A Loving Christian

Thank you.

After the war, Mary received a long-awaited phone call from her son, Jack.

Oh, baby, is everything okay? Are you still coming home next week?

Yes, Mom, I'm in transit now, just waiting on a few more paperwork.

I'll be home in a few weeks at the most.

By the way, Mom, I have this buddy that fought with me.

He had taken a nasty hit and will need some permanent care.

I have invited him to stay with us.

Oh, that would be nice to have your buddy for a few days.

Is he from our town?

No, Mom. I have invited him to stay as long as he likes so that he can be taken care of.

Oh, what sort of care would he need?

How threatening were the injuries?

I'm not sure how well I would cope with someone with a disability in the house.

Don't the government have a department to look after them?

I would love to have something.

I would love to do something for your buddy, but I'm not sure we are the best care for him, my love.

But anyway, you come home first.

We'll see.

Okay, Mom, I'll be in touch.

I can't wait to see you.

Be home soon.

I love you.

I love you, Mom.

After a week, there was a letter with a photo of Jack in the mailbox.

He's in a wheelchair with one of his legs amputated and half his face deformed with an eyes missing.

Mom, I'm in an excellent care home provided by the government.

It's about a couple of hours' drive from home.

I'm learning to drive, especially feed the car, and I will come by to visit as soon as my car is ready.

We come to a challenging passage of the Bible, and I would say it's as challenging as Mary seeing her son Jack's photo for the first time after the war.

However, it's about a topic that all Christians should know well and have experienced a lot.

But also somehow struggle with a lot.

It's a topic Jesus identified as the greatest commandment in the whole Bible.

It's a mark of those who genuinely belong to Jesus.

It's what signified a true Christian.

It's a topic of love.

Love is such an essential but often misunderstood subject.

It often turns out to be utterly different from what we think it is.

Maybe that's why John repeatedly repeats, like a broken record.

I think not a lot of people know what that means.

If you have the black broken record, it will just keep looping back to the same place.

So he keeps looking back, looping back into the same line or same idea as he writes this letter of 1 John.

Please keep the Bible open to 1 John.

We'll be going through the chapter 3 and 4, but I'll refer some to the previous chapter as well.

In 1 John 2, 5, John says,

If anyone obeys God's word, love for God is truly made complete in them.

And then in the same chapter in verse 9 to 10,

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.

Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light,

and there is nothing in them that makes them stumble.

And then in chapter 3, verse 1,

See what great love the Father has lavish on us,

that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are.

And in our two passages today, the word love repeated more than 30 times.

It's actually mentioned 34 times.

Chapter 3, verse 16, and chapter 4, verse 9 to 10,

It's almost the same.

3, 16 says,

This is how we know what love is.

Jesus Christ lays down his life for us.

And then in chapter 4, verse 9,

This is how God showed his love among us.

He sent his one and only Son into the world,

that we might live through him.

This is love.

Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

And in this two passages, it's repeatedly calling us to love one another.

As the new year begins, we start on our new 5G plan to learn to be an authentic follower,

an authentic disciple of Christ.

Let's look into three areas that will help us start our journey well.

I have three questions.

Who or what is love?

Who do you live like?

And who do you love?

When I start preparing this sermon by calling the first poem,

What is love?

But then after reading the two passages over and over again,

especially from chapter 4, verse 7 to 8, and 10 and 16,

I think I should call the first poem,

Who is love?

If you turn to chapter 4, verse 7, it reads,

Dear friends, let us love one another,

for love comes from God.

Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love.

And then verse 10, this is love.

Not that we love God, but that he loves us

and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

And then verse 16,

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love.

Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them.

Apostle John repeated God is love a few times

and defined love as what God has done for us through Jesus

in chapter 3, 16 and 4, 9 to 10, which I read out before.

This identification and definition of love are very different

from how we categorize love in this world.

Don Carson says,

One of the chief ways we distort the biblical picture of God's love

is when we purposely presuppose that love demands freedom.

The world is saying love means no boundary, no restriction.

We distort the ideas of if you love so-and-so, set them free,

to mean if you love so-and-so, let them do what they want

and be what they want to be.

If a boy wants to dress up like a girl,

or a girl wants to be a boy, let them be.

If people want to start a relationship with the same sex,

we shouldn't stop them.

Some politicians go as far as proposing laws,

including prison for up to 10 years,

or heavy fines for anyone caught trying to suppress

or change someone's sexuality.

The world puts up slogans saying,

Love is freedom.

Love is lust.

This kind of thinking and slogan

feeds into all the gender identity debate,

gay and lesbian movement,

the redefinition of marriage,

and many other problems our world faces today.

Humans are saying,

Love is God.

And motivated by my love,

I should not be stopped.

I should be allowed to choose or control my destination

and decision.

We have a microscopic and distorted view of love

that is all about us, ourselves.

Very self-centered,

self-serving,

self-fulfilling,

self-glorifying,

and self-honoring

kind of love.

That is not true and authentic love at all.

The kind of self-guided misconception of love

drives King,

the person mentioned in the first passage,

in chapter 3,

to become upset

when his offering to God

was not as favorable as his brother.

He harbored hatreds towards his brother

and ended up murdering him.

Get rid of his competition for God's love.

John reminded us

that love is from God

and God is love.

Love cannot be found in this world without God

and cannot be defined in any human terms

or any human construction

because love is not from this world.

Same is true freedom.

True love can only be found in the words of God,

in the Bible,

which recorded all that God says and does

to set us free truly.

The Bible also shows us

what it costs God to do so.

I've been reading a book by Jared Wilson

called Gospel Deeps.

He says,

The Bible shows us

our God who is love,

saying and doing all sorts of things,

most our more sensitive souls

will not consider loving at all.

We must remember that God's ocean and love

occupies space in the perfect balance

of the infinite universe

of all his attributes.

He is love, yes,

but he is also just and jealous.

In the Bible,

we find the love of God

violates human freedoms

regularly and consistently.

If there's one thing

any Bible figures can count on,

besides that God loves them,

it's that they're not in control

of their destiny.

God has a plan for us

that awaits ours.

Jared concludes that

the Bible picture of God's love

is much bigger,

stranger,

and more complex

than how humans can imagine it

or try to construct it

in humans' terms.

Love is from God

and God is love.

God sent his one and only son

into this world

as an atoning sacrifice

for our sins.

God shows his love

by sending Jesus

to be among us.

Love is Jesus Christ

laid down his life for us

so we might live through him.

To live through Jesus

is to focus on this area

of his sacrificial love.

Sacrificial love

refers to the offering

of oneself for others' benefit,

often without any reward

in return.

It's not natural

for a human

to be sacrificial in love

or other-centered

in how we live.

God knows that,

so he repeatedly

remind us

and command us

to do so.

In chapter 3,

verse 11,

for this

is a message

you heard

from the beginning.

We should love

one another.

And then verse 16,

this is how we know

what love is.

Jesus Christ

laid down his life

for us

and we ought to

lay down our life

for our brothers

and sisters.

Jesus.

Verse 23,

and this is his command,

to believe in the name

of his Son,

Jesus Christ,

and to love one another

as he commands us.

And then in chapter 4,

verse 11,

dear friend,

since God so loved us,

we also ought to love

one another.

And he has given us,

and verse 21,

and he has given us

this command,

anyone who loves God

must also love

their brother and sisters.

Jesus.

Apart from all these commands,

John also warned us

from chapter 3,

verse 14,

that we know

that we have passed

from death

to life

because we love

each other.

Anyone who does not love

remains in death.

What is

remain in death

means?

It means

we are separated

from our God

and others.

it means

we stay

in our old life

and have not been

born again

in the kingdom

and family of God.

It means

we are not

experiencing

the full intention

of what God

has made us to be

because God

made us

to glorify

and to enjoy

him forever.

And the consequences

of not meeting up

to God's expectation,

of not completing

what God

has set out

for us to achieve

will be

the diminishing

in our confidence

before God

and we grow

in fear.

And God

knows that as well.

God knows

we feel this way too.

So he tells us

from chapter 3,

verse 19,

this is how we know

that we belong

to the truth

and how we set

our hearts

at rest

in his presence.

If our heart

condemns us,

we know that God

is greater

than our heart

and he knows

everything.

God tells us

that he is

greater than our heart

and he knows

everything.

He knows

we will fail him

and disobey him

and treat him

with hostility.

But he still

addresses us

as friends,

not as enemy.

In verse 21,

chapter 3,

verse 21,

dear friends,

if our heart

do not condemn us,

we have confidence

before God

and receive from him

anything we ask

because we keep

his commands

and do what

pleases him.

The key

to have confidence

before God

is to keep

his commands

and do what

pleases him.

God is encouraging

us to keep

our focus

on pleasing him

with everything

that we do

and how we live

our life.

that is the key

to our confidence

before him.

And then again

in chapter 4,

verse 16 to 17,

and so we know

and rely on

the love

that God

has for us.

God is love.

Whoever lives

in love

lives in God

and God

in them.

And this is how

love is made

complete among us

so that we will

have confidence

on the day

of the judgment.

is in this world

we are like Jesus.

Jesus is our best

example of someone

who keeps God's

commands

and does everything

that pleases God.

And more than an example,

Jesus is our substitute

when coming to

fulfillment of God's

command,

of all God's

command,

to be made

complete in the

love of God

and have confidence

before him

at any time,

there's one question

we should keep

asking ourselves.

Who am I like

in this world?

How do you speak?

How do you

entertain yourself?

Who do you like?

Do you like to build

your joy

on others' pain?

Do you enjoy

bantering

and picking

on others?

In how you

organize your

priority

in life?

What career

are you pursuing?

Where are you

sending your kids

to school?

In your

interaction

with others?

In how you

spend your

money,

time,

and energy?

It's all those

things that you

live out,

living like Jesus.

And particularly,

in how you

love your

brothers and

sisters.

In how you

deal with

conflict and

disagreement with

others in God's

family.

How do you react

when someone

challenges you

or hurts you?

God knows that

it's not easy

for us to be

Christ-like

24 hours a day,

seven days a week.

And he knows

if he leaves us

alone

and does not

violate our freedom

to intervene,

we will fail

and fail badly.

So he

reminds us

twice,

from chapter

3, 24

and chapter

4, 12

to 13,

that we

are not

alone.

Chapter

3, 24,

the one who

keeps God's

command lives

in him

and he

in them.

And this is

how we know

that he

lives in us.

We know it

by the spirit

he gives us.

And chapter

4, verse 12

to 13,

No one

has ever

seen God

but if we

love one

another,

God lives

in us

and his

love is

made complete

in us.

This is how

we know

that we

live in him

and he

in us.

He has

given us

his spirit.

God has

given us

his spirit

to ensure

we remain

and live

in him,

to follow

Jesus

and to

lift out

his command

in our

life.

The

Father,

Son,

and the

Holy Spirit

all work

together

to ensure

we stay

within God's

love.

So the

question

remaining

is,

who do

you love?

We have

been told

repeatedly

from today's

passages

that God

is love

and he has

demonstrated

his love

for us

by sending

Jesus,

his only

son,

to atone

our sins.

in

response,

we should

and ought

to love

one

and the

other

by laying

down

our

life

for our

brothers

and

sisters.

Chapter

4,

verse 20

says,

by loving

one another,

we get

to know

God

and see

God.

Whoever

claims

to love

God

yet hates

a brother

or sister

is a liar.

For whoever

does not

love their

brothers and

sisters

whom they

have seen

cannot love

God

whom they

have not

seen.

Our

relationship

with

others

reflects

our

experience

with

God

yet

to also

affect

our

experience

with

God.

Tony

Evans'

book,

Horizontal

Jesus,

also used

this line

as his

subtitle,

our

relationship

with others

affects

our

experience

with

God.

He

has

written

this

book

to explain

the

correlation

between

our

relationship

with

others

and

our

relationship

with

God.

He

shares

that

outside

Christ

the

King

Church

in

San

Diego,

there

is a

statue

of

Jesus

with

both

hands

missing.

Friend

was broke

off in

the mid

1980s.

Rather

have the

statue

repaired,

the

pastor

chose

to put

a

plaque

at the

base

of

it

that

reads,

I

have

no

hands

but

yours.

This

plaque

declared

that

because

Jesus

has

ascended

to

his

rightful

place

in

heaven

and

is

not

physically

present

on

earth,

we,

his

body,

are to

be his

hands

to one

another.

We

are to

be his

feet

to one

another.

We

are to

offer

his

love

and

assistance

to one

another.

We

are to

live out

our

horizontal

relationship

with one

another in

light of

our vertical

relationship

with Christ.

We

are to

be the

manifestation

of Jesus

to one

another.

That is

our ultimate

calling as

his

disciples.

That is

our highest

aim and

the most

authentic

reflection

of the

two

greatest

commandments

identified

by Jesus

to command

to love

God

and love

our

neighbors.

The

believer's

responsibility

to show

Christ's

life

sacrificial

love to

others

is not

optional.

God

commands it

as a way

of displaying

his love

to the

world.

When it

comes to

love,

it's a

full-body

exercise.

It requires

our head

to decide

to love,

our heart

to be

motivated by

God's

spirit to

love.

It requires

us to

open up

our eyes

and hear

to notice

others'

needs and

move our

hands and

feet to

take action

to meet

those needs,

to show

God's love

to the

world.

John

reminded us

in chapter

3, 16

to 18

that this

is how we

know what

love is.

Jesus Christ

laid down

his life

for us

and we

ought to

lay down

our lives

for our

brothers and

sisters.

If anyone

has material

possession

and sees

a brother

or sister

in need

but has

no pity

on them,

how can

the love

of God

be in

that person?

Be

children,

lest not

love with

words or

speech,

but with

actions

and in

truth.

Love

is not

an abstract

concept.

It

concerns

the

outworking

of the

believer's

faith in

ordinary

day-to-day

interaction

with others.

The love

that God

wants us

to exhibit

is not

any random

act of

kindness

that make

us feel

good about

ourselves.

It's a

kind of

love that

we need

to decide

whether we

put other

person's

needs above

our comfort

as we do

it to

glorify and

honor God.

God

remember

Mary and

her son

at the

beginning of

this sermon.

I'm like

Mary when

I come to

loving God

and others.

There are a

lot of

calculation

going on

in my

mind.

Can I

do it

well?

Because I

don't want

to be seen

as someone

that starts

something that

I can't

complete.

What will

I get in

return if

I make

myself

vulnerable

in this

situation?

What if

the other

person does

not love

me back?

Will I

be

short

changed?

Are they

all going

end up

hating me?

Or what

if the

other person

becomes so

attached to

me that

I lose

my freedom

and I

can't keep

up with

their demands?

All these

questions

are telling me

and us

that we

love ourselves

more.

Instead of

God,

we listen

to ourselves.

We have

not tapped

into the

fountain of

love,

our living

God.

I know

the right

answer to

the question,

who do

you love?

And I

know also

the real

answer to

that question

is, I

love myself

and we

love ourselves,

not God

or others.

When I

come to

the topic

of love,

what is

the initial

emotional

reaction that

whirls up

deep in

you?

Are you

glad that

God knows

you and

has given

his spirit

our assurance

and helper

to fulfill

his commands

and keep us

in him?

In this

world,

are you

like Jesus?

Or will

you be

found wanting

when it

comes to

magnifying

Jesus to

one another?

God

knows where

we are at.

he knows

we are

like a

wounded

soldier,

handicapped

regarding

loving him

and others.

He made

the best

arrangement

for us

to heal

and learn

how to

love by

sending

his son,

Jesus.

Jesus

said,

all things

have been

committed

to me

by my

father.

No one

knows a

son except

the father

and no one

knows a

father except

the son

and those

to whom

he chooses

to refill

him.

Come to

me,

all you

who are

weary and

burdened,

and I

will give

you rest.

Take my

yoke upon

you and

learn from

me,

for I am

gentle and

humble in

heart,

and you

will find

rest for

your soul,

for my

yoke is

easy,

my burden

is light.

Today is a

day for you

to come to

Jesus and

be united

with God,

and God

will give

you rest

and his

spirit to

help you

love those

you can

see,

and so

that you

are genuinely

following him.

And as you

experience God's

love for you,

we are called

to go and

show this world

God's love for

them with the

help of his

spirit, to

love with

action and

in truth.

set

and

let's

create—