Sermon Audio (Will be posted soon!)
June 7, 2015
God is love!
When was the first time you heard, “I Love you!” Was it from your elementary, middle or high
school sweetheart? Was it from your
Father or Mother? Was it from your
child? No matter where or from whom you
heard first, “I love you” it affected you.
Whether your pulse began to race, your palms started to sweat or your
face turned either pale or a bright red.
When you heard those words, “I love you”, you reacted.
On the polar opposite, when was the last time you
heard or said, “I love you”? Was it on
the phone with your child, grandchild or spouse. Were those the last words that were spoken
and clearly heard from your child, spouse or parent? Were those the last words you heard as they
went out the door? Or entered the church
triumphant?
Undoubtedly when we hear those three short words, totaling 8
letters and 2 spaces, the meaning can and is vastly different and profound no
matter the situation. It is clear those
words not only can quicken our heart beat, but also fill us with regret, because
we didn’t say those three words often enough.
Or we would do almost anything to hear or say those words just one more
time.
The first time I took the opportunity to say those words to Sarah
was when I first held her in my arms after her birth. Michele was still in recovery from surgery
and I was able to go up into the nursery in the Neonatal ICU at Duke University
and hold her for the first time.
Surrounded by the sounds of monitors and many baby bassinettes holding
small little miracles, I was able for the first time as I held her say as a
Father “I love you”. Those words changed
me and daily, I try and tell both Sarah and Michele, “I love you.” But I didn’t learn this from just my parents,
nor my spouse, but from none other than God Himself.
You see, simply, “God is love!”
And we daily need to hear those three simple words from God
Himself. Helen Musil in our Mark bible
study one day gave me a very good and gracious gift, it was a cognitive
recalibration. Out of her great love for
God and I hope and pray her love of me as her pastor she reoriented me to the
reality that we need to hear daily and every Sunday the message from God to us
His children, “I love you”. God loves us
clearly and unmistakably. John, the Son
of Zebedee, one of the 12 disciples and Apostle’s of Jesus in his letter of 1st
John clearly relates this fact and truth for his readers and for us today.
Hence, why John said, “God is love”! Hear that clearly, “God is love!” Let’s let that sink in a minute. “God is love!” Remember John continues, “and
the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” Simply we, Jesus followers are called to
love. I know there are individuals who
call Emmanuel Lutheran their home church, because they grew up here, have been
members here their entire life and expect to be buried from here. As members of the Body of Christ, we are
“Called to love”. We don’t have to agree
all the time, but we are called to love one another. Jesus said it clearly, we are called to love
one another and be willing to die for each other in order to save our brother
or sister in Christ. This is sometimes a
hard pill to swallow. But if we are to
‘abide in love’ and we want to ‘abide in God’, and the truth that “God is
love”, then it is clear, we are then called to love no matter the circumstance and
no matter the disagreement nor the person.
When we accept this challenge and opportunity of ‘loving one
another, as Christ loved us’ God offers us a gift. The gift we receive from God when ‘God abides
in us’, is our “love is perfected with us”.
God makes our love that flows from Him through each of us perfect. As part of the gift from God, God makes our
love perfect. Though we are weak and
cannot by our own reason or strength do what we want, God makes us and our love
for others perfect. Hence we are
‘perfected in love’. And this love is perfected,
not when we reach heaven, but when “we are in this world”. Though we are in this world as Christians, we
are not ‘of’ this world, because our home is heaven and we are preparing for
our entrance to be with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And our love is perfected by God as the
greatest gift to us to share with others.
And Jesus Christ makes it very clear for each of us that we are “commanded
to love”. Jesus command isn’t to
strike fear into our lives, but to help us to walk in faith in Him and His love
for us and we then can love one another.
We are commanded to love, because sometimes we have a problem doing what
we should and love one another. We let
our worries crowd out God’s command. We
turn from God and don’t trust God and we even sometimes think we know better
than God Himself.
In most families, children at a young age are not only learning
from their loved ones the ‘ropes’ of the family, but clearly what to do and not
do. When children start to do something
they shouldn’t most parents immediately respond with either a stern look, a
harsh word or a command ‘not to do’ what they are doing. Jesus in similar fashion is issuing a command
to us Christians. Jesus is clearly
telling us what we need to do. We are commanded
to love our brothers and sisters in Christ!
Love everyone no matter the cost, no matter the pain, no matter even if
you are right or wrong. We are called to
love as Christians and disciples of Jesus Christ.
For when we heed the call to love as Christians and God’s love is
perfected in each of us because of His command, we receive the greatest
blessing. And this blessing is not only
found in what we receive from the Altar of our Lord’s precious Body and Blood,
but what we receive from God Himself. We
receive the love of God, from God and are showered with the love that surpasses
all human understanding. A love so deep and
profound that it overcomes all things and connects us intimately with Him. When we make this connection of God’s love for
us like the power lines that give us electricity that ‘runs our lives’, we are
offered the greatest opportunity to make a deeper and more profound connection
not only with Him but with one another, our fellow brothers and sisters in
Christ.
There is no better place that the love for our fellow man is
emulated than a place that I visited while on vacation. In Pueblo, Colorado, the Center on Values
borders the river walk. At first when I
heard about it, I thought it would be a great place to possibly visit, but wasn’t
sure if we would be able to on our vacation, so I put it out of my mind. As we walked down by the river we happen to pass
by and saw it was open. When I walked
into the building I was shaken to my core.
The Center on Values tells stories, but not just any stories. Encapsulated on the walls that surround the
entire room are pictures of all the Medal of Honor heroes from any action. Unlike most monuments to heroes of our time
each of the pictures showing the individual were taken by one photographer and
tell and portray the individual and their story in the most unique and poignant
way. Each story is one of love, for
their fellow soldiers and their country they served with honor and distinction.
As I gazed upon each photograph and statement under each picture,
it was clear that each individual who wore the Medal of Honor was an individual
who loved, not only their family, but especially their brothers and sisters in
arms and their country. I left the
Center on Values in awe of the heroes honored there, but also with a clearer
picture of Who I believe in and Whose I am.
Upon further reflection, I have two simple, but profound questions
that I would like for we the members of Emmanuel to consider in the coming
week. Clearly, we the members of
Emmanuel call Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, Who died for all of mankind and
love Him. What if we loved our
neighbors, friends and even our God as much as the heroes who earned the Medal
of Honor? What would we be capable of
here in Goodland, Kansas? AMEN.
Check out Pastor on the Prairie (ProtP)
Subscribe to ProtP
No comments:
Post a Comment