Faith Test: Love

1 John 2:7-11; 3:11-20

Introduction

Last time we discovered that one of the tests for faith is that of sin. However, Christianity is not as simple as just avoiding sin. Christianity is much more complex. Christianity is also about love. How much is Christianity about love? I would argue that love is the theological centre of Christianity. It is love that makes Christianity unique. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that people of other religions are not loving. What I am saying is that only Christianity has love for the core. Islam’s core is submission to God. Buddhism has escape from suffering as its core. Hinduism has payment of karma as its core. For Christianity, it is love.

How do I know this? Here is my case. We find that God is love. Not that God is loving but that he is love. Love is part of his essence. Think about what this means. This is some of the best evidence for the Trinity. God by his nature cannot rely on his creation for his essence. God is love even if people never were created. This took place between the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Before anything else existed, there was love!

The Bible is filled with love. We think of the Old Testament as being about the God of wrath. Did you know that there are 551 references to love in the Old Testament? Try to go very far through the Psalms without encountering love. Why was Jonah angry with God? He was too loving.

What about the New Testament? Someone asked Jesus to summarize the Law and Jesus responded with love for God and love for neighbours. Both commands from the Old Testament by the way. This was actually the turning point in my own faith journey. The people who were telling me about Jesus when I was a young university student focused much of their time on the rules and regulations. Not just what the Bible says, but their own interpretations on things the Bible doesn’t touch on. Then I read Jesus summary the Law as loving God and loving your neighbour. That was it. That was a Gospel that I could embrace.

So love is important. But we still need to know what love is. Is love what Hollywood says? Is love what some pop song says? Is love what the internet says? Thankfully, John is very interested in love and shares a lot of information about love.

Love Like God

The first thing we need to understand love is have a standard of measurement. When you purchase 2 L of milk at the store, you likely do not think that 2 L is an amount that people can choose for themselves. If you paid the money for the 2 L and received one of those tiny cups of milk for coffee, you would suspect that something was wrong.

It is the same thing with love. People have been trying to make up their own definitions of love and it is ending in disaster. What is the measure of love? God. We are told in this letter that God is love. If we want to understand what love is, we look to God. So how does God demonstrate love?

God gave humanity freewill. Of course there are discussions about the limits of that free will, but general we can say that we are not puppets. The love God has is not a controlling love.

God’s love is based in truth and justice. Throughout the Old Testament, we see the love God has for Israel. What does that look like? God doesn’t let Israel get away with anything they want. When they stray, God uses strong measures to bring them back. I’m sure the Israelites did not feel love at the time but if God did not love them, he would have abandoned them. I know my children don’t always feel loved when I enforce the rules. But I have seen what happens when children can do anything and I love my children too much for that.

God’s love is vulnerable. Time after time, God puts himself out there for a people who have forgotten him. God could play it safe. In fact there are people who believe that God is completely distant from humanity. But the Bible describes a God who risks rejection.

God’s love is self-sacrificial. At the cross, we see two sacrifices. One is the Father allowing his Son to be killed by his own creation. The second is the Son’s sacrifice of his life. John 3:16 makes it clear that the motivation behind this is love. It was important enough for God to reconcile humanity to himself that the ultimate sacrifice was willing to be paid.

Now I need to address something that some skeptics will say. I have heard people describe the Gospel as God saying, “If you do not love me, I will punish you by making you burn in hell.” That is not the Gospel. The Gospel is God saying, “Receive my love and you can enjoy it forever.”

We have seen that God’s love is not controlling, it is based on truth and justice, it is vulnerable and self-sacrificial. These are some of the values that should be shaping our understanding of love.

What Love Looks Like

So we have seen a bit of what love is, but what does it look like? Remember that John sees love as a test of faith. If love does not play any part in your life, you probably have not yet met Jesus. It is not that we are instantly perfect when it comes to love at our conversion. But we should be on a trajectory toward the God who is love. One of John’s themes is that if God is our Father, than we must resemble him in some way.

According to John, love can only be measured when it is put in action. There is no biblical concept of love where it is simply an internal emotion. For God so loved the world that… Love must have an outlet. John argues that if we are not showing love to the people we see, how can we claim to love the God we can’t see. Here are five ways that you can show love, concepts developed by Gary Chapman.

Words of Encouragement

One of the love languages that Chapman discusses is that of encouraging words. The Bible says a lot about the power of our words, see especially Ephesians and James. Traditionally Christians have been mostly concerned with swearing when it comes to unwholesome speech. I do not condone swearing and I do not swear myself. But what the Bible is more concerned about is whether our words tear down or build up another person. I’m sure that each one of us have felt the effects of discouraging and encouraging words. Don’t accidently encourage, make it an intentional part of your life.

Gifts

Another way to show love is through giving things. I am not talking about expensive gifts. It could be a grocery card for a family that is struggling. It could be a good book that you know the other person would really enjoy. It could be the gift of your time as you babysit while a busy new parents get a much needed date. Traditionally this is where the Church has showed love. Look at the parable of the sheep and the goats. I was hungry and you gave me food, I was naked and you gave me clothes. A couple of years ago, I was very sick, in fact we thought I was dying. It seemed everyday someone was coming over with a meal. It did not change my health, but it made our family feel loved. Some Christians wait until they feel called but it is always the right time to give to those in need.

Quality Time

Quality time is a love language that is difficult, both on an individual and a congregational level. But it can be one of the most powerful things we can do. When we lost our first child to miscarriage, we had people try encouraging words. Not only were they not encouraging, we did not need words. We needed people to stand with us in mourning. When a tragedy hits, people try to give an explanation. But the truth is we don’t know so we should keep quiet and be present. That is another part of quality time. If you intend to show love by quality time, don’t play around with your phone. The texts and emails can wait. Just listen and pay attention.

Acts of Service

Showing love by doing things for people is a tremendous opportunity. I have had so much fun taking groups to do random acts of kindness. It could be cutting someone’s lawn or buying someone’s coffee. It could be a cold pop on a hot summer day. It is fun because people do not expect it. Somewhere along the line, the church developed a reputation for just wanting people’s money. So when the church goes out of its way to give rather than to take, it has quite an impact.

Physical Touch

Now when Gary Chapman talks about physical touch, he means something different than what I am going to talk about here. But there is a place for physical touch in showing love. Greeting each other with a handshake. A pat on the back when someone does a great job. A hand on the shoulder during a difficult time. The church has a long history of this. Think of Jesus touching the leper. Think of the laying on of hands. Think of the holy kiss. Actually, I’m not even comfortable with the holy hug. But research has demonstrated that people need physical contact. Children in orphanages that never had physical touch often develop a mental illness that eventually causes the adoption to fail.

Conclusion

The point of all this is not that you memorize all five love languages. John has a much simpler message and here it is: “You say you love God, show it by demonstrating love to people.” It is as simple as that. Don’t just feel love. Don’t just tick off on a list of Christian virtues. Actually show love. Where would we be if God only felt love for us? He showed us love at the cross. How will we show out love?

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