LOVE, THE ESSENCE OF LIFE
Introduction:
What
is love? This three-lettered question has intrigued many since the beginning of
creation. Many songs and stories were written about it. Famous artists painted
what love is like. Many novels and books were written, movies made on the
romantic side of love.
Bible contains more scriptures on
love than faith or fear. How do you define this most charming and endearing
word, love? Children have the purest way to capture the essence of love. Here
is love as seen through the lens of children. "When my grandmother got
arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So, my
grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis
too. That's love."
"When someone loves you, the
way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their
mouth." "Love is when someone hurts you, and you get so mad, but you
don't yell at them because you know it would hurt their feelings."
"Love is like a little old
woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each
other so well." "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after
you left him alone all day." "You really shouldn't say 'I love you
unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People
forget." Last Sunday, we looked at
a six-word memoir of a Christian: Love, The Trade Mark of a Christian. Today,
we will look at Biblical love and how we can grow in it. We will talk about one
aspect of God's love. Let's get started.
The famous Beatles John Lennon sang,
"All you need is love. All you need is love. All you need is love; love,
Love is all you need." (My Grammarly said, oops, you typed repeatedly).
There was a reason why John Lennon sang the word love repeatedly, during the
height of the sexual revolution of the '60s. He wanted a slogan that would
stick with people. And it did.
Even after fifty-five years, the
slogan, "All you need is love, is catchy." One way I agree yes, All
you need is love," but not the romanticized, Hollywood version of love.
The purest form of love is what the Apostle Paul referred to in I Corinthian
thirteenth chapter.
I.
LOVE, THE ESSENCE OF LIFE
In Chapter 13, the Apostle Paul
mentioned love thirteen times. Why? Was he looking for a slogan that would
stick in the minds of his listeners? He repeated because love is the essence of
life. Love is like the glue that keeps things together and the oil that keeps
the lamps burning.
In the English language, we use love
relatively for everything. We say I love my wife, my coffee, my I-phone, my
dog, and in the same breath, we say I love God. The Greeks, however, used four
different words to capture the essence of love, one of them was Agape.
Agape is the unconditional God's
love that exists regardless of changing circumstances. In Chapter 13, every
time you read the word love, think about Agape love. It is not shown by doing
what the person loved desires, but by the one who loves deems as needed. John
3:16, For God so loved the world… that He gave…What did He give? Not what man
wanted but what man needed as God perceived his need. His Son to bring
forgiveness to man.
II.
GOD IS LOVE
People
may define love differently. What is the origin of love? How do we understand
what true love is? Love is action and not an abstraction. It starts with God
and ends in God. I John 4:7-10, "Dear friends, let us continue to love one
another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows
God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by
sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life
through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and
sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."
This
Scripture says it all. You and I have no clue what love is without knowing God.
We cannot love ourselves and others without first being loved by God. God's
love is selfless and directed towards others. So, when we say all, we need is
love, we are telling all we need is God. Our very existence, survival, and
eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ is all God's doing.
Because God is love, when we believe
in Him, we become God's children of love. We are called to dispense His love to
one another, those we don't like including our enemies. Let us explore how God
expresses His love towards people. I Cor 13: 4a, "Love is
Patient."
III.
LOVE IS PATIENT
Wilma and my girls, at times, tell
me I have lots of patience, especially when I work endlessly fixing a broken
vase or a shoe. I think that way, but I am not always as patient as I should
be. Ever since we were little, we have been told to "be patient."
Patience is a virtue.
We were told to wait until dinner to
have a cookie. Then, as a teenager, to be patient when we wanted to hang out
with our friends. But as we all know, waiting can be challenging, especially
when you are driving behind a slow driver like me. Even more so during this
Pandemic, People seem to be very impatient. I wonder what is contributing to
our impatience?
Let me define these familiar words:
Patience: "The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering
without getting angry or upset." Impatience: the tendency to be impatient;
irritability, restlessness, frustration, nervousness, agitation, anger, short
temper, rudeness, etc. Let me use these
two metaphors to explain how a patient and an impatient person operate. An
impatient person is like a pressure cooker that quickly builds up pressure and
releases it, startling people around them. On the other hand, a patient person
is like a Crock-Pot that slowly warms up and produces a steady heat, slowly
taking its sweet time to cook up a delicious meal, making the household happy.
How do you operate, like a Pressure Cooker or a Crock-Pot?
IV.
What does the Bible say about patience?
In the Bible, many words are used to describe
patience. God's patience is interchangeably used as "slow to
anger."Num14:18, The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love,
forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion." Longsuffering means patience.
Ephesians 4:1-2, "I, therefore,
the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which
you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing
with one another in love." (NKJV).
Paul encourages the Romans to
"Be Joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
Rom12:12, and Colossians to put on patience "Therefore, as God's chosen
people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness, and patience." Colossians 3:12. Why is it essential
we grow in patience?
According to the New Testament, when
we endure trials, patience purifies our faith (1 Pt 1.6-7). Patience fosters hope
(Rom 8.25; 15.4), leads to perfection (Jas 1.4). How can we cultivate and grow
in this essential aspect of God's love, patience?
V.
CULTIVATING PATIENCE
Cultivating patience starts with
embracing our brokenness of impatience and putting on patience as if it were a
garment.
Col 3:12, "Therefore,
as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." King Solomon
said, patience can persuade a prince, and soft speech can break bones (Prov
25:15). Patience is better than pride (Ecclesiastes 7:8). As Paul noted,
patience demonstrates love.
We cannot grow in patience unless
the Holy Spirit bears that fruit in us. Gal 5:22, But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of
fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control."
Here are some practical tips for cultivating patience. First,
don't be in a hurry to get to places. In your travel planning, calculate
delays, traffic jams. Leave early and reach your destination safely. Second,
where possible, go for long walks, which will undoubtedly slow you down. It
does good to your body and soul. Third, delayed gratification. Remember your
mom's advice of waiting till dinner for a cookie. Where possible, avoid fast
foods.
Learn a new hobby, make home-cooked meals. Wilma and I
enjoy home-cooked meals. Ask Tom how to make simple healthy meals. I guarantee
that homemade cooking is more nutritious, tastes better, and goes easy on your
pocket.
I raised a question earlier as to what is contributing to
our impatience. One of the factors is our addiction to devices such as iPhones,
TV, Video games, etc. When someone crosses our path while we are on them, we
get irritable, angry, and snap back.
Another way to cultivate patience is to disconnect from
our devices, connect with people, and enjoy pure human-to-human connections.
Parents of young children, I encourage you to carve out a time during the week
when you put away devices and slow down on the couch reading books and doing a
puzzle. If you are tempted to snap at someone, take a few deep breaths and hold
your peace. These are a few ways you can develop patience. In closing:
God is love, and love is patient. Let me pray the Apostle
Paul's prayer, Colossians 1:9-11 “So we have not stopped praying for you since
we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will
and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.
10 Then, the way you live will always honor and please
the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while,
you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you
will be strengthened with all his glorious power, so you will have all the
endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy..” Amen!
