Paul spends much of his writings to the church instructing and encouraging them how to love one another. This verse captures the greatest virtue a Christian can have: love.
Paul is teaching us, and other writers inspired by the Holy Spirit, is teaching us the most important virtue and most important thing to a Christian is the subject of love. Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was and he spoke: “love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, mind and strength. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another.
Romans 12:2-10
Paul encourages our love to be sincere and to honor others above ourselves. Notice what John, who called himself the beloved disciple had to say about love:
20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.
1 JOhn 4:20-21
John tells us that true measure of how much we love God is how much we love others.
Today our scripture says, over all these virtues, put on love.
Paul is telling us, of all characteristics of a Christian, we should be known for our love.
How are you known by others? Lets be honest with each other this morning. Are you theologically sound? A good speaker? Are you an active member of your church? Are you involved in your community? Are you known for your gifts?
But, God is not asking about who you are, He’s asking, DO YOU LOVE?
Paul was writing to the church in Corinth and challenging them about their relationship with each other. I believe today we can challenge ourselves and look at our relationships with each other. Paul testifies to what God is asking each of us today:
If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
All those things you believe about yourself or others speak about you, friends, they mean nothing if you do not have love. All these experiences, all these abilities are empty without love being present. True faith has a practical expression. Love is the foundation of all the other virtues. We spent an extensive amount of time examining the type of love Paul teaches us… So can we honestly identify with the following statements?
I am patient with you because I love you and want to forgive you.
I am kind to you because I love you and want to help you.
I do not envy your possessions or your gifts because I love you and want you to have the best.
I do not boast about my attainments because I love you and want to hear about yours.
I am not proud because I love you and want to esteem you before myself.
I am not rude because I love you and care about your feelings
I am not self-seeking because I love you and want to meet your needs
I am not easily angered by you because I love you and want to overlook your offenses
I do not keep a record of wrongs because I love you , and love covers a multitude of sins.
Sadly, the practice is there but the motive is not. How many times do we read int he comments sections that Christians are the most hateful people on the planet? Paul said we are to be known above all else with the virtue of love. SO where has it all gone wrong?
If you ask someone what they thing of a Christian and they will answer you, most often, from a political stance or speak about what Christians stand against. There a disconnect and wrong message being sent out.
Notice Paul says, put on love. It is someone thing we are required to do. Paul does not say, when the sun is shinning, when the storm comes, when a fleeting moment or tickle of the ear comes. He is saying every moment of every day we are to put on love. In order for that to happen we have to understand what love is in a practical sense.
We need to define love as God’s definition and not our own or the world’s definition. We need to start comparing ourselves, not to each other, but to the standard God gives us. In other words, those statements above we need to ask the question from the statement.
Am I patient, kind, and without envy in my relationships?
Am I seeking to help those in need?
Am I desiring the best for those who God has brought in my life?
Am I seeking to build others up or only myself through others?
If we are going to love others, we need to stop having a prerequisite before we love them. When we were walking through God’s Word to discover that God is love and love is God, we learned that God did not fist create us and then decide later on to love us. He loved us before He ever allowed us to take our first breath. God did not instruct us to have a relationship and decide later to love or not love a person.
No one thinks, understands, and believes exactly as we do and that’s life. This is a fact we must accept before we will ever be able to love people. Before we ever love another we need love to where people are at and not where we want them.
Jesus is the example of this. He met the fisherman, tax collector, adulterer, military leader, worried woman, where they were. Notice Jesus did not tell the fishermen, go be preachers, then I will love you. He did not tell the tax collector, go serve in the church then I will love you. He did not tell the adulterer, go cleanser yourself and restore the relationship, then I will love you. None of these people were told to go first, then I will love you. Jesus was right where they were and he loved them before they ever took a first breath.
Jesus longed to cleanse them and make them holy, but he started this process at the point at which he found each individual. He spoke their language and started with what they could understand. He worked to meet their unique needs. Love does not demand that everyone be like us. It doesn’t demand that people have the same experience, the same tastes, the same background. True love embraces people as they are.
Love means overlooking small irritations and blemishes. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t do something stupid, inappropriate, or foolish. There is not a day when we don’t say something we shouldn’t have or react when we should have shrugged something off. If we are going to fight about every little irritation in life then we are going to be fighting all the time.
We need to remember that each person is created in the image of God and each one has been made for a particular purpose. Learning to love means learning to spotlight potential and strengths rather than problems and demands we learn to build up, rather than tear down. Love diligently roots out unloving behavior from our lives. Love is important. We also need to realize that the devil and our sinful nature will quickly get sidetracked. We do not love naturally. We must be on guard for cancers that eat away at love.
Love does not happen naturally. We must focus on love. We must remind ourselves over and over, day in and day out that love is the characteristic that is to define our relationships and our dealings with others. When we see unloving feelings beginning to creep in, we must stand against them. We must repent of our attitude and return to love.
We need to eliminate the harmful buts.
She’s a nice person but….
She works hard but….
I like them but….
Finally, Paul argues not only are we to put on love, but love is the superglue in all our relationships. Love is the glue that holds us together and the oil that keeps us from rubbing each other the wrong way. Love is what brings Christians together and unites them in the body of Christ. Love tears down the walls of division and draws people closer rather than pushing them away. Love picks up those who have fallen rather than kicking them while they are down and for extra measure throws rocks at them. Love is the motivation to work together rather than competing against.
Jesus tells us to love one another as He has loved us. He then says, by this all men will know you are my disciples. The trait should characterize us as individuals and the church as love. Unfortunately, we bring the tactics of the world into our personal self and the church. We reply on manipulation and competition rather than authenticity.
We do not need the demonstration of great power or a more solid theology. We need the practical outworking of our faith which is seen in our love for each other.
It is easy to see how others are missing the mark and begin the criticize how you are being loved, but Paul is challenging us to look no further than your own heart. You can not change someone else, but you can change your own life.
Let us take time to ponder these questions about ourselves and seek our Heavenly Father for help and understanding.
How would others describe your attitude toward them: Loving, harsh, angry, indifferent?
What are you relying on to bring change in the world around you: political clout, loud protests, subtle manipulation, intimidation, or love? Which of these approaches speaks most powerfully when others approach you?
Where do you need to be more loving? How can you begin today?
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