This is Real Love

The word love can be used in a lot of different ways—we love ice cream, our job, or our favorite sports team. Here’s how some children described love as they see it: 

•       “Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy, age 6

•       “Love is when mommy sees daddy in the bathroom and she doesn’t think its gross.” Mark, age 6

•       “When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” Karen, age 7

•       “I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” Lauren, age 4

•       “I let my big sister pick on me because my Mom says she only picks on me because she loves me. So I pick on my baby sister because I love her.” Bethany, age 4

Real love, however, not an emotion or a feeling. It is demonstrated in God’s love towards us. God loved us so much that He sent his Son, Jesus, into the world to live among us and to model for us how we are to live. Jesus died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin. He rose from the dead so that we may experience new life—a life of hope, a life of healing and a life of wholeness.

Jesus willingly laid down his life to show us real love. To demonstrate his unfailing love towards us. The message of Easter is that because of God’s unfailing love, we can have hope and experience a new beginning through Jesus Christ. Happy Easter!

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. (1 John 4:9-10 NLT)

Oneness

Over the weekend, we had friend and mentor, Kevin York, in town to meet with our leadership team. Here are just a few of my random notes from our time with him:

-There are about 400,000 churches in America; 360,000 of them have hit a plateau or are in decline.

-Oneness can only happen with maturity.

-For maturing Christians, church should be less and less about us, our likes and preferences and more about how we can engage those who don’t know Christ in a way that is relevant to them.

-Our goal should not to become a “crowd” but a church that can influence culture and transform a city.

-It is love that compels us to do this. A love for God and a love for people pushes us beyond convenience, beyond comfort to reach others in need. 

Compelling Love

This morning during my devotional time, I read this passage from 2 Corinthians.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

It’s easy to become comfortable and to build our life around our preferences.

I believe God calls us to live differently.

Christ’s love is a compelling love. His love is active. Moving. Outward focused.

The love of Christ, ignited in our hearts cannot remain quiet. It cannot remain stagnant.

It is a compelling force that changes our focus, our priorities and the direction of our life.

Christ’s love compels us to sacrifice.

Christ’s love calls us out of our comfort zone.

Out of convenience.

Christ’s love compels us to live for something greater than ourselves.

Christ’s love compels us to forgo our own preferences with the hope of seeing others embrace Christ, to be eternally changed by his compelling love.