Love testifies.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” (John 13:35)
I read a story once about a married couple where the husband was a pastor and from the outside, the marriage looked perfect. In reality, however, the husband treated his wife so terribly for 40 long years. He abused her, cheated on her, and utterly failed to follow through on his duties as a husband. As I read this I was anticipating the part where the wife told him about himself and left him up to the Lord. Her reaction convicted me. As she endured the unimaginable from the one person who had vowed to love her “till death do us part”, she responded with mercy and love. As he chose to be repeatedly unfaithful, she held tightly to her love for Christ and was strengthened to honor his role as scripture instructs. She remarked that her hope was not in her husband’s potential to change, but in the unwavering love of God in spite of her own sinfulness! It was more important that her children see her model the love of Christ than for her to harbor bitterness in her heart. This story helped me to understand that I have some work to do if I genuinely want to look like Jesus in the Earth.
Love testifies about God more than words, ESPECIALLY in the times where it is hardest to love. How can we talk about the power of God but still cuss people out and refuse to forgive? The world is watching, my sister. “They will know you are Christians by your love” and I wonder why. Based on what we’ve learned about love so far, the only people who can genuinely display such self-sacrificing love are those who have first been taken over by it themselves. Before you try to convert others with eloquent sermons, Bible verses, and cross necklaces...have they seen you love well? Have they seen your patience, kindness, and goodness? Have they witnessed your humility, eagerness to forgive, and selflessness? Let our love be our most vocal ministry. Then we will see hearts softened to our God.
Prayer:
Lord, I repent for missed opportunities to humble myself and love others well. Sometimes I only love when I feel that others deserve it or are grateful. You called me to love completely separate from the behavior of others. In fact, your glory is revealed more when I choose to love in the most impossible situations. I receive your strength as I carry this cross. Let my life testify about you so that the lost may come to know You, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Love sacrifices.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God- this is your right and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1)
“A Living Sacrifice”. It’s a cute phrase. So popular in the church- but what does it mean?
It means the heart is still beating when you place it on the altar. It means you don’t get carried to the altar against your will; it means you are an active participant in laying your will down at His feet. It means that no matter how uncomfortable it is, you have experienced God’s overwhelming love and mercy and understand that the only worthy response is complete surrender.
Even if it hurts.
Even if you’ll look dumb.
Even if you have to walk alone.
Even if you’ve gotten comfortable with the blessing He gave (remember Abraham and Isaac?)
What things do you need to be an active participant in sacrificing? Pride, fornication, lying, people-pleasing? The list could consume our entire year together. That means that for as long as we live, there will be some aspect of ourselves to surrender. As long as we live in the flesh, we will have to actively offer our hearts, our will, our desires to God. Today when we say “I love You more,” we leave it open-ended, leaving room for God to take whatever He wants and do whatever He wants in us to accomplish His perfect will. If you don’t feel it, it’s not a sacrifice.
Prayer:
God, we’re here at the altar again, living and breathing and willing to give our whole selves to You. Everything is available: our money, our fears, our plans for the future, our “type”. We lay it all down in hopes that You would be pleased, and you would make us more like you in exchange. Thank you for the grace to be willing to sacrifice even the thing that you blessed us with. We will follow Abraham’s example, and declare it an act of worship, trusting that if you ask for it you will replace it with better. Today we declare “the Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing.” You finally got me where You want me: living, breathing, loving- always ready to sacrifice.
Love of my life.
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” (Psalm 63:3-4)
A conditional statement is one that requires specific conditions to be met in order to get an outcome. We use them all the time. “If it rains, I will watch church online,” “if he loved me he would treat me differently.” Often, as humans, we understand the world around us based on certain patterns. We rely on circumstances around us to determine our actions. Technically, this is not a bad thing! If the light is red, I would hope that affects whether or not you continue driving. If your stomach rumbles, it’s okay to eat. The problem lies when we put the wrong conditions on our ability to worship God, and live for him fully.
Sometimes our prayers sound like “Lord, if you get me out of this situation, I will go back to church” or “Lord, if my loved one survives this disease, I will live for you for real.” Other times we are not as honest verbally, but our hearts hold the same posture: God, my obedience is dependent on you meeting my conditions. Let’s take a moment to repent for not being completely surrendered to the God who is worthy despite our feelings and circumstances.
In today’s passage, David sets a major example for us of the only appropriate conditional statement we should hold towards God. Instead of saying “if” he uses “because”. There is confidence here because nothing is greater than God’s love; no negative outcome is bigger than God’s love. God’s love is better than life! It’s better than the blessings and promotions I can earn in life. It’s better than the child, marriage, or business opportunity I’ve been praying for. His love is even better than my literal life, and even if my life should end early, even death is not enough to separate me from that love (Romans 8:38)! As a result of this statement, the only worthy condition to follow is that we use our lips to glorify God. We trade complaints and bitterness for gratitude and honor. As long as you live—not as long as life feels good—will you make a decision to praise God?
Prayer:
God, thank you for your love! Thank you for being the perfect example of what love is. I know I will spend my whole life trying to be better in this area, but won’t you help me begin with you? I can’t love myself or others well until I experience your love first. Help me to honestly say “your love is better than life” and please help me to praise you regardless of what that life brings. You are the love of my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Selfless love: I love you more.
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
I heard it said once that one way to know if someone loves you is to see if they will give you the last piece of food on their plate. The idea is that their love for you will outweigh their desire to finish the meal that they originally bought for themselves. The principle: love is self-less. Unfortunately, we live in a culture that praises selfishness and fails to model self-sacrificing lives. When we are taught to live our best, selfish lives while single, it’s no wonder so many marriages end in divorce. I can’t imagine the culture shock of being programmed to care only for yourself, only to be thrust into a covenant designed to model Christ’s own sacrificial love.
Jesus didn’t ask us to do something He was not modeling himself. He literally laid his life down for us, to the point of dying on the cross so that we could have access to a relationship with the Father. Selfless love is inconvenienced for the sake of someone else’s benefit. Jesus already had a relationship with the father! If he didn’t die, he would have been just fine with God. But his love was concerned about you and me, and he knew that the only way for us to have that access would cost his life. Thank you, Jesus!
Regardless of your relationship status, ‘tis the season to practice a love that places others above itself. What does this look like practically? Look for opportunities in your daily life to lay down your life for those in your life. Can you allow someone else to make their copies before you? Will you use that money you were saving to bless someone you know has been struggling to make ends meet? Will you lay down your need to be right, and apologize first? It is a daunting task for the unbeliever, and still difficult for Christians. The difference for you and me is that we have the Holy Spirit who strengthens us to do what pleases Him (Philippians 2:13).
Will you walk in selfless love today?
Prayer:
Lord, if I’m honest, I don’t want to love selflessly. Sometimes it is hard for me to put the needs of others ahead of my own, especially if it will be an inconvenience to me. Thank you for sending Jesus to be a perfect model of how you will strengthen me to live this life. I repent for opportunities where I have chosen myself over my brother and sister. Today as I love You more, help me to also love others more than myself. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Love is present.
“So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
I am a fixer. It stresses me out when I see a problem and can’t fix it, especially when someone I love is facing a mountain. Many of us are guilty of the same. When someone loses a loved one, we rush to find the right words to say (often saying the wrong ones). When a child falls, anyone in the vicinity rushes to the rescue. My Kindergarten students, at 5, fight to be the first to pick up something I drop. Humans are helpers.
But what if we can’t help? What if, in our own power, there is nothing we can do? We may be tempted to start doing random things to ease our own feelings of inadequacy. We may disappear altogether.
As I look at the character of God, there are so many times when God instructs someone “do not fear”. Now, this would be amazing if the second part of that sentence was “...for I will take the obstacle away.” I would even settle for “...this will be over in a second.” Instead, God’s consolation for the children He loves is that He will be present. “I will be with you.” Today’s message is simple: love is present.
We may not have all the answers, and hard things will happen to the people we love. That is a guarantee of life. Many times we won’t have the power to change the situation. Even God, in His infinite power, does not always remove the challenge. Remember the disciples in a storm WITH Jesus in the boat? For reasons above our security clearance, we will face hardships. As we learn to love this month, let us be resolved to declare that “even if I can’t make it better for you, I will be here with you.”
Prayer:
God, you are Emmanuel: God with us. This season is hard. Some days harder, some days easier. Will you teach me how to love others well, by simply being present? Will you give me discernment for when to speak, when to pray, and when to just “be”? Thank you for being an ever-present help in the time of trouble. Thank you for loving me presently, no matter what comes.