A Love Story

On Friday evening, we had the youth here, and we had a great discussion with them.

We kind of opened it up to them, Ryan and I were there, to ask whatever questions they wanted about God, faith, the Bible.

And we talked about all sorts of things, from angels, to whether there's life on other planets, to how God created the world.

And one of the things that they had questions about was basically the Bible in general.

What exactly is in this book?

And as we talked about it, they were quite surprised to hear about the variety of different things in the Bible.

And it got me thinking, you know, the Bible is, you know, it's a big book.

Of course, I got the extra wide margin, so it's not actually this big, most of yours.

But it's a pretty large collection of writings.

And summing it all up is not the easiest thing.

What would you tell a child who asks you, what's the Bible about?

What would you say to them?

Well, we might go into some of the details about how God created the world, and then the fall of man, and the flood, and the story of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and then the story of the people of Israel, and then to Jesus.

And before you know it, you realize that this book actually covers a lot.

Even just the first five books of the Bible cover several thousand years of world history.

But what's this big story that traces all through the ages really all about?

I was reminded again this week of just how simple it could be to answer a question like this, as I was reading what Jesus said on one particular occasion.

If you have your Bible with you, open it up to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

The Gospel of Mark, chapter 12.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

Jesus is in Jerusalem.

It's the week before his death and resurrection.

He's been teaching at the temple courts each day.

And we pick up the story in verse 28.

One of the teachers of the law came and heard Jesus debating with the Sadducees.

Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him,

Of all the commandments, which is the most important?

The most important one, answered Jesus, is this.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

The second is this.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no commandment greater than these.

Of all the commandments, which is the most important?

Good question.

We all know that the Bible is not just a story of what has happened,

but that all throughout the Bible we're being taught and told about what God really wants from us.

And as we think of those first few books of the Bible,

Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy,

this is a big part of the story.

What does God really want from us?

This is what Adam and Eve began to discover in the garden.

It's what Abraham and his children and his grandchildren began to discover as God revealed himself to them.

It's what the children of Israel began to discover as God gave them his ten commandments and the law.

What does God really want from me?

For some people today, when they think of the Bible, the first thing that comes to mind is that it's a big book of rules.

A big book of do this and don't do that.

And so this question is a great question.

Of all the commandments, which is the most important?

What is it that God most deeply wants from us?

Of all the things that God has commanded people to do over the centuries,

over thousands of years of history,

what's the one thing that matters most to God?

The one thing he wants most from you and from me?

Does Jesus' answer to this question surprise you?

It surprises me.

I've been a Christian since my youth, and again this week it surprised me to read this answer.

It's all too easy to fall into a mindset where we think that what God wants most from me is to stop sinning

and to live a holy life,

or to stop being selfish,

or to make progress with my anger issue,

or to just stop worrying about things and to trust him more,

or to just get better at doing what he says,

or we might think that what he wants most of us is simply to serve him

and to do the work of his kingdom

with diligence and get things done for him.

And so we wait with bated breath for Jesus to tell us the answer.

Of all the commandments, which is the most important?

Which is the one thing that he wants most from you and from me?

And what Jesus says is surprisingly sweet.

The most important one, answer Jesus, is this.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind

and with all your strength.

Love.

Hold on a minute.

I mean, I can't have read that right.

The most important one is this.

Go and make disciples of all nations.

No.

The most important one must be this.

Be holy as I am holy.

No.

The most important one is this.

Fear God.

No.

The most important one is this.

Repent of your sins.

No.

Now, all these are important.

Yes, they're all commands that come from Scripture.

But the most important, says Jesus, is simply,

love Yahweh, your God,

with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

With everything you've got.

Love Him.

Isn't that surprisingly sweet?

The thing that God wants most from you and me

is a relationship characterized by love.

This is what the whole Bible is about.

From cover to cover.

It's why He made us in the beginning.

It's why He gave us a beautiful place to live,

perfectly suited to our needs and delights.

It's what we turned our back on that day in the garden

when we broke faith with Him.

And it's what God has been working to restore

through the ages between Him and us.

A love relationship.

It's why He sent Jesus, His Son, into the world.

It's why Jesus came to suffer and die on the cross.

And it's what Jesus has promised to bring about

in its fullness when He returns.

A love relationship with Him.

With God.

Forever.

Let me read some of the words at the end of the story.

Revelation chapter 21.

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

This is John talking about the vision that he had from Jesus.

He said,

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.

For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away

and there was no longer any sea.

I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,

coming down out of heaven from God,

prepared as a bride,

beautifully dressed for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

Look!

God's dwelling place is now among the people

and He will dwell with them.

They will be His people

and God Himself will be with them

and be their God.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death

or mourning

or crying

or pain

for the old order of things has passed away.

He who was seated on the throne said,

I am making everything new.

I love those words.

A love relationship.

And I will wipe every tear from your eyes

and fix all the brokenness and suffering

and pain in this life kind of relationship.

These words describe God's great love for His people.

And sometimes we lose sight of this

in the busyness of life, don't we?

that this is what it's all about.

It's all too easy for our relationship with God

to become in our minds

about what we must do for God.

But beneath all that,

what God wants most from us

is love.

Sweet, beautiful relationship.

Friendship.

Let's talk briefly about the kind of love

that God desires from us.

Jesus said,

Love the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind

and with all your strength.

Those are some powerful descriptions.

They speak of a passionate love.

You might hear a few of these words

spoken between two people in love today.

I love you with all my heart.

From the depths of my being

with my deepest of feelings.

But then it goes beyond that

and with all your soul.

From the very deepest center

and essence of who I am.

And then it goes one step further.

And with all your mind.

If the whole heart and soul

didn't already capture it all,

he includes all the mind

where all of my inward thoughts

are caught up in loving God.

The closest thing that I

even can compare this to

is that special relationship

between a man and a woman.

I still remember

when I was first dating Jennifer

how naturally

all my thoughts were about her.

Couldn't get her out of my mind.

I was just thinking about her

all the time.

I was thinking about

our last conversation.

I was thinking about

what she enjoyed.

I was thinking about

what we might do

on our next date

and when we might be able

to do that.

I used to tell her

I couldn't sleep at night

because the reality

of our relationship

was better than my dreams.

I was thinking about her

as I lay on my bed.

This is the kind of love

that God desires from us

where we love him

with all our thoughts,

our thinking,

our planning,

our intentionality.

And finally,

God desires for us

to love him

with all of our strength.

So not just a feeling love

or a passion love

but also a doing love.

We misunderstand love

if we think of it

only as a feeling.

It is a feeling

but it's also an action.

It's something

that we do

to one another.

It is felt

but it's also demonstrated.

And it's not that we

must prove our love

through action.

It's that the natural fruit

of love

is action.

Just like if you love

your son or your daughter

and you see them in need.

You want to act.

You act

because you love them.

You help them out.

Or if you have a friend

and you know

it's their birthday coming up.

You do something special

for them.

You give of your time

and your energy

and your strength.

You go get a gift for them

or a card for them.

Action.

John in his letter

says it so well.

1 John 3.18

He says

Dear children

let us not love

with words

or tongue

but with actions

and in truth.

Action.

Loving someone

is not just a feeling.

It's not just something

we say to them.

It's something we do

to them

and for them.

And love requires

strength.

Serving your kids.

Serving your spouse.

Serving each other

in the church.

Serving your neighbor

requires strength.

It requires energy.

And so we shouldn't

be surprised

when Jesus says

that God desires

for us to love him

with all our strength.

It's a full

expressed kind of

love that God

desires from us.

He is our God

and we love him

so we obey him.

He's our king

and we love him

so we serve him

joyfully

from the heart

doing the things

that please him.

all of these

things together

describe the kind

of love

that God desires

from you and me.

A passionate love.

A total devotion

kind of love.

An all of me

and all my life

is yours

kind of love.

Not a fake love.

Not a

well it's my duty

to love you

kind of love

but a sincere

and genuine

love from the heart.

Now we might

read these words

and tremble.

We might think

to ourselves

well this kind

of love

is so far

beyond

what I could

possibly give

to God.

I fail to love

him with all my

heart and soul

and mind

and strength

all the time.

In fact I wonder

if I've ever

loved anyone

but myself

in that way.

this may feel

heavy

and burdensome

to you.

Thou shalt not

steal.

I can do that

but love

the Lord

your God

with all your

heart, soul,

mind and strength.

That's impossible.

Maybe hearing

Jesus' answer

just makes you

feel guiltier

of sin

because you know

that God

is worthy

of this kind

of love

from you

but at the same

time you just

feel powerless

to give it to him.

Let me offer you

a few words

of encouragement

this morning.

Regardless of

whether we can

love God

like this

isn't it sweet

and beautiful

and wonderful

that God

the creator

desires this

kind of relationship

with us.

That he created

us for this

kind of a love

relationship

with him

and that out of

everything he wants

from us

this is what

he desires most.

isn't that sweet?

That alone

says so much

about the kind

of God

that he is.

He is a warm

and personal

and affectionate

God.

So even if we

fail to love

God like this

it still describes

no less

the perfect

all-encompassing

love relationship

that God

wants to have

with us

and that's good

news.

Here's my second

word of encouragement.

God knows

very well

that we have

all failed

to love him

like this.

He knows

that even now

those of us

who do love him

and believe in him

will continue

to fall short

of his glory

and continue

to fall short

of loving him

like this

the way that

he's worthy of

and it's not

to say that

we shouldn't

intentionally

make an effort

to love him

like that

we should

but God

knows that

we are all

bent

and broken

and that

sin and

selfishness

continues to

be present

in all of us

and that's

the whole

reason why

God sent

Jesus

into the

world

to save

us.

None of us

can come

even close

to loving

God as we

should

and we

could never

have this

kind of

relationship

with God

unless

God did

something

to fix

that brokenness

that bentness

inside of us

I love the way

that John

says it

it's the verse

that we have

outside on the

wall

1st John 4

John 4:10

verse 10

this is love

not that we

loved God

but that he

loved us

and sent his

son

as an atoning

sacrifice

for our sins

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 the

good news

of Jesus

not that we

loved God

not that we

must become

good enough

to have

relationship

with him

but that

God loved

us

even while

we were

still quite

unloving

and unlovely

Romans 5

familiar

verse

verse

at just

the right

time

says Paul

when we

were still

powerless

Christ died

for the

ungodly

very rarely

will anyone

die

even for a

righteous

person

though for a

good person

someone might

possibly dare

to die

but God

demonstrates

his own

love for

us

in this

while we

were still

sinners

Christ died

for us

even though

we've all

failed to

love God

as we

should

God has

loved us

so much

so deeply

he's done

something

truly amazing

to fix the

problem

to fix

what's broken

between us

and him

and to

make this

relationship

that he's

describing

possible for

us

loving God

like Jesus

said

that we

should

really is

impossible

for sinners

like you

and me

there's truly

only one

person who

ever loved

God this

way

with all

his heart

and soul

and mind

and strength

all the

time

and that's

Jesus

he was not

bent like

we are

he was in

a sinner

like we

are

and so if

we want to

see what it

looks like

for someone

to really

live this

kind of

relationship

with God

all we need

to do is

read the

gospels

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

but what's

wonderful is

this

while we

will continue

to love

God in a

way that

falls short

of what

God is

worthy of

one day

God will

so transform

all of his

people

that this

kind of

love

that all

your heart

soul

mind

and strength

love

will be

the normal

and the

natural

in our

relationship

with him

we'll find

ultimate joy

we'll find

happiness

forever

loving him

like that

how do we

know that

this is

true

back to

John

first John

three verses

one and

two

see what

great love

the father

has lavished

on us

that we

should be

called

children

of God

and that

is what

we are

dear friends

he goes

on

now we

are children

of God

and what

we will

be has

not yet

been made

known

but we

know

that when

Christ

appears

we shall

be like

him

for we

shall see

him

as he

is

so there's

coming a

day when

all the

children of

God will

become like

Jesus

when he

appears

when he

returns

there's going

to be a

great

transformation

of all

of us

who are

in Christ

and we

will become

like Jesus

loving God

perfectly

the way

that we

should

with all

our heart

soul

mind

and strength

for the

rest of

forever

Paul spoke

about this

transformation

in his

letter to

the

Corinthians

I won't

go there

but he

talked about

how there's

coming a

day when

in a

flash

in the

twinkling

of an

eye

at the

last

trumpet

the dead

will be

raised

and we

will all

be changed

those of

us who

are in

Christ

will be

given a

new

body

will be

clothed

with

immortality

and we

will come

to bear

the image

the likeness

of the

heavenly

man

Jesus

well when

will this

happen

when Jesus

returns

as he

promised

to

so what

should our

response be

to all

this

we might

look at a

command like

this and

say well

I guess I

need to do

better at

loving God

I guess I

need to make a

greater effort

to love God

more fully and

deeply

it's a command

so we just

need to obey

it

we need to

do it

but I'm

not sure

that's the

way we're

meant to

respond to

this

I think if

we want to

grow in our

love for

God

we need to

discover and

experience for

ourselves more

of how glorious

and how worthy

and how lovely

he is

and the more we

know him and

experience his

goodness and see

his greatness the

more deeply and

fully we will

love him it just

follows and so

I don't want to

end this morning

by telling you

to just go out

and love God

more love him

better I want to

encourage you

rather to seek to

know God for who

he really is and

the rest will

follow you won't

be able but to

love him with all

your heart soul

mind and strength

I don't want to

encourage you this

morning just to

love him more and

deeper because it's

your Christian duty

I want to

encourage you to

long for and

seek for the God

who desires this

kind of relationship

with you

how is your

relationship with

God going

how is your

relationship with

Jesus Christ the

king going

are you enjoying

him deeply

are you growing in

your love for him

week after week

are you spending

time just praying

to him each day

throughout the day

not because it's your

Christian duty or

because you have to

fill a certain number

of minutes to feel

good but just

because you want to

be in this love

relationship with

him

same with reading

your Bible

has it become a

religious task

that you just

I got to do this

to be healthy as a

Christian

just like I got to

eat my vegetables

and my whole wheat

bread

or will you open

your Bible this week

at home on your own

just to be in this

love relationship with

God and hear him

speak to you in the

way that he's chosen

to in our day

and so that's what I

want to encourage us

all with this morning

God loves you

he desires an all-in

love relationship with

you so deeply

a passionate powerful

relationship and he's

done everything to

make it possible

this is what the Bible

is all about

this is the good news

of Jesus

are you into that

let's pray

father in heaven

it blows us away

that this is what

you want with us

compared to you

we're nothing

we're pathetic

we're sinners

we've blown it

we've done things

that we

we know are

evil

are wrong

and yet you

love us

and it's amazing

God I pray that

in each of our

hearts you would

draw us

deeper into

friendship with

you

you know exactly

what's going on

in each of our

lives

the struggles

that we have

the challenges

that we're facing

the worries

the doubts

but we pray

and ask in these

moments Lord

that you would

pull us close

that you would

speak of your

love to our

hearts

and that you

would bring

life

and joy

reveal yourself

to us

in the days

and weeks

ahead we ask

in Jesus name

amen

all