Join Our Mailing List

Print this page

ABUNDANT LIFE-LOVE

February 7, 2010
(Rom. 8:38-39)

    One of our most basic human needs is the need for love.  A Television Emcee was once asked, “What are you most afraid of?”  His reply was, “I have to admit that the thing I am most afraid of is not being loved.”

    We’ve laughed at Rodney Dangerfield, but we can identify with his first joke.  He said that as a little boy, in a game of hide and seek, he hid, but nobody came to seek him.  To feel that nobody is seeking you, that nobody wants you, is one of the hardest things to bear.

    Love is as important as food and drink.  Human babies cannot develop properly without it.  People from dysfunctional families and abusive situations suffer the most, but all of us have love needs.

I.  THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF LACK OF LOVE.

    The negative effects of the lack of love are very harmful.  Children need to be touched and cuddled.  Such warm contact tells us that there is someone out there we can trust and depend on.  Our hope for getting our needs met depends on this.  If we can feel the presence of an emotionally available person, we can begin our life with a sense of trust.  We can believe that the world is friendly and that our needs will be filled.  If our nurturing person is not there for us, we begin to mistrust the world.  We have to create an illusion of connectedness, in order to go on.  This leads to addictions and destructive relationships.

    Every person yearns for love.  Babies die from lack of love.  Unfortunately, most of us hide our desire for love, even from ourselves.  We say, “I don’t need anybody.”  Or we try to earn love by becoming a people pleaser.  We may even seek attention as a substitute for love by misbehaving, breaking the law or becoming promiscuous.

    Philosopher, William James, said, “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be loved.”  People who are deprived of love cannot extend love.  They are empty.  They feel cheated.  It’s unfortunate that critical and unpleasant individuals are actually revealing their desperate craving for love.  A man named Van came from a hostile dysfunctional family.  As an adult he “got religion,” but it was a loveless, legalistic religion.  Almost immediately Van began to condemn his siblings for their rebelliousness toward God.  He preached and “Bible-bullied” and shamed them.  They didn’t measure up to his expectations.  Just as his father had berated him, Van began to berate those around him.

    When Van made an acquaintance, he would begin to notice their shortcomings.  He would demean them for their lack of commitment.  His father’s abuse came from alcohol.  Van’s abuse came from religion.  As he became even more fanatical, he would stay up all night at a mission for street people and then not show up for work the next day.  His employers became tired of this and gave him an ultimatum.  If his absenteeism continued, he would be fired.

    Van responded indignantly and continued to preach the “godly” lifestyle to his fellow workers and to show up late, if at all.  Finally, his employers discharged him.  Van deluded himself into believing that all these people were atheists who were persecuting him for his faith.
    You see, even religion without love can be evil.  Paul said, “I may have the gift of prophecy. I may understand all the secret things of God and have all knowledge, and I may have faith so great I can move mountains. But even with all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing” (1 Cor.  13:2).

    People without love in their lives are very destructive.  Empathy, compassion and fellowship are absolutely essential.  In the play “Godspell,” there’s a scene when Jesus takes a bucket of water, a rag and a mirror and goes to each disciple.  One by one he washes away their painted clown faces.  Then he holds up the mirror so that can see themselves as they really are.  The point is obvious: We don’t have to wear false faces.  We don’t have to hide our weaknesses and faults.  We don’t have to pretend to be something we’re not.  God loves us just as we are.  We call that, “Amazing Grace.”

    Jesus came to give us abundant life and no one can enjoy an abundant life without love.

II.  THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF FEELING LOVED: 

    Love is a very important theme of the gospel because there are many positive effects of love.  In fact, love is essential for abundant life.  Love turns sinners into saints.  Jesus personified love.  He said, “I loved you as the Father loved me. Now remain in my love.  This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you”  (John 15:9,12-13, edb).

    Jesus brought love to a new level.  Of course he loved his followers.  That’s not surprising.  The Scriptures say, “He had always loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them all the way to the end” (John 13:1b, edb).

    Then, he loved some special friends.  The Scripture says, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (John 11:5).

    He loved the “rich young ruler” even as he walked away.  Mark says, “Jesus, looking at the man, loved him and said, ‘There is one more thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor . . . Then come and follow me.’  He was very sad to hear Jesus say this, and he left sorrowfully, because he was rich” (Mark 10:21-22, edb).

    The surprising difference about Jesus is that he also loved his enemies.  He explained, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.’  But I say to you, love your enemies . . .” (Matt.  5:43-44b, edb).

    He explained this unusual command saying, “If you love only the people who love you, what praise should you get? Even sinners love the people who love them.  If you do good only to those who do good to you, what praise should you get? Even sinners do that! . . . But love your enemies, do good to them . . . Then you will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God, because he is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin” (Luke 6:32-35).

    This kind of love is more than an emotion.  It is not just affection.  Instead, it extends respect and justice to all.
    Love changes our lives and enables us to change other lives.  Those who feel loved are affectionate and caring.  They are able to extend good will and charity to those around them.

    Once a woman was married to a tyrant of a husband.  He didn’t like the way she cooked.  He didn’t like the way she ran the home.  He didn’t like the way she dressed.  He constantly criticized her for everything.

    Finally, he actually handed her a list of 25 rules that she was supposed to follow.  Oh, how she hated him!  You can imagine the frustration of constantly checking that list to see if she was pleasing him, and staying out of trouble.  She usually failed miserably, and each time she got a tongue-lashing.

    Then, unexpectedly her abusive husband died.  Later she fell in love with and married a wonderful, loving husband.  Her life was pleasant and she worked hard to please him.

    One day, she ran across that old list.  Suddenly, she began to laugh!  As she checked the items, she realized that she was now doing all of these things for her new husband and many more besides.  Furthermore, she did them with great joy because she loved him.

    This demonstrates a great spiritual truth concerning our relationship with God.  Love makes all the difference.  We do not have to change and grow and be good in order for God to love us.  Rather, God loves us and that enables us to change and grow and be good.

    Love helps us experience an abundant life!

   
III.  HOW TO REALIZE LOVE:

    Now, if all of us have such a desperate need for love, then how can we realize it in our daily lives?  Well, we are fortunate as Christians, because the Scriptures give us many promises concerning love.  The Psalmist said, “How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! . . .” (Psa. 36:7).

    Jesus said, “God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

    Paul said, “Can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us? . . .” (Rom. 8:35).

    Later, he said, “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, nor anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God . . .” (Rom. 8:38-39).

    John said, “This is what real love is:  It is not our love for God; it is God’s love for us . . . Dear friends, if God loved us that much we also should love each other” (1 John 4:11).

    When we come to God through Christ, we are assured of the love of our heavenly Father and of our Christian brothers and sisters.  Such love frees us to serve others.  Christian love is a special unconditional love.

    “If love” is conditional, it says, “I love you. . . If you agree with me; If you help me; If you do what I say; If you measure up to my standards.

    “Because love” is easy love.  It says, I love you . . . Because you are like me; Because you helped me; Because you’re agreeable; Because you make me look good.

    But, “Anyway love” is “Christlike” love.  It says, I love you . . . Anyway, even if you are different; Anyway, even if you don’t agree with me; Anyway, even if you refuse to help me; Anyway, even if you don’t understand me and my life style.  Yes, I love you Anyway . . . because that’s how God loves me!

    In fact, one of the greatest rewards of salvation is the awareness of God’s unconditional, undying love.

    A father said, “Yesterday my daughter, Gretchen, and I were out in the garden.  Gretchen picked a daisy and said, “Daddy, this flower is for God.”  As she pulled the first petal, she said, “He loves me.”  Then she pulled the next, and said, “He loves me.”  And the next, “He loves me,”  until she had but one petal left and smiling brightly, she finished the rhyme, “He loves me.”

    That is the Gospel.  There are no “He loves me not” petals in Christ’s gospel.

    Once a man traveled a long way to visit a relative with Alzheimer disease, but there was no response to his greeting.  He couldn’t establish communication or evoke a memory.  Finally, just before he left, sad and disappointed, he asked one more time, “Do you know who I am, dear?”  At that moment a smile broke through and a soft voice whispered, “Yes, you’re somebody who loves me.”

    The man explained, “They may have been the only words she spoke during my visit, but they said it all!  What else do we need to know about one another and about God?  When we’re not sure of anything else, we can still say to our Heavenly Father with joyful certainly:  “I know one thing.  You are somebody who loves me!”

    So, how can we realize this wonderful gift from God?  How can we feel loved and then pass on that gift to others?  Well, in order to do this we must believe Jesus offers us not only life, but abundant life.  And abundant life includes love.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(WC1961)

Copyrighted 2010 by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE THIS MESSAGE IN ANY WAY YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE.  The only thing we ask is that you give credit for original material in PUBLISHED works. 

NEW PERSPECTIVES is a free service from Diversity Press.   

Our offer of books for postage still stands.  We have copies of 11 books to send.  (Those books in Spirl back binding will be  available if there are are enough requests)

You may find other messages and a book list on our Webpage:
                                  www.ForMinistry.com/USOKSOBCOFBC5
or                               www.diversitypress.com

Email: wdiversitypress@aol.com or milesewesner@gmail.com
Phone: 1-580-286-3148

Remember, you may cancel at any time by replying with CANCEL written on the SUBJECT line and click on REPLY.   Your address will then be excluded from receiving any more NPs.

Miles E Wesner