The word “love” is being tossed all over our culture today. Just Google it, and you will find a thousand examples. Sadly, there are as many twisted versions as there are quotes, memes, and sayings. It has become a very trendy thing to talk about, but not to “be about it.”
Jesus understood what he was facing...The Cross. Shockingly, his disciples did not. In fact, they were still consumed with an earthly kingdom where they would greatly benefit. They had no idea that their worlds were about to be crushed! They had no idea that the pressure valve was about to rise to the point of panic—testing their perseverance. Jesus knew, so he did his very best to prepare them for what was coming their way with a revolutionary idea...love.
Wait! What?! “Didn’t you just say that love has been overused,” you might ask? I did, but there’s something greater than our culture’s version of love. You see, Jesus was calling for a “new kind” of love; one in which quality was more important than quantity. When we think of the word “new,” we often think of something based on a timeline or chronological in nature. A new teacher, job, house, and a million other things fit the description. Jesus demanded something entirely different.
Love was not new. In fact, the disciples would have remembered Leviticus 19:18 that commanded the Israelites to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus used Jewish history to evoke feelings of duty and loyalty to the Mosaic Law. Then, he “raised the bar” beyond what they ever could have imagined. Remember, his emphatic challenge was just after he had humbled himself and washed their dirty and disgusting feet. Jesus had to do this because the disciples were still arguing and debating over who would be the “greatest in the Kingdom.” He wanted them to see that if he could do such a humble act, so should they.
I have a pastor friend who I have been discipling with through a church revitalization program called “Small Church U.S.A.” In one of our sessions, he proceeded to share with me that he was entrenched in a conflict with a family in the church over a misunderstanding about their roles in leadership. My friend, Fred, found himself having to meet with this couple, deal with gossip from others, and sadly, hold off on a potential building program for the church. Instead of pushing forward for the Gospel, my friend found himself having to manage and massage the immaturity of disgruntled church members. Do you know who loses? The Gospel. That’s right...instead of impacting lives with truth, my friend and his church are having to manage church unity problems.
This was EXACTLY WHAT JESUS DID NOT WANT for his disciples. The pressure was about to hit a crescendo as Jesus was soon to be arrested, and he wanted his “soldiers for the Gospel” fully engaged by being fully unified. They needed to love each other sacrificially so they could lead others supernaturally. The Holy Spirit was about to come, and the spread of God’s powerful truth was just beginning.
It is so important that God’s church embraces this command of Jesus! How are you loving your fellow church member? We just finished a political season, and everyone had an opinion. In fact, there are probably plenty of things that could possibly divide us, yet there is one all-powerful thing that should unite us...the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Are you willing to raise the “quality of love” that you have been recently showing to your fellow disciples here at Emmanuel? Are you willing to look past politics, personalities, and problems in the past to make a difference for God. The world needs the Gospel. Don’t be a distraction!
When I think of my friend, Fred, I feel deeply sorry for him. He has a vision for a tremendous sports ministry in this church. He is community centered and relationally gifted. He should have been leading his church toward a building project that would advance the ministry for years to come. Instead, over the course of the last few months, he has had to put his visionary plans on hold to handle an unnecessary relational conflict in the church. It’s only now in the last couple of weeks that he has been able to move the church forward. What a warning for Emmanuel! Let’s never forget the importance of sacrificial love for one another.
True fellowship goes much deeper than a dinner with friends, a shopping trip with your girlfriend, or a ballgame with your buddy. No... fellowship is centered on the united purpose of the Gospel that causes people to love and serve one another as Jesus modelled for us in his amazing Word!
Let’s “raise the bar!” Our Gospel influence is depending on it!
Jesus understood what he was facing...The Cross. Shockingly, his disciples did not. In fact, they were still consumed with an earthly kingdom where they would greatly benefit. They had no idea that their worlds were about to be crushed! They had no idea that the pressure valve was about to rise to the point of panic—testing their perseverance. Jesus knew, so he did his very best to prepare them for what was coming their way with a revolutionary idea...love.
Wait! What?! “Didn’t you just say that love has been overused,” you might ask? I did, but there’s something greater than our culture’s version of love. You see, Jesus was calling for a “new kind” of love; one in which quality was more important than quantity. When we think of the word “new,” we often think of something based on a timeline or chronological in nature. A new teacher, job, house, and a million other things fit the description. Jesus demanded something entirely different.
Love was not new. In fact, the disciples would have remembered Leviticus 19:18 that commanded the Israelites to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus used Jewish history to evoke feelings of duty and loyalty to the Mosaic Law. Then, he “raised the bar” beyond what they ever could have imagined. Remember, his emphatic challenge was just after he had humbled himself and washed their dirty and disgusting feet. Jesus had to do this because the disciples were still arguing and debating over who would be the “greatest in the Kingdom.” He wanted them to see that if he could do such a humble act, so should they.
I have a pastor friend who I have been discipling with through a church revitalization program called “Small Church U.S.A.” In one of our sessions, he proceeded to share with me that he was entrenched in a conflict with a family in the church over a misunderstanding about their roles in leadership. My friend, Fred, found himself having to meet with this couple, deal with gossip from others, and sadly, hold off on a potential building program for the church. Instead of pushing forward for the Gospel, my friend found himself having to manage and massage the immaturity of disgruntled church members. Do you know who loses? The Gospel. That’s right...instead of impacting lives with truth, my friend and his church are having to manage church unity problems.
This was EXACTLY WHAT JESUS DID NOT WANT for his disciples. The pressure was about to hit a crescendo as Jesus was soon to be arrested, and he wanted his “soldiers for the Gospel” fully engaged by being fully unified. They needed to love each other sacrificially so they could lead others supernaturally. The Holy Spirit was about to come, and the spread of God’s powerful truth was just beginning.
It is so important that God’s church embraces this command of Jesus! How are you loving your fellow church member? We just finished a political season, and everyone had an opinion. In fact, there are probably plenty of things that could possibly divide us, yet there is one all-powerful thing that should unite us...the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Are you willing to raise the “quality of love” that you have been recently showing to your fellow disciples here at Emmanuel? Are you willing to look past politics, personalities, and problems in the past to make a difference for God. The world needs the Gospel. Don’t be a distraction!
When I think of my friend, Fred, I feel deeply sorry for him. He has a vision for a tremendous sports ministry in this church. He is community centered and relationally gifted. He should have been leading his church toward a building project that would advance the ministry for years to come. Instead, over the course of the last few months, he has had to put his visionary plans on hold to handle an unnecessary relational conflict in the church. It’s only now in the last couple of weeks that he has been able to move the church forward. What a warning for Emmanuel! Let’s never forget the importance of sacrificial love for one another.
True fellowship goes much deeper than a dinner with friends, a shopping trip with your girlfriend, or a ballgame with your buddy. No... fellowship is centered on the united purpose of the Gospel that causes people to love and serve one another as Jesus modelled for us in his amazing Word!
Let’s “raise the bar!” Our Gospel influence is depending on it!