Love Is Final

Love is the most wonderful word ever spoken.  The word conjures up pictures of good times – a hug from a parent, a first love (crush), a wedding day, etc.  The word is used in almost every song and the world wishes we could all learn to love each other; for if we could, we would have no more war or oppression of those who are weaker.  Yet love in all its usage is probably the most misunderstood term out there because the definition has not been defined in light of the One who is love.

Over this series, we have been trying to grasp hold of what the real definition of love looks and acts like.  And we have come up with 3 Big Ideas thus far that will lead us in our thinking – 3 Big Ideas that will guide us in our response to the situations we are placed in everyday of our lives. 

The first idea was that love must encompass what we do, which really puts our perspective onto others and onto the glorification of God.  Love is not about me, but rather what’s best for the other person.  Doing great, monumental things for mankind so that I might be praised means nothing.  God says do all that you do so that through you the people of this world will give praise to God in Heaven.  Let it be said of you that you do what you do because you love.

The second idea was that love cannot involve hate.  We cannot say we love God, whom we cannot see, if we hate our brother, whom we can see.  Will feelings of anger and distaste creep into our thoughts from time to time, especially when someone hurts us?  Sure thing!  But, love says we don’t hold onto these thoughts.  Love says as Jesus said while being hung on the cross by His enemies, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”

The third idea was that love is an unconditional action.  Love is not mere words for we know how words mean nothing unless they’re backed by some action.  Jesus could have spoken of love all the time, but love didn’t take on its true meaning until he willingly allowed himself to be killed (sacrificed) on our behalf so that our relationship with God could be restored.  Love requires action on our part without expecting anything in return.  That’s tough, yet that’s what true love looks like. 

Now before we get into the final Big Idea on love that will conclude this series, let’s revisit the scripture which shows us the picture of God and His love that He so wants to see in us as well.

Read 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13

The fourth and final Big Idea on love is this:  Love never fails.

You know, eventually faith and hope will no longer be needed.  Why? Because this world will eventually be God’s once again, and will be made perfect.

The faith and hope we have now won’t be needed because faith believes in something that can’t be seen and hope gives us the strength and courage to believe in something yet to come.

There will be a day where all will see God and his children will no longer have to have faith that He is, nor hope any longer for His return.  Faith and hope will become reality.

Love never fails.  It’s simply because love has always been, and always will be.  It simply will never fail because love is God.

Many people have shared with Caroline and I that Jayden is a pure expression of God’s love.

And though Jayden is human and has a will of her own – and believe me, we’ve seen a lot more of it lately in her telling us what she wants – I have to agree with them.  In my unbiased opinion, even though she’s not perfect, she’s the closest thing I’ve seen to what love is all about.  And so, even though I’m her dad, there’s a lot that I need to learn from her.

I think she displays and understands love in its truest form – it comes natural to her.  When Caroline and I let ourselves, when we let our “self” get in the way of exemplifying true love to others, we don’t have to look far to see what we should be doing.

Jayden thinks of others.

She knows no strangers.  She says “Hi” to everyone as they pass by whether they acknowledge her or not.  For those who take time to hold her, she tenderly hugs and kisses on them as if they were the most dearest and important person in this world.  She gets hurt by others, but quickly forgets the pain.  She has hurt others, but makes it all right.  When she’s been disciplined for doing something wrong and the sobbing begins, the only thing that will take her out of this state, is to give her the opportunity to say she’s sorry.  She says it in words along with a hug and a kiss.  And once she does, life immediately returns back to where it was before she was disciplined.  In Jayden, there is no envy, boasting, or pride.  She’s not self-seeking or rude.  She sees people for who they are, not for who they are not.  She loves because she knows how to love – and it’s not with words, but with her actions.

Understanding love, true love, is the key component to happiness, peace, and joy.  This kind of love when lived out makes our relationships with others, such as our spouses, our friends, our employers, etc., stronger and healthier.  And who doesn’t want this?  I know I do.

Jesus showed us this perfect love in his sacrifice.  The Apostle Paul shows us the true picture of what God’s character looks like in our God-inspired text from the Bible.  And today, we can exemplify this true love in our own lives by keeping these 4 Big Ideas in mind:

• Love must encompass what you do. 
• It cannot involve hate. 
• It is an unconditional action.
• And, most importantly, it never fails.

Thank you God for your love.

Understanding Love - Love is Unconditional

 

The Cleaning Woman

There was a little old cleaning woman that went to the local church. When the invitation was given at the end of the service, she went forward wanting to become a member. The pastor listened as she told him how she had accepted Jesus and wanted to be baptized and become a member of the church.

The pastor thought to himself, "oh my, she is so unkempt, even smells a little, and her fingernails are not clean. She picks up garbage, cleans toilets - what would the members think of her." He told her that she needed to go home and pray about it and then decide.

The following week, here she came again. She told the pastor that she had prayed about it and still wanted to be baptized. "I have passed this church for so long. It is so beautiful, and I truly want to become a member."

Again the pastor told her to go home and pray some more. A few weeks later while out eating at the restaurant, the pastor saw the little old lady. He did not want her to think that he was ignoring her so he approached her and said, "I have not seen you for a while. Is everything all right?"

"Oh, yes," she said. "I talked with Jesus, and he told me not to worry about becoming a member of your church."

"He did?" said the pastor.

"Oh, yes" she replied. "He said even He hasn't been able to get into your church yet, and He's been trying for years."

I share this joke with you to remind you to laugh, but more importantly, to remind you that Church is not about people; it’s about Jesus trying to live in the people who make up the church.   

The last time I blogged, I wrote on understanding love; a part of a sermon series I'm presently doing.   

In the first blog, we discovered that if love is as our culture teaches, we are nothing more than romantic fanatics seeking pleasure for ourselves.  But, if we love as God teaches us to love then our love becomes a commitment to others.

In review, we focused on two Big Ideas.   

The first one being that love must encompass what you do.   We found out from Paul in our reading from 1 Corinthians that if you’re doing great things for your own self-interest and glorification, God sees it and counts it as nothing.  Love must encompass what we do, big or little, and be done with the other person in mind; not what’s in it for me.     

The second one is that love cannot involve hate.    The apostle John shared with us from 1 John 4: 20 that “If anyone says, ‘I love God’, yet hates his brother, he is liar.  For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”   Hate truly contradicts who God is; fore God first loved us, but had every reason to hate us for turning our back on Him through our sin.  Love cannot involve hate because if it does, it’s a lie.

So since love must encompass what we do and it cannot involve hate, what characteristics of true love is God looking to see in us?

Well, picking up with verse 4 in 1 Corinthians 13, we see what God wants to see in us, as well as what He doesn’t want to see.

Notice the characteristics of love.    It’s patient, it’s kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, and it is not proud.    Now remember, love doesn’t point fingers at others because Jesus also said, “Remove the log from your own eye before trying to remove the speck from your brother’s.”  In other words, it’s pretty hard to point out and fix the faults of others when we have large, enormous faults of our own that we don’t want to admit to.    But going on, love is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs.    Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.   

The understanding of love that Paul has given us is ideal.  It’s perfect.   Yet, have you and I ever failed to live up to this ideal at some point in our lives?  You bet ya!  We’re not God, we’re sinners.     But don’t let that be your excuse for not striving for it.  God is shaping and molding us while we’re on this earth to become more and more like this ideal – more and more like Him.  The fruition of this undertaking will not be made complete until God’s children return home to their father’s house. 

So our 3^rd Big Idea is this:  Love is an unconditional action.

Put love into action and we see that love requires us to think before we react, it requires us to stop and hear before we go, and it requires us to place others in a place of honor, even our enemies, without expecting anything in return.  Love is action.

Someone once said:  A bell is not a bell until you ring it.  A song is not a song until you sing it.  And love in your heart is not love until you give it away.

Frederick W. Faber said, “Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning.”

Love is an unconditional action shown through living out the characteristics of true love.   That’s what God showed us in his son Jesus.    So go out and do the same, but don’t desire anything in return.

Love isn’t love when it’s done for your benefit.  No love is love when you give it away.

Understanding Love - True Love

Ever had a time in life where you thought you were in love, but really found out you were not?   What told you that the feelings you were having were not truly feelings of love?  Did this experience make you question what love truly looked like?  Were you hurt?  Did you want to give up on love?

I think I can fairly say that many of us have had a bad experience with love at one time or another.  But should our experiences determine what love really is?  Should our experiences in this world with love really affect what love truly looks like?

Before I delve into this question, I want to share with you a story of a young man named Adrian.   Adrian, was a young scrapping farm boy who lives in the Midwest.   If you noticed I used past and present verb tenses within the same statement.  The purpose being is that Adrian still lives in the Midwest, but not as the boy he once was. 
You see, it was during a varsity football game where Adrian was hurt.  He suffered severe brain damage which left him in a helpless state, no longer being able to care for himself. 

Here was a boy who once spoke clearly, but could now only grunt and smile.  Here was a boy who once fed himself, but could now only be fed by someone else.  Here was a boy who once drove farm equipment to assist with farm duties, but could now only have someone push him in his wheelchair.  Here was a boy who went from being a vibrant, varsity athlete to a boy who needed “round the clock” care in order to survive.

I tell you this story not to focus on the accident and the state of Adrian.   I tell you this story to show what love truly looks like.   I tell you this story because it is through Adrian’s family that we will see what God’s love truly looks like.

You see, it took a freak football accident to help Adrian’s family realize what God’s love is really like.   How did this accident bring them to this realization?  It showed them what love truly looks like because now they had to serve Adrian in every capacity, and all he could offer in return was a bright smile or some form of acknowledgement. 

What they saw was that the love they were showing Adrian was truly unconditional.  They were showing Adrian the same kind of love God showed them.  They were showing Adrian the same kind of love God shows us.  And by loving their son, their brother, unconditionally, it brought them closer together than they had ever been before.

I know it doesn’t make much sense that loving someone without expecting anything in return would bring Adrian's family closer together, but that’s exactly what it did.

You know, we’re told by many an expert what love truly is, yet it falls way short of the true love that God wants His children to understand and live out.  So to truly understand this love – the love of God – we have to follow as Paul states “the most excellent way.”  You know, you can’t get any higher, any bigger, any better than “most excellent.”   And Paul wrapped up the most excellent way, the understanding of true love, into 13 verses (1 Corinthians 13: 1-13).

In this reading are a series of characteristics/principles that God wants to be evident in a person’s life, especially a follower of Jesus. 

Paul opened up 1 Corinthians by saying, and this is my paraphrase to verses 1-3, “I don’t care Christians of Corinth what great things you do.  They could be the most magnificent things in this world – you could prophesy of things in the future, you could speak in tongues other than your own so that men and angels could understand, you could use your powers to heal and to move mountains, you could give generously of yourself and of your money to others – but if they are not done in love, they mean nothing.”

In simple terms, love must encompass what you do or it means nothing.

How am I supposed to let love encompass everything I do?  What does this actually look like?  

Here are some examples:

·        It looks like when you’re very ill in bed and someone takes care of your every need so that you can rest and get better.

·        It looks like when you’re standing in line at the grocery store and someone with more items allows you to go first. 

·        It looks like when you give your boss an idea that will help the company and you’re not worried if you will get the credit and recognition for the idea.

What God was saying through Paul is this, if you’re doing great things for your own self-interest and the glory you will receive, God sees it and counts it as zero – nadda – nothing. 

·        Love must encompass what you do. 

·        It must be done with the other person in mind.

·        In other words, how will it benefit the other person, not me?

The second principle comes from 1 John 4: 20.  John, the beloved apostle, said it this way, “If anyone says, ‘I love God’, yet hates his brother, he is a liar.  For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

It can’t get any clearer than that.  John shared with us that hate, disdain for another, detesting someone; cannot be in our vocabulary.  It’s not saying everyone will be our friend, but even then Jesus said, “Love your enemies.”

Now why would John make such a point?  Because hate truly contradicts who God is – fore God first loved us, but had every reason to hate us for turning our back on Him through our sin.

So understand this:  Love cannot involve hate.  If it does, it’s a lie.

Now when it comes to love, we often have our own ideas.  And our ideas often are derived from sources that are common to our everyday experiences.  But keep in mind: 

·        Love is not what the TV teaches. 

·        Love is not what music lyrics teach. 

·        They both tell us that love is romantic – only romantic. 

·        They both tell us that love is meeting someone you like, and when you’re ready, give yourself physically – just make sure you’re protected. 

·        They both tell us that love is doing what is best for you. 

·        They both tell us that love isn’t love until you’ve found the person who is your soul mate.

It’s no wonder that this definition of love has led to many broken hearts, unplanned pregnancies, STD’s, adulterous relationships, etc. in our culture.  It’s no wonder we don’t know what love truly is or looks like.

But if we want what God truly desires in love, we’ll look to His word - His wisdom.      And as we focused our attention on two big ideas from His word, we see that God’s intent for love is not romanticism, but rather a focus on committing ourselves to others.

  

Lost

You ever lost something - something of value?  What did it cause you to do?  panic, fret, and worry?  search frantically?  give up? etc.

Losing something is never fun.  You've got to retrace your steps.  You've got to wrack your brain to try and recall where you may have lost the item.  In other words, it's an extremely difficult undertaking that can often be strenuous - both mentally and physically draining.

Jesus spoke of a woman who lost a coin (Luke 15: 8-10), who searched frantically and carefully in trying to find it.  She literally had no external light in her home due to the way homes were built in Jesus' day, so she had to light a lamp and literally sweep the entire house hoping the coin would appear.  And even though coins take on small value for us in this culture, I clearly understand why she would go to such degrees in finding this coin.  It had extreme value! 

There a couple reasons for its value that we don't often look at when reading this parable:  first, the coin, the drachma, was worth approximately a day's wage (imagine if you lost $100 today and you knew you needed it to pay the electric bill this month), and the second, she was a woman (husbands and sons were the source of income and care for women in those days).  Though Jesus does not make it clear whether this woman was married or widowed, you get the sense she is under extreme pressure to find this coin.  She better find it for fear of a husband's disappointment that a hard-earned day's wage was now gone, or she better find it for fear that this lost coin's value could never be earned again since she, a widowed woman, could never make such a wage in the marketplace. In either case, we know the importance of this coin because Jesus does tell us that when it is found, she calls together her friends and neighbors to celebrate the occasion.

I just recently lost my wallet.  And though a day's wage wasn't in it, I was still sick to my stomach knowing that my whole identity was wrapped up in that little black billfold I carried in my pocket on a daily basis.  And so you begin to worry that someone has found it - that someone might use the information in it to purchase items, or worse yet, steal your identity. 

So I prayed and began to search the cars, the house from top to bottom - every nook and cranny, even questioning my daughter if she had placed it somewhere (she's taken things before and made them her own).  Still no wallet.  And as I'm searching diligently for about a week, I'm reminded of the story above that Jesus taught when questioned by the Pharisees and the teachers of the law of why He was hanging out with tax collectors and sinners. 

My search for my lost wallet reminded me that Jesus' true desire is to find those who are lost - to find those who need to be restored into a relationship with God through the Son.  My search helped me to recall that God celebrates when a lost soul is found, and that He diligently seeks to find those who are lost.  He's not a God of those who think they are righteous, but rather a God of those who come to their senses and realize they need to be found.

My wallet is still lost.  I thank God no one at this point has tried to use my information illegally.  I still don't know if it was lost publicly and found, but never returned.  I still don't know if it's discretely hidden in and around my home.  I still don't know if it was stolen from my vehicle as I picked up my son from all star baseball practice.  What I do know is this, I tried my best in finding it.

But, I've moved on from trying to find it.  The credit cards have been cancelled.  A new driver's license is in the mix.  I still hope to find it - that it would miraculously appear - but I'm not going out of my way to search for it any longer.

The good news though is that Jesus never quits the search.  He'll continue to search for lost souls until the Father in Heaven says it's time for Him to return for His bride.  I only wish I had that resolve.  But really, what's a wallet in light of eternity?  You're right.  Nothing!

So thank you Jesus for making me realize what's important in this life.   Thank you Jesus for helping me to understand your purpose clearer - to bring lost souls into a saving relationship with you.  Thank you Jesus for allowing me to lose my wallet so that I might always be reminded of your passion for the lost.

What's happening!

If you've been wondering how LifeHouse Hedgesville is doing, you've come to the right spot.  After worshipping together for a month in the Cardwell home, we've found God's favor is drawing us closer to one another and the cause that is before us.  Without love and unity, we are nothing.  With love and unity, we are everything that God wants us to be, and we will truly see His blessing on us.

"No greater love than this, than a man (or woman) lay down his life for his friends."  Though Jesus was referring to the act of sacrifice he was about to make for the salvation of mankind, we at LHH have truly become great friends and great friends with Jesus.  I know that we have grown in love with one another and that we are modeling our vision - Loving and Serving to Know Christ. 

We have come to realize that faith is nothing without action.  Mere lip service of faith in Jesus cannot be, as we have focused our efforts in studying and understanding the book of James.  We realize that our faith must be lived out and that we must be willing to go where Jesus calls us to go.  We must also be willing to love and serve all, even those the world sees as outcasts.  God is teaching us patience and endurance.  He is teaching us to be faithful.

This coming weekend, we'll be making preparations for our first public preview service on July 24.  We'll be going to the elementary school trying to piece together the vision - the picture - of what our church service will look like.  It's exciting, but at times, overwhelming, when trying to live out the call of God.  We're just thankful that God has promised to never leave us or forsake us.

An example of this is in our search for a worship leader.  After having tried to recruit some to lead us in worship and having no success, we decided that this was no longer our problem, but God's.  So we gave it up to Him completely, not worrying about who would lead us, trusting that He would provide the person for His work.  And God did just that.  He began working on the hearts of the Githins' family.  The story in itself is amazing - to hear of how God was working behind the scenes.  And, I'm not the person to tell it - that belongs to Thom and Sabrina.  But God is good, and we are so blessed to have Thom and Sabrina who have heard God's voice.  And, not only did they hear His voice, they took the step of faith to act on it.  Believe me, they're good now.  Can't wait to see how good they'll become with time as God develops their talent.

Can we say that everything has gone perfectly and smoothly?  I would be lying by saying yes.  But we understand that faith involves struggle, and through struggle, we are refined and made more like the Savior we love and serve. 

This journey, called faith, is most exciting.  It's also a war because Satan wants nothing more than to see us give up and throw in the towel when things get tough.  But we understand we serve a God who is greater, and deserves our following no matter how strenous the circumstances may be.

So, what's happening with LHH?  Thanks for asking.  We're living faithfully for Christ.  We're bringing His love to the "little worlds" we've been placed in.  We're loving and serving making us more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We're being the church. 

Humankind: Born righteous? or evil?

As we've been studying the book of James over the past couple months, I'm reminded that there's much to work on in my faith.  I'm reminded that my heart tends to gravitate toward those things that go against the nature of God - tends to gravitate toward what is instinctively inside of me.

Which leads to the question:  Are we born righteous (good) and some evil comes out from time to time?  Or, another way to ask this question is:  Are we born evil and righteousness is seen from time to time?

From my understanding of what God has done for me, I understand that I am a person whose natural inclination is to curse, not bless; to fight, not seek peace; to satisfy my desires, not place others above myself.  Why do my eyes gravitate to the beauty of other women when my wife is just as beautiful and more loving?  Why do I want to rush to be first in line at the supermarket with a cartload of groceries when the person behind me has two items?  Why do I put the blame on someone else for the mishap when I was clearly the one at fault?   I could keep going on, but I think the point is made. 

Humankind is not born righteous.  We can only be made righteous through the repentance of our sins and misdeeds in the name of Christ's blood.  My natural tendencies are to do what is good for me.  God's tendencies, that He wants to see lived out in me, is to do good for others.

James 3 makes it very clear that man's (all humankind) nature seeks to devour and curse his neighbor, but out of the same person comes praises to God.  James says this can't be.  He says a grapevine bears grapes; a fig tree bears figs; a salt spring produces salt water.  But the problem is when humans believe they are basically good, they fail to realize that the only way they can be made good (righteous) is through Christ alone.  And once Christ's nature enters a person, there is a battle that must be fought daily between the natures.  Who will win out -  the sin nature we're born with, or the Spirit nature we're born again with? 

The battle between good and evil exists within all of us.  We start evil - we start selfish.  We can end up good by taking on the nature of the very Christ who saves us.  James says in chapter 3, verse 17 - "But the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere."  James makes it very clear that these attributes come from Heaven, not within man.  And the only way these attributes can become part of us is to ask Jesus to make them part of who we are.  And the only way these attributes take over and win the battle for the nature in our lives is to nurture and practice them daily.  

Humankind:  Born righteous? or evil?  Well fortunately, God makes the path to righteousness for us through His Son Jesus Christ.  The evil nature within all of us doesn't have to win out.  It only does when we give it permission to do so.  So let's fight for the nature God desires in all of us - "the wisdom that comes from Heaven....."

1st Outreach of LHCH

Wow!  What a day!  Everything from having my 1985 Ford F150 overheat on the way to the Hedgesville Elementary PTO Carnival at 7:50 AM to spending the evening in a misty cold climate watching my two sons play a double header in baseball, in which they won both.  My day has been full, yet so fulfilling, even with all the bad stuff that happened.

Today, was the first of many to come of what LifeHouse Hedgesville is all about.  And it was so exciting to see Christ's servants come out to serve a community in which there are no ties other than sharing the love of Jesus Christ. 

For me, church is expressed in many forms, and today we did church.  We worshipped God, not with song or preaching, but rather by honoring Him through our willingness to reach out to the community God has called us to minister to.  It was so exciting to interact with children and their parents.  What a great turnout!  We only hope and pray that our light did so shine that people who are searching for Christ will remember LifeHouse Hedgesville and one day give us the opportunity to share His love with them.

I had so much fun!  And I was extremely proud of my "possie" who were there from start to finish with smiles on their faces.  Today they used their talents to further invest in the Kingdom.  And I know God is smiling on their efforts.  Thanks for everything!

Thanks to the PTO for giving us the opportunity to come along side them and partner with them in raising funds for the important work they do for the school.  We hope it was a huge success.

Thanks to Hedgesville Elementary for giving us the opportunity to reach out to the children and parents of the Hedgesville community.  We hope the approximate 120 biodegradable watter bottles we gave as free gifts to those participating in the carnival are a reminder, everytime used, that we love them with no strings attached.

So, today was a great day!  Thank you Jesus for allowing us to serve you!  It is the greatest joy in all the earth.