in this word: “Let all that you do be done with love!” (NKJV) When we keep the law, love should be our mindset. When we pay taxes, love should be our mindset. When we keep the speed limit, love should be our mindset. When we vote, love should be our mindset.[1]
Invitation to the Life of Love
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (ESV)
Invitation to the Life of Love
God sent His Son, not just to forgive our sins, but also for us to live an abundant life – the life of love. We have been invited to live a life of love just as Christ loved us (Eph 5:2 NCV). Bob Goff, Christian author and lawyer, rightly said, “There is only one invitation it would kill me to refuse, yet I'm tempted to turn it down all the time. I get the invitation every morning when I wake up to actually live a life of complete engagement, a life of whimsy, a life where love does. It doesn't come in an envelope. It's ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee drifting lazily from the kitchen. It's the invitation to actually live, to fully participate in this amazing life for one more day.”[2]
Everyday God sends us an invitation to live a life of love. But as Bob Goff said, plenty of people turn down this wonderful, life-changing invitation. They turn it down by refusing to forgive or not being grateful. They turn it down by believing they haven’t really been invited, or asking some kind of audible voice or miraculous signs. But the truth is that all of us have been invited – every day, all over again! We have been invited to live a life of love as Christ loved us.
Then, what does it look like to live a life of love? It can be picking up the phone, sending an e-mail, writing a letter, or just showing up. Begin with one person around you. Pick up that person. It may be your spouse. It may be your children. It may be someone at the church or at work or in your neighborhood. Practice on them, and you will see things start happening. Let us say “yes” to God’s invitation every morning. Let our heart and mind overflow with the love of Christ. And let all that we do be done with love. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another! Amen.
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[1] John Piper, “Love is a Fulfilling of the Law, Part 1” https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/love-is-a-fulfilling-of-the-law-part-1
[2] Bob Goff, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (Thomas Nelson, 2012), 80.
Everyday God sends us an invitation to live a life of love. But as Bob Goff said, plenty of people turn down this wonderful, life-changing invitation. They turn it down by refusing to forgive or not being grateful. They turn it down by believing they haven’t really been invited, or asking some kind of audible voice or miraculous signs. But the truth is that all of us have been invited – every day, all over again! We have been invited to live a life of love as Christ loved us.
Then, what does it look like to live a life of love? It can be picking up the phone, sending an e-mail, writing a letter, or just showing up. Begin with one person around you. Pick up that person. It may be your spouse. It may be your children. It may be someone at the church or at work or in your neighborhood. Practice on them, and you will see things start happening. Let us say “yes” to God’s invitation every morning. Let our heart and mind overflow with the love of Christ. And let all that we do be done with love. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another! Amen.
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[1] John Piper, “Love is a Fulfilling of the Law, Part 1” https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/love-is-a-fulfilling-of-the-law-part-1
[2] Bob Goff, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World (Thomas Nelson, 2012), 80.
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