Walk the Talk.

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. – 1 John 3:18 ESV

Life change. That's really a big part of what John seems to be stressing in his letter. What we believe should impact how we behave. Who we are (children of God) should significantly alter what we do. And John focuses on one specific outcome of our relationship with Christ: our love for one another. After all, the world goes out of its way to hate us, just as it hated Jesus. But we are to love one another. We have passed from life to death, from being dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) to new life in Christ (Ephesians 2:5). If we fail to love, it is as if we are still dead, exhibiting the characteristics of our former spiritual lifelessness. The dead don't love. The dead can't love. But we are alive in Christ because “he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16 ESV). And as a result of that life-giving, new-creation kind of love, we have the capacity to love others – even to the point of laying down our lives for them just as Jesus laid down His life for us. Christ's love for us was tangible and visible. He gave His life. He laid it all on the line. So for us to claim to love one another, we will have to give proof of that love in tangible, visible ways. John says, “if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17 ESV). In other words, how can you claim to have the love of God abiding in you if you can't seem to express love to someone else whose need could be met by your surplus? James points out the absurdity of that kind of lifestyle when he writes, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” (James 2:15-16 ESV). The old saying, “talk is cheap” is so true. Words that aren't backed up by action are meaningless. John gives us two pairs of words. He says, we are not to love in word or talk. The word for “talk” can actually be translated “tongue”, as in the muscle inside our mouth. It is out tongue that produces words. In the same way, it is truth that produces deeds. The truth concerning Jesus and His transforming power in our lives shows up as actions that reflect our new nature. We are able to love others because we have been loved by Him.

John reminds us that our belief in the name of Jesus, as the Son of God and our Savior from sin, coupled with our love for one another provide evidence of our relationship with God. We abide in Him and He abides in us. It is His Spirit within us that enables us to walk the talk. He helps us turn truth into action, and we get to see the love of God perfected or completed (1 John 2:5). As the Spirit enables us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, it reflects God’s love flowing to us and through us to others. It doesn't dead end with us, but continues on to others as we act as conduits through whom His love flows.

But the love we are to share is far more than some kind of emotional or sentimental feeling. It is not to be self-seeking or reciprocal in nature, demanding payback or expecting love in return. The kind of love we are called to show others is radical and not like anything this world has ever seen. Paul describes it this way: “

Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.

– 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT

We are to love in the same way that He loved us. And when we do, others will see it and know that we are His disciples. Why? Because that kind of love can't be faked. It isn't natural or normal. It's not of this world. It comes from a different source. It's full of life, not death. It builds up, instead of tearing down. It it other-focused rather than me-centered. It’s measurable, meaningful, tangible, helpful, and incredibly hopeful. When we walk the talk and love as He loved, we can know that He lives within us and He is in the process of transforming us, through His power and in His timing.

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The Love of God.

2 Samuel 21-22, 1 Corinthians 13

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV

We tend to sentimentalize love. It can easily become the sweet and saccharine staple of Valentine's cards and Hallmark made-for-TV movies. But real love is about much more than hearts and cherubs, sweetness and sentimentality. The kind of love God exhibits and expects from His people is not for the weak. It is not a byproduct of our emotions that shows up as a warm feeling or simply as a response to being loved by another. Love is an active, aggressive, powerful force that can manifest itself in a myriad of ways. As David grew older and more reflective, he couldn't help but see the loving hand of God all over his life. In 2 Samuel 22, he paints a vivid picture of his God, that is really an expression of his understanding of God's love for him. David describes God as his rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, salvation, stronghold and savior. He writes of responding to his cries and rescuing him from trouble. God provided him with security, strength and skill for battle. It was God who gave him victory over his enemies. David knew that his kingship was all God's doing. He fully understood that any success he had experienced was due to the hand of God in his life. And all of this was simply a visible expression of God's love. David wrote, “Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever” (2 Samuel 22: 51 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about God?

God is love. It is the essence of His being. All that God does is filtered through His love. God can do nothing without love. Even His judgment is an expression of His love. Love is not an attribute that God possesses, but the very nature of who He is. So when God rescued David from his enemies, it was an expression of His love for David. When God punished David for his sin with Bathsheba, it was because God loved David enough to teach him the life lessons he needed to learn in order to be the king God intended him to be. When God allowed David to spend all those years in exile, living under the constant threat of death at the hand of King Saul, it was because God loved David and wanted to prepare him for his future kingship by allowing him to go through a period of trial and training. God loved David and this fact did not escape David as he looked back on his life. He could SEE the love of God expressed in a variety of ways. God's love appeared as protection and provision. It could be seen as strength for battle, deliverance from difficulty, stability in the midst of uncertainty, victory over enemies, and peace in the midst of the storm. God's love was far from sentimental. It was practical, powerful and undeniable.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Paul gives us a wonderful description of the kind of love that God expects to see from those who claim to be His children. It differs greatly from the self-centered, what's-in-it-for-me kind of love we see modeled by the world. The love Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 13 is the love of God. It is heavenly, not earthly. It is spiritual, not natural. This kind of love is indispensable and non-negotiable. Without it, everything we do becomes worthless and without value. Life lived without love is pointless. Words spoken without love become meaningless and just so much noise. Knowledge without love leaves me ignorant. The ability to perform miracles is a waste of time if it is not based in love. Even the willingness to sacrifice my life, if it is not done out of love, is in the end just wasted effort. Love is the most important thing we experience from God and it is to be the most common attribute that we express as children of God. Love is not self-centered. Love is not done for the sake of payback or mutual satisfaction. It is selfless, sacrificial, patient, enduring, hopeful, abiding, and all-encompassing. It is not just an emotion. It is a way of life. It is the way of God.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

The best way to measure my own love is to look at the love of God. That's what David did. He saw the loving hand of God all over His life. He had learned to see God's love in every area of his life. David didn't just see God's love when things went well or when everything turned out the way he expected. He saw God's love in his difficulties. He saw God's love revealed as patience and constancy. David saw his own strength and skill for battle as an expression of God's love. Love is sometimes best expressed in ways that aren't recognized as love. Loving discipline is not always welcome, but it is necessary. “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6 ESV). Preparing someone to handle the difficulties of life and allowing them to go through them on their own is an expression of love. Watching our children endure hardship is hard to do as parents, but sometimes it is the best way we can show our love to them. Allowing them to learn life lessons through personal experience may be the most loving thing we can do for them. Love ultimately has the best interest of the one being loved in mind. Love is not based on how the other one WANTS to be loved, but on what will be best for that individual in the long run. Love must be measured from God's perspective, not our own or anybody else's. What would God have us do? How would God have us love? It will almost always involve sacrifice and selflessness. It will be focused on the one being loved. It will expect nothing in return. It will endure. It will be patient. It will hope for the best. It will sacrifice.

Father, Your love for me is amazing. Your constant, consistent, unwavering love shows up in so many ways in my life every day. Show me how to express that same kind of love to others. May my life be characterized by the kind of love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Amen

The Lasting Legacy of Love.

1 Corinthians 13

Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT

This section of Paul's letter has come to be known as the famous "love chapter." It is a staple at most weddings and has come to be the consummate statement from the Scriptures on the topic of love. And while what it has to say about love is completely applicable to the context of a marriage relationship, it is essential that we not lose sight of the situation going on in Corinth that caused Paul to write these words to begin with.

There was a great deal of disunity and division going on among the believers in Corinth. A spirit of selfishness and self-centeredness had crept into their fellowship and was causing all kinds of strife and animosity. They were even taking one another to court. There was a certain sense of spiritual pride among them, that was causing them to treat one another with disrespect. An attitude of spiritual aloofness and arrogance was evident because of the way they treated one another. There was a marked lack of love. Personal rights and freedoms ran rough shod over love for others. It seems that they were even using the spiritual gifts as a barometer of self-worth and a badge of honor. Certain gifts were seen as more important and, as a result, were more eagerly coveted among them. These more "significant" gifts had become a source of bragging rights for some within the fellowship. But Paul brings them back down to earth and provides them with a sobering reminder of what is really important among the people of God. There is one essential ingredient that they have ignored and which, if absent, invalidates all their efforts at spirituality and so-called godly living.

What was missing was love. They had salvation. They had all the spiritual gifts among them. They had their new-found freedom in Christ. But they lacked love. And Paul let them know that it really didn't matter whether they could work miracles, predict the future, or speak in foreign languages – without love, all of their efforts were worthless. Love is to permeate and motivate all that we do as Christians. The spiritual gifts performed without the spirit of love are a waste to breath, time, energy and effort. The outward evidence of spirituality among the Corinthian believers was little more than hypocrisy without the inner reality of love. And the kind of love Paul was speaking of was not some kind of sappy, sentimental emotion. It was a rubber-meets-the-road kind of attitude that expressed itself in action and showed up in the worst of circumstances and expressed itself to the least lovable and most undeserving. This kind of love showed up in the form of patience, kindness, humility rather than pride, selflessness, forgiveness, trust, hope, perseverance, and truth. In other words, this kind of love is the very essence of the gospel and a snap shot of the way in which Jesus Christ loved us.

Love is eternal. It lasts. It has staying power. So much of what we seek and what we place our hope in in this world is temporal and short-lived. It doesn't last. Our acts of service fail to make a lasting impression because so often they are done without love. Our words of wisdom seem to fall on deaf ears because what we say, while possibly profound, is lacking in love. All our efforts on behalf of God – done without love – are a waste of our time and a lousy measurement of our spirituality. Long after words of knowledge, tongues, prophecy, healing and the other spiritual gifts are gone, love will remain. Because God is love. It is not what He does, it is part of who He is. Love is His nature, His essence. And as His children, we share in that divine nature. Our love for one another – in spite of one another – is the greatest proof of our spiritual heritage and validates our claim to be sons and daughters of God. Love is our divine DNA. It has been passed down from the Father to His children. It is the very essence of who we are and it is to the motivating factor behind all that we do.

Father, like the Corinthians, we find love too often missing from our midst. We have allowed selfishness and self-centeredness to replace the sacrificial, selfless love that we have been called to express to one another and to this lost and dying world. Bring us back to the heart of love. May our love not only be visible, but practical. May the world truly know we are disciples of Jesus Christ because of our love. Amen.