CHRIST WAS LOVE
21 December 2009
I -- Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 John 3
16. 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.
17. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
18. Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
19. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence
20. whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God
22. and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.
23. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
24. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
-- as we join together this morning to celebrate the last Sunday of Advent, I wanted to share with you a story by Carol Chand that has been very popular over the past several years and that I think really illustrates the text before us this morning
-- "Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience -- I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending -- Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas
-- My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year -- It was an exciting season for a six year old -- For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant --" I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production -- Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher -- She assured me there [would] be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation -- All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then -- Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise
-- So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down -- Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats -- As I waited, the students were led into the room -- Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor -- Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song
-- Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer -- So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title -- Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads
-- Those in the front row- center stage - held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song -- As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C -- Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love"
-- The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down - totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W"
-- The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake -- But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W" -- Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together -- A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen
-- In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities -- For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear: "CHRISTWAS LOVE" -- And, I believe, He still is."1
-- more than anything else, this was the message of John in this epistle to his followers -- Christ was love -- He was the physical representation of the Father and in Him and through Him we saw God's love lived out in this world for us
-- in fact, in two occasions in this letter, John boldly states that not only was Christ the epitomy of the Father's love when He was here, but "God is Love" -- in other words, God 's love is like all of His attributes -- it is never-ending -- it was and is and will be -- His love has no end and is the same yesterday, today, and forever -- God is the originator and the perfecter of love
-- when we say that God is love, we are describing His whole being, for it is only because of His love that we know and experience all of His other attributes -- His goodness -- His mercy -- His grace -- His majesty -- His glory -- His omnipotence -- His omnipresence -- His all
-- love is the reason God created us -- love is the reason God sent Jesus to us -- and it is only because of love that we share in His eternal glory and salvation -- as John makes so clear in this epistle, it is only when we are living in Christ do we truly recognize and experience and share in this love that comes from God
-- let's look back at this passage again and see what we can learn from John's letter to his followers
II. Scripture Lesson (1 John 3:16-24)
-- look back at verse 16
16. 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.
-- as I said, the overall message of 1 John is love -- before we begin, it's important to understand what kind of love John is talking about here -- the word for love he is using here is "agape" love -- unconditional love -- he's talking about the perfect love of God that was expressed through Jesus and, as we'll see as we go on in this passage, the perfect love that we should be expressing towards others
-- so, how do we know what love is? -- our culture is obsessed with the concept of "love" -- it's in our songs -- it's in our movies -- it's on our lips daily -- but do we truly know what love is? -- are we truly experiencing the agape love of Christ or are we settling for a cheap, worldly imitation? -- how do we know?
-- the word "know" that John uses here is the Greek word "ginosko" -- it literally means "knowledge by experience" -- and John chose that word deliberately -- he didn't use the more common word "eido" here, which means "knowledge by understanding"
-- in other words, John is saying that to know what love is -- to know agape love -- you have to experience it -- you have to feel it
-- John knew the agape love of Christ -- he had seen that love expressed in the eyes of Jesus as He looked with compassion on the leper that He was reaching out to heal -- John had felt that love pouring from Jesus as the water poured from the basin in the upper room and Jesus started washing his feet -- and John had experienced the perfect and unconditional love of Christ as Jesus looked down on him from the cross and expressed with His eyes, "I'm doing this for you"
-- John knew what love was -- and so he's trying to express that to his readers so that they, too, might truly know the extent of God's love and share that love with others -- to know love, you have to experience it -- to know love, you have to live it -- you can't just read about it in a book -- it has to be something real in your life -- to know agape love in this way, you have to show it yourself
-- when John says "this is how we know what love is" he is saying, "This is love with feet -- this is love with skin on -- this isn't just loving with your head -- this is real love -- and to know this love you must first have experienced God's agape love through Christ"
-- so, in other words, the love that we proclaim and are obsessed with in our culture only reflects the love of Christ in as far as we have experienced that love in our own hearts -- to truly love you must have been loved -- to truly love you must know Jesus
-- John says, "this is how we know what love is -- Jesus Christ laid down His life for us -- and we should lay down our lives for others"
-- what does it mean to lay down your life for another? -- what does John mean when he says that Jesus laid down His life for us?
-- when we read these words, we are immediately drawn to the cross -- but that's not all that John means here -- when we read these words, we should also be drawn to the manger
-- for, you see, Jesus did not just lay down His life for us on the cross -- He laid down His life by willingly giving up His glory in Heaven and humbling Himself and becoming a man so that we might receive eternal life through Him
-- at this time of the year, we tend to forget who the baby in the manger was -- this was not just another baby -- this was not just the promised Messiah -- this was the Lord God Almighty -- the maker of heaven and earth -- El Shaddai -- the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords
-- one of my most favorite Christmas songs is "Mary, Did You Know," because it reminds us of just who Jesus was -- of what He gave up to be born in a manger -- of what He gave up to walk on this world for 33 years all so that we might have eternal life
-- let me share with you a few of the lyrics:
-- "Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water? -- Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters? -- Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new? -- That this Child that you delivered will soon deliver you?
-- "Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man? -- Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand? -- Did you know that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod and that when you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?
-- Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation? -- Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations? -- Did you know that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb and that the sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am."
-- when John says here that Jesus laid down His life for us, he certainly is referring to the cross -- but we can never forget what else Christ gave up for us -- we can never forget that He laid down His glory and His honor and His power and His majesty for us -- to be born at Christmas -- not in a temple or in a palace -- but in the humblest of circumstances -- in a manger in a stable -- surrounded by animals -- but celebrated by the universe
-- does that help you understand what John means when he then goes on to tell us that we are to lay down our lives for our brothers? -- John isn't calling us all to martyrdom -- he isn't saying that we should all die for those around us -- that's not what he means here
-- to lay down our lives for our brothers means that we give ourselves up just as Jesus gave Himself up for the world -- as John the Baptist put it, we decrease so that Christ might increase -- we willingly put aside our wants and our wishes and our desires -- we sacrifice ourselves, so that others might experience agape love through us
-- verse 17
17. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
18. Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
-- how wonderful is it that at this time of the year, more than other, we see Christ's agape love expressed in this way -- we see people laying down their lives and sacrificing for their brothers
-- what other time of the year do you know that people are willing to give up their hard-earned cash to buy presents for people they don't even know -- for families in need? -- what other time of the year do you know that people are willing to give up their time and their comfort to share the love of Jesus with those who are less fortunate, whether it's volunteering in the local food bank or ringing a bell for the Salvation Army or just giving out food and water and gifts to those in need?
-- John says this is how we should love -- this is how we should live -- not with words or tongue but with actions and in truth
-- what good is it for us to be biblically correct? -- to know in our heads the truth of God -- to know in our hearts the love of God -- and to do nothing with it
-- if Christianity is just about coming to church on Sunday and learning about God, it is an utter and total failure -- that is not what Christianity should be about -- that is not the message of the cross -- and that is not the message of the manger
-- before Nike ever came up with the slogan, "Just do it," -- John was using it here -- when it comes to love -- to God's perfect, unconditional, agape love, John says, "Just do it" -- love not with word and tongue -- but love with your hands and your feet -- love with your life -- love by laying down your life for another
-- Christmas is about love -- Christ is about love -- and more than anything else, that is what we are supposed to be doing
-- skip down to verse 23 and let's end there
23. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
24. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
-- when Jesus was here, He fulfilled the law of Moses -- He fulfilled every aspect of it through His life and through His death on the cross -- the law of Moses is gone -- it is no more --the old covenant that was experienced through the Old Testament law and the sacrificial system has been replaced by a new and better covenant through the blood of Christ
-- and, as we are so fond of saying in our modern, New Testament churches, we don't live by law -- we live by grace
-- and that is true, for we are not bound by the law of Moses any longer -- but that does not mean that we are not bound by another law
-- Christ gave us two laws -- two commands -- that we must follow if we are to be part of His kingdom
-- first, we are to believe in Him -- not just head knowledge belief -- but heart belief -- we must know that we know -- we must put our faith and our trust in the fact that Jesus was and is God and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for all our sins -- and that if we trust and believe in Him we are forgiven -- that if we trust and believe in Him we have eternal life with the Father -- that if we trust and believe in Him we are new creations -- made pure and holy and spotless through His death on the cross
-- the second command is just as important -- Jesus told us to love one another -- to lay down our lives for our brothers -- to show them His agape love with our hands and our feet and our mouth and our heart
-- Jesus said that the world would know us -- not because of the name on our church sign -- not because our name was written on a church roll -- not because we had a little Jesus fish on the back of our car -- Jesus said that the world would know us because of our love
-- let me close by asking you -- how's your love life? -- are you loving your neighbor as yourself? -- are you loving one another as Christ commanded? -- are you laying down your life for another?
-- you know, we tend to do pretty well with this at certain times during the year -- we do really well at Christmas -- we do the Angel Tree and give presents to needy children -- or we give gifts to the girls at the Methodist Home -- or we make donations to organizations that reach out to the homeless and the abused and the hurting
-- we even do pretty good at Thanksgiving -- and we see people volunteering and serving at food banks and soup kitchens and giving out turkeys and baskets of food to others
-- but are you really loving one another -- are you really laying down your life for another -- if this is the extent of your service -- of your sacrifice?
-- I read one time about this woman who was surprised at church one day when this other lady, who often ignored her and snubbed her at church, came up to her before the service and gave her a warm and welcoming hug
-- she sat there throughout the whole service wondering what had the change in this woman -- what had touched her heart and made her come up and hug her in such a loving way this Sunday
-- well, she got her answer when the pastor closed his message by saying, "Don't forget the challenge that I issued you last week -- I want you to go out there and love somebody that you can't stand"2
-- loving in this way is not loving as Christ -- loving out of duty or responsibility is not loving as Christ because it is not done in truth -- and loving just because it's Christmas is not loving as Christ because Christ's love never ends
-- as you continue to prepare for Christmas this week, I want to encourage you to keep in mind the message of John in this passage and the command of Christ to us in the gospels
-- remember to love one another -- remember to show love to one another -- not just in words and in tongue -- but with actions and truth -- and not just at Christmas -- but every moment of every day
-- this is the message of Christmas -- this is the message of Christ -- this is the message for you
-- let us pray
1 Copyright © 2002 Candy Chand [http://www --motivateus --com/stories/win --htm]
2 Adapted from Reader's Digest, [4/02], pg. 48 -- as cited in a sermon by Steven J. Cole -- http://www.fcfonline.org/content/1/sermons/040206M.pdf
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