Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.You are my friends if you do what I command you. John 15:14-15 ESV
The phrase, “I love you Lord” often used in the lyrics of our worship songs and hymns, though not unknown, was one rarely used by the disciples of Jesus, or even of the Lord Himself. Peter, Matthew or James didn’t get up in the morning saying things like, “Good morning, Jesus. I love you!” Most of the time the disciples were too busy asking questions about what they were to do next or arguing about who was the most important among them. Jesus Himself also spent most of His teaching talking about the Kingdom of God and showing love rather than just talking about it. That all sounds foreign to us who have spent a generation being told we must tell the people around us that we love them on a daily basis. Now, of course, the Bible also tells us that, “God is love” (See 1 John 4:8). At issue is not whether we really love God or not, but on what that love ought to look (and sound) like. Jesus tells us in today’s verse that love, doesn’t just mean saying, “I love you, I love you, I love you.” Love means laying down our lives for Jesus, and for each other, just as He gave His life for us. On the cross as God was revealing the deepest meaning of love through Christ, He didn’t once say, “I love you.” Instead, Jesus promised eternal life to a thief, offered forgiveness to his killers and asked His disciple John to take care of His mother. The lyrics of this week’s hymn do start out with “My Jesus I love Thee” but they also go much deeper into the what and why of that love. In his sermon this Sunday our pastor mentioned that we often gloss over the commands of Jesus and that we forget that He commanded many things. (He counted 38 commands of Christ). The kind of love that mattered to our salvation was a dying love, that chose the nails, the crown of thorns and the cross over comfort, freedom and popularity. The words that we sing about loving Jesus, loving God and thanking Him for Heaven are all great, but they must be coupled with a love that is too deep for words. The love of God is a message that can only be written with the ink of our actions. So, as John tells us in his letter, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree I love Thee for wearing The thorns on Thy brow William Featherstone 1864
One of our newest volunteers, Gena came to me two weeks ago and asked if she could bring a message one Friday. Now, many people may think that preaching at a nursing home is too difficult, calls for special training or would be pointless. But as Gena shared that morning, it became evident from the look of rapt attention on the faces of the residents, that they were listening. They weren’t listening because Gena had a polished delivery, was a local celebrity or had some special certification. They wanted to hear what Gena had to say, because she had spent a year visiting with, praying with and loving them. As she talked about going through her own storms, many of them knew exactly what kind of storms she was going through because they had gotten to know and trust her over time.
If you are interested in learning how to volunteer at a nursing home, Gena’s testimony is a just a small preview of what that looks like. Volunteering means taking time to get to know people, remember their names, pray for their needs and do it on a consistent basis. Then, when an opportunity arises to sing, preach or coordinate a Christmas program, you will have something that no celebrity possesses. You will have their trust. Whether our instrument is out of tune or we are running late, people will still come, not because we are personally impressive, but because they have experienced God’s love in action through our lives. Gena’s message about dealing with her storms is something that all of us can identify with. I pray that you will be both blessed and challenged as you listen and that you will pray for us, as week after week, month after month we do our best to answer the call of Jesus to go everywhere and share His message of hope, healing and salvation with everyone we meet.
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