Life Ministries

“A Love That Gives”

1 John 2:9-11 and I John 3:16-19

    I want to begin today by explaining the difference between “pity” and “compassion”.  Pity looks at the television screen and says; “Oh, those poor people” and feels sorry for them, and goes on with life… Compassion however, looks at the television screen with tear filled eyes, and says “I must do something to help!” Often we are not physically able to be there and provide personal help, but there are ways we can help. Compassion will surpass sympathy and do whatever it can!  Number one of course, we can pray. We can pray for God to somehow give wisdom as to providing for the needs of those affected. For those who are able, we can also provide by giving to those organizations like the Red Cross and others who provide disaster relief.  We may feel that we can’t do much, if anything personally or on an individual basis, but maybe there is something we can do together, as a church, as the body of Christ.

    Well, let’s get to our message for today; Once again, I am looking at John’s letter of assurance. This is not a letter of condemnation or judgment, but rather a letter in which John gives us a list of things or ways in which we can point “inward” and KNOW that if these things are manifesting themselves in our lives, then we can be assured that we are a child of God; that we are born again; a part of the family of God, the body of Christ. If these things are not there in our lives, then John says we have a problem.
    Brotherly love, as the title of this message suggests, is a love that gives.  The command for God’s people to love each other has been around since the Jewish Old Testament Law. Leviticus 19:18 says, "’Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."
Jesus’ command is for us to love each other in the way we saw him love us by going to the cross, and that’s what made this command new when he told his friends at the last supper to "love each other, just as I have loved you." …it is a sacrificial love…a love that puts others and their needs first.  In John 13:34—Jesus said again; "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Then he repeats it again in John 15:12—“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” 
    The terms “love” and “hate” are not necessarily emotions or feelings as much as attitudes… Just as “light and darkness” are not places but rather actions that reflect our spiritual growth.  The love we have for one another and for our neighbors is a love that expresses itself in our actions and attitudes, not our feelings. In fact, we are to love others whether we FEEL like it or not. Some people are easier to love than others…I heard one preacher say  “Some Christians are like porcupines…they’ve got a few good points, but they’re hard to get close to!”
    What does John mean here by hate? -- "He who hates his brother…" The dictionary tells us that hate is "a feeling of extreme hostility or extreme dislike of another." That suffices as far as the definition. We know well this feeling, this dislike, this aversion to someone, a sense of extreme hostility toward another. Yet, you and I need to understand that it can be expressed in two different ways.  It can be active, in that we indulge in malicious talk or injurious actions toward another. We can strike them, or beat them,  throw our garbage over their fence, or mistreat them in some way. We can attack them; we can slander them behind their back. All of these are active expressions of hate, and perhaps most of us think of hate only in this sense. But hate can also be expressed passively and still be hate. It can be expressed by indifference, by coldness, by isolation, by exclusion, and unconcern for others.
    If you claim you are a child of God and yet “hate” any man - in John’s sense of the word - because of his face, his place, or his race, you are walking in the darkness…and, may need to check your walk. Sure it’s easy loving my wife, and loving my friends, but loving people I find irritating, people who I think are weird, or loving people who just grate me the wrong way...that takes God’s love. That’s why the word John chooses here is the Greek word “agape”, which describes God’s kind of love, the kind of love that’s given freely and generously, regardless of the worthiness of the object.  C. S. Lewis was right when he wrote in Mere Christ-ianity that “we spend too much time worrying about whether we really love our neighbor or not, when we should just act as if we do, and as we pray for them and do loving things, love will happen.”  When we give way to feelings and attitudes of hatred that John describes, we harden our own heart.
    Our love for one another is our badge of identity as Christians.  John is telling us the love we have is the badge that identifies us. When a police officer comes to your door, they will identify themselves by showing you their badge…when we claim to be saved, the badge people will see is the love - or lack there of - we have in our lives.  If we cannot love other Christians…those of God’s family, how are we going to love others who need to be in the family?
    Agape love is a love that gives. “For God so loved the world that He gave…His only Son”…The love motivates the action.  John says “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, (pity is not enough)…“That’s too bad” or “I feel so sorry for you” won’t cut it! But love with “actions and truth”… true compassion. We need to put hands and feet on our words if we are walking with our brother.
    “Here then is the assurance” says John, if we see someone in need…(and remember there are many types of needs)  and we have the ability or the capability to help, even in the smallest way, and yet are not stirred by compassion to take action, how can we set our hearts at rest?
    In Matthew 25:40 Jesus said; “Whatever you did for the least of these my brothers, you did for me”… The point is that we did something out of love, agape’ love, which tells us that we are not only walking in the light, but that we are truly walking with our brother.
    Finally, look at chapter 4 verses 7-12 …
I don’t know how you would interpret that, but to me it says “If God’s love stops here with me, it is income-plete!  God’s love is made complete when it flows through me and out to others! It’s a love that gives.  It gives of it’s time; it gives of its money; it gives of its talents and abilities; it serves without thought of reward.
    But, there is a flip side to this coin; when we are willing to give, there must be a willingness to receive!  We could say; “What good is it if we see a brother in need and we are willing to help, but he is not willing to receive? How many times do you suppose God has asked that question?  He is so willing to freely give of everything He has…all His love, all his peace, all His joy, all His wisdom…and the abundant life that He desires for us to live; but, we are unwilling to receive it.  What is stopping you from doing that today?