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Our Core Values
Who We Are And Why We Do What We Do
A Love For People—Loving Others As Jesus
Loves Them
John 13:34-35
Introduction: The Indispensible Ingredient
Sociologists have conducted studies to determine how important love is in
the development of children. Workers in an orphanage were instructed to simply
perform the duties to take care of one group of children but with another group
of children they were also told to spend time holding them and talking with
them for a few minutes each day. The children who were held were much more
emotionally and physically healthy. The researchers concluded that, for the
good of the children, more than routine care is needed.
Just as this is true in the physical and emotional maturation of
children, love is also the indispensable ingredient in the growth and
development of Christians. Love is emphasized by the Bible.
·
Love heads the list of the
Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) ·
Love is celebrated as more
important than faith and hope (1 Corinthians 13:13) ·
Love for other Christians
assures us we have passed from spiritual death to spiritual life (1 John 3:14)
Studies conducted by those who could be called church sociologists support
the premise that love is the indispensable ingredient for the church. With all
the factors that people identify for choosing and remaining in a church, at the
head of the list is feeling accepted by others at the church. In a world that
often seems increasingly cold and distant, people are looking for others who make
them feel like they are accepted and belong. Feeling accepted can also be
called love. This factor can be directly linked to whether or not a church is
growing or declining.
A survey of over 8,500 people discovered that a
church’s Love Care Quotient is a clear predictor of what is happening in a
church. Look at three questions identified as vital indicators.
1st Question: On a scale of 1-10, how loved
do you feel by other church members?
The
average response in growing churches was 7.1 while declining churches averaged
5.9.
2nd Question: On a scale of 1-10, how loving
have you been to other church members?
In
growing churches the average was 7.8 while declining churches averaged 6.7.
3rd Question: On a scale of 1-10, how loving
have you been to church visitors?
Growing
churches averaged 7.3 with declining churches averaging 5.8.
Love for one another is the indispensable ingredient that attracts
people to Jesus Christ. God wants us to love others as Jesus
loves them. In His final instructions for His disciples before the Crucifixion
Jesus identified love as the distinguishing mark of the Christian. During the
Passover meal just before He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and
abandoned by all of His disciples Jesus told them:
So now I am giving you a new commandment:
Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love
each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world
that you are my disciples.
John 13:34-35 NLT
What is it that makes this the indispensable ingredient? Let’s consider three factors.
1st Factor: Love For One Another Was Commanded By The Lord
(v. 34a)
How Is This Command New?
To determine how the command is new we need first
to look at the old.
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge
against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:18 NIV
This verse is quoted several times in the New
Testament.
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the
Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is
the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-39 NLT
For the commandments say, “You must
not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not
covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one
commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so
love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. Romans 13:9-10 NLT
For the whole law can be summed up in
this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians
5:14 NLT
Yes indeed, it is good when you obey
the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor
as yourself.” James 5:8 NLT
The old law places consistent emphasis on loving your neighbor.
With Jesus’ instruction the command is made new.
The prior emphasis was on loving our neighbor. It was a physical relationship
with another person. Christ now focuses
on the priority of the spiritual relationship with other believers. This
was to be expressed as Jesus had done it. It was new because Jesus had shown
them a new way of living.
What Then Does The Command Mean?
Jesus tells His disciples that love is never
solely a function of feeling. Some people never feel like loving and some
people never feel loved. Instead we see that:
·
Love is an active choice where we make up our minds to love others because we know Jesus certainly
loves them. ·
Love is an ongoing choice. This is not sporadic, but continuous. This kind of loves lets people
know they are wanted, accepted and missed when they are absent. ·
Love is an unconditional choice. God places people in the body and He expects them to be loved.
Lucy and Snoopy were talking
together in one of Charles Schultz’s Peanuts comic strips. Lucy says to Snoopy,
“There are times when you really bug me! I must admit, however, there are times
when I feel like giving you a hug.” In his own nonchalant way Snoopy replies,
“That’s the way I am, Lucy, huggable and buggable!”
We are all huggable and buggable. No matter how
we are, Jesus tells us to love one another. To those who are brothers and
sisters in Christ we make this commitment: God
loves you and so do I!
2nd Factor: Love For One Another Was Modeled By The Lord
(v. 34b)
Jesus tells us to love one another. So the
disciples couldn’t say He wasn’t clear Jesus goes on to say that they are to
love each other just as He loved them.
Why Is Modeling This Love So Significant?
Two statements—one false and one true—answer
this question.
False: Do As I Say; Not As I Do
This thought falls completely flat. If it’s
important you will do more than talk about it. Jesus never just said words. He
always lived out what He taught.
True: Caught; Not Taught
Jesus lived out what He taught because He knew
the lessons that change lives are caught better than they are taught. Think
about it: Jesus lived what He taught and
He died what He taught. Jesus modeled the love He wants us to express to
others with His life and His death.
How Did Jesus Model This Love?
Jesus Loved His Disciples Selflessly
When the disciples gathered in the Upper Room to
celebrate Passover they soon realized there was no servant who would wash their
feet. I see them looking at each other wondering who is going to take care of
this necessary custom. That’s when they started playing the game. What game?
They were playing the game of determining who was at the bottom of the list
because the least important one would end up washing the feet of the other
disciples.
It was a New Testament game of Survivor. Who was
the one disciple who really needed to worry if he belonged? I’m sure Peter,
James and John looked at each other and knew they were safe. They were members
of the Inner Circle! As the disciples are sizing one another up, Jesus takes
off His robe, picks up the basin of water and the towel and starts washing
their feet.
This bothered Peter. It bothered him so much he
told Jesus that his feet were not going to be washed. Peter knew that if he were
the head of the group that he would never be caught washing feet. As Jesus bows
before Peter I see Him looking up into his eyes to say, “Peter, unless I wash
you, you have no part of me” (John 13:8). With that Peter insists that Jesus
also wash his hands and head.
Jesus demonstrated to His disciples that He had:
·
Nothing To Prove
·
Nothing To Lose
·
Nothing To Hide
He loved them selflessly.
Jesus Loved His Disciples Sacrificially
That’s the message of the Cross. He knew the
cost. He paid the cost!
The British statesmen and
financier Cecil Rhodes, whose fortune was used to endow the Rhodes
Scholarships, was a stickler for correct dress—but not at the expense of
someone else’s feelings. A young man invited to dine with Rhodes arrived by
train and had to go directly to Rhodes’ home in his travel-stained clothes. Once
there he was appalled to find the other guests already assembled and wearing
full evening dress. After what seemed a long time Rhodes appeared in a shabby
old blue suit. Later the young man learned that his host had been dressed in
evening clothes, but put on the old suit when he heard of his young guest’s
dilemma.
Jesus loved His disciples selflessly,
sacrificially and…
Jesus Loved His Disciples
Understandingly
Jesus lived with them every day. He knew their
weaknesses. He refereed their bickering. Through it all He loved them—even when
they exasperated Him.
Jesus Loved His Disciples Honestly
Love meets people where they are and deals with
them fairly and honestly.
General Robert E. Lee was asked
what he thought of a fellow officer in the Confederate Army who had made some
very derogatory remarks about him. Lee rated him as being very satisfactory.
The person who asked the question was perplexed. “General, I guess you don’t
know what he’s been saying about you.” Lee answered, “I know, but I was asked
my opinion of him; not his opinion of me.”
That’s quite a picture of love!
Jesus Loved His Disciples Honestly By Confronting Them
During the Storm
The disciples were starting to understand what
Jesus could do and just who He was. Then, when the storm threatens to swamp
their boat, the disciples accuse Him of not caring. Jesus calms the storm and
then asks, “Why
are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).
About The Pharisee’s
Teaching
Jesus warned the disciples about the dangers
posed by the Pharisees and Herod. He compared their teaching to yeast that
would damage the entire loaf. Because they had brought only one loaf of bread
with them in the boat, they thought He was correcting them about having no
bread.
Jesus knew what they were saying, so
he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or
understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? ‘You have
eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything
at all? Mark
8:17-18 NLT
He was preparing them.
With The Demon Possessed
Boy
While Jesus was on the mountain when the
transfiguration took place, a father brought a demon-possessed boy to the
disciples, but they couldn’t help. Upon returning Jesus assessed the situation.
Jesus said to them, “You faithless people!
How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you?
Bring the boy to me.” Mark 9:19 NLT
Concerning Peter’s Denial
When Peter claimed he would follow Jesus and
even lay down his life, Jesus warned him of his impending denial.
Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you
the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning,
you will deny three times that you even know me.”
John
13:38 NLT
It couldn’t have been easy to tell Peter the
truth, but Jesus did it because He loved Peter.
Jesus Loved His Disciples Honestly By Comforting Them
Jesus confronted the disciples and he also
comforted them. This was never more clearly seen than as He taught them about His approaching death.
Don’t let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s
home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a
place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you
will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going. John
14:1-4 NLT
Jesus Loved His Disciples Forgivingly
Two disciples illustrate this point. Thomas doubted
the reality of Resurrection but Jesus met him and Thomas’ faith was renewed
(John 20:24-29). Peter denied Jesus and wondered if he could ever be
forgiven. Jesus met Peter along the shore and lovingly forgave Peter, restored
him and commissioned him to ministry.
The disciple who is identified as the one loved
by Jesus provides the best summary of how Jesus modeled love.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus
Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down
our lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16 NIV
3rd Factor: Love For One Another Proves Our Relationship To
The Lord (v. 35)
Why Is This Love Chosen As The Proof Of Discipleship?
It Is Contrary To Our Nature
This love is chosen because it is so contrary to
our basic nature that drives to do something. Notice the items that aren’t
selected to show that we are disciples of Jesus.
·
Knowledge
·
Doctrine
·
Prayer
·
Bible Study
·
Verses Memorized
·
People Won To Christ
These fit our performance mentality much better.
It Is The Reflection Of God’s Nature
The item identified is selfless, sacrificial,
understanding, honest, and forgiving love. Loving others with that kind of love
reflects our new nature as a follower of Jesus. The Bible teaches us that God
is love (1 John 4:8). God loves us. We love God. We love people.
Dear friends, we should love each
other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God's child
and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his one and only Son into the
world so that we could have life through him. This is what real love is: It is
not our love for God; it is God's love for us. He sent his Son to die in our
place to take away our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us that much we also
should love each other. 1 John 4:7-11 NCV
Love is the mark of a Christian. Francis
Schaeffer wrote a tiny book about the identifying mark of love. Listen to his
point of challenge to us.
In the midst of the world, in the
midst of our present dying culture, Jesus is giving a right to the world. Upon
his authority he gives the world the right to judge whether you and I are
born-again Christians on the basis of our observable love toward all
Christians.
That’s pretty frightening. Jesus
turns to the world and says, “I’ve something to say to you. On the basis of my
authority, I give you a right; you may judge whether or not an individual is a
Christian on the basis of the love he shows to all Christians” In other words,
if people come up to us and cast in our teeth the judgment that we are not
Christians because we have not shown love toward other Christians, we must
understand that they are only exercising a prerogative which Jesus gave them.
And we must not get angry. If
people say, “You don’t love other Christians,” we must go home, get down on our
knees and ask God whether or not they are right. And if they are, then they
have a right to have said what they said.
Schaeffer, The Mark of The
Christian, p. 13
How Can We Demonstrate Love For One Another?
By Abandoning Our Rights
Love refuses to insist on rights. In fact, it is
willing to sacrifice what people think are rights for others. Paul is our
illustration here.
This is my defense to those who sit in
judgment on me. Don't we have the
right to food and drink? Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the
other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas? 1 Corinthians 9:3-5 NIV
If we have sown spiritual seed among
you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
If others have this right of support from you,
shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather
than hinder the gospel of Christ. 1 Corinthians 9:11-12 NIV
By Accepting Responsibility
But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing
this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would
rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. Yet
when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled
to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach
voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply
discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward?
Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free
of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it. 1 Corinthians
9:15-18 NIV
It’s one thing to yield your rights; it’s
another thing to pick up your responsibilities. Jesus picked up the basin to wash the feet of the disciples. He made it
His responsibility to care for His disciples. The word basin occurs only
twice in the New Testament and both uses are in the same 24 hour period. There
was another person who picked up a basin. His name was Pilate. With Jesus
beside him and the belligerent crowd in front of him Pilate took a basin, filled it with water and washed his hands to
absolve himself of any responsibility. Jesus went beyond His rank and added
the further responsibility of servant. Pilate insisted on protecting his
rank—and his skin—by avoiding any and all responsibility. Love is never genuine
until we lay aside our rights and accept responsibility.
By Adding The Role of Servant
For the good of people Paul was willing to do
whatever was needed.
Though I am free and belong to no man,
I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 1 Corinthians 9:19 NIV
The highest authority was not the law. The
highest authority was love.
By Adjusting To People’s Needs
This is the test of servanthood and genuine
love. Am I willing to adjust and make changes so I can love and others and meet
their needs?
To the Jews I became
like a Jew, to win the Jews. To
those under the law I became like one under the law
(though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those
under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the
law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's
law), so as to win those not having the law. To
the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become
all things to all men so that by all possible means I might
save some.
1 Corinthians 9:20-22 NIV
(Note the underlined phrases) Paul adjusted his
methods based on need, culture, priorities, interests, and concerns. He was
willing to do anything that God would allow to reach people.
That’s exactly what Jesus did. He left heaven to
come to earth. Talk about radical
adjustments. The creator of the heaven and earth became a baby. The Son of
God became the Son of Man so that we who are sons of men could become sons of
God. That’s why we who are Christians should be willing to inconvenience
ourselves and give up our likes and dislikes in order to show God’s love to
others.
By Anticipating Our Reward
We’re not done yet.
I do all this for the sake of the gospel,
that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in
a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run
in such a way as to get the prize. 1
Corinthians 9:23-24 NIV
Once in a while I meet people who wonder if they
should even talk about rewards. You really ought to. The reward is promised and
if we love other Christians we should want them to receive their reward.
Conclusion: Mother’s Day
There isn’t a better day to focus on the core
value of loving others as Jesus does than Mother’s Day. Is there any better
model of what it means to truly love another person on a day-to-basis through
all the stuff of life than Mother’s Day? If your mother is still alive make her
day special by thanking her for showing you the love of Jesus.
I close with this. Max Lucado was asked to illustrate
the love taught by Jesus. He writes,
The best example of love that I
can think of occurred at the death of my own father. I remember a lady who was
a distant relative of our family. She drove six hours to get to the funeral.
She walked in the house and went immediately into the kitchen and began washing
dishes. I didn’t even know she was there. She straightened up everything and
helped prepare for the meal. She came to the funeral. After the funeral, she
came back and did the dishes again, got in her car and went home. As far as I
know, she never said a word. She never introduced herself. But when I looked
around, I realized that love had been in our house.”
Gene Getz, The Walk, p. 74
Who will you love by serving them? Go and be the
love of God in your world.
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