When people ask us “how is your love life” people are asking about... our relationships, whether we are in a relationship, are we happy in that relationship, whether that relationship is meeting our needs or weather we would like to be in another relationship. When people ask you how your love life is you take it personal in the sense of what your getting as far as the love your receiving. When we look at the message of Christmas that poses that question ‘How’s your love life?’ this question isn’t really about hows your romance, it is about ‘How is your giving?’ Most of us don’t think about our love life in that way, and yet Christmas really brings home the message, that a person’s love life has to do with how they are giving.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world
This is a passage you could spend months teaching, each word is critical, It begins with God. God is the one who initiates love, “For God so loved” not just a little bit but you can hear it in the words. He had such an affection, such a passion for his people, When
God loves it is not a fickle kind of love it is a very passionate love.
that he gave his one and only Son,
Love gives, when you attach giving and love together, the giving becomes sacrificial, it isn’t like the kind of giving we give once in a while or like the famous fruit cake that you continue to pass around, But when God gives it is motivated by love and when he gives it is sacrificial. He gives what the average person wouldn’t give, he does what we wouldn’t in our own nature do. What makes this verse so incredible? God loved us when we did not love him. He sent his son in the world to the world when the world could care less. Between the Old Testament and the New Testament there was a 400 year silence when God doesn’t speak, He doesn’t speak when his people so rejected him they have gone their own way and couldn’t of cared less. Just at the right times when He knew when everything was aligned perfectly he sent his son to win us back. That is what love does, it does for us what we naturally wouldn’t do for ourselves or even do for others
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
In this message is a very simple message of what a love life is, it is a very simple message of what giving is.
Giving
Love Gives Life And Promotes A Life Of Giving Love
Why do we give during Christmas? Lets face it we give out of obligation, because somehow, somewhere, somebody started this tradition and it became commercialized and if you really love someone you better get them a gift or you will be in big trouble.
That is not what Christmas is all about. That is not what giving is all about. The true message of Christmas, a giving in Christmas should be an understanding of the love of God that giving is for the purpose of giving love. What is love? Love is when we pour into the lives of other people. Love gives something, it gives life to other people and it promotes a life of giving love.
What does the Bible say when it speaks of love? It says that God is love. When we love with the love that God has given us in Christ love gives life and promotes a life of giving love to others.
Our job as believers in Christ, is to love all those around us with a love that pours life into them. Our job is to fill the gap. That is what God did in Christ. He came and took on flesh to show us how much he loved us and to fill that gap between a God that wasn’t visible to a God that was visible, physical and tangible. He filled the gap between our sinfulness and God’s holiness by coming and dying on a cross for us that we might have what he has.
1 Corinthians 13
13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
Love is patient:
When we give love to people we give it through patience. When people need understanding we show up with patience for them we fill the gap. Have you every met someone who tries your patience? everyday right? People who are rude and just self centered and they stretch you? The question is... What would love do? What would God do? Love is patient, what it would do is try to understand. How you deal with that? Understanding... Looking back and trying to get a feel for why they do what they do. But what they need most from you is patients. It is easy to label, to judge, to gossip but to actually fill the gap with patients with what love does.
Love is kind:
What does that mean? In our dealing with people kindness means being gentle with them, not being rough, not blowing people off, not giving snappy remarks, love gives life.
We can pour life into people by simply being patient, by simply being kind to them it keeps no record of wrong, what does love do? it forgives.
Love is forgiveness:
One of the greatest gifts we have as an expression of God’s love is the forgiveness that he extends to us. Forgiveness is a very powerful thing, too often we underestimate it, too often we withhold it from other people. Forgiveness fills the gap. The greatest expression of God’s love was sending his son to sacrificially give to us what we didn’t deserve, forgiveness. Forgiveness helps to determine how a person is going to turn out, helps a person to see that they can become better and not just to be cursed with being condemned or enter a life of self loathing.
Love is honest:
Love is honest even while it is kind. Even while it deals with the truth gently it gives you the truth. That is what we are to do, if we are going to make a difference in this world in filling the gap then we have got to be honest with people, because when we are honest it is a display of our love, and who God is to us.
Love always protects:
It always protects the dignity of another person. It always protects the safety of another person, the reputation of another person. Always. Physically, spiritually, mentally and sexually.
Love always trusts:
So what do you do with people who you deem as not being trustworthy? What do you do with that? People that you look at and say to yourself, they will burn you. God Sent his son into this world why? So they can all put their loving arms around him and trust him? No, God sent his son into a world of wolves that will ravish him and they were not trustworthy, people who could careless, people who wanted to kill him the minute he was born, and yet God trusted his love to overcome the sinfulness of this world. There are times that we can look at people and say, yea, they are not trustworthy, and yet love says to us, show them trust anyway. Trust is me giving you room to become trustworthy. Trust isn’t putting you in a position where you fall because I don’t act responsibly, but trust is giving you the room to become trustworthy. Love looks for opportunities for trust to grow, for trust to become, love looks for redemption in every case.
Love always hopes:
It always hopes in faith of what God can do but yet to be seen. When we trust fully in God and we hold out the hope of God’s love for all were loving the world even if the world has lost it’s hope. Sometimes all people need in the midst of their hopelessness is for somebody to come along side of them with hope and help hold them up. It is believing by faith at what God can do but not yet seen, but not doubting and standing in the midst of hopelessness.
Love always perseveres:
Love never quits because it never fails. God has called us to enter the gap where there is a lack of trust. To enter the gap where there is a lack of... hope, no tolerance bring tolerance, no kindness and bring kindness, All these are spiritual gifts where Paul says they are part of love. They are motivated by love.
If you look back to the beginning of the Corinthians passage the point is very simple, if it is not for the love of God then what ever I do does not mean anything. “I gain nothing.” The motivation that can’t be “I do this to please God for my gain” The motivation has to be this “I do this because I have received the love of God, and the love of God gives life to others in love.”
What is the greatest gift you can give someone this Christmas and throughout this year? Is the gift where you fill the gap at what is needed at the time by being sacrificial
and pouring life into people who are hurting and people who even hurt others. That is what love does. Jesus says love your enemies.
It is standing in the gap and giving people what they don’t have and desperately need.
Love gives life:
God came into this world as a baby to give life to us, that in that life, birth of love that we would go out and be promoting a life of giving love
I. Be Grateful:
Pray, God I thank you for the love you have for me that I don’t deserve. If we can believe that God loves us and understand that that means that God unconditionally accepts us, then we will understand that the greatest gift that God has given us in Christ is his love, patience, forgiveness, tolerance, kindness and the faith to have hope then we can go out in this world and we will start to love other people. We have got to be grateful for the gift of God’s love in Christ or we will miss the gift.
II. Be Glad:
To be glad to share it, not to be ashamed, but to be earnestly glad. That we have something that really matters that everyone needs and to give it. When you show forgiveness to someone who everyone deems does not deserve it, you show the love of God and you will provide yourself the opportunity to speak of the love of God. When you show patience you will allow yourself the opportunity to show the love of God and to speak of the love of God. Be glad that God has given you this gift of love and let it promote in you a life of giving love to others that they might have real life.
III. Be Generous
Don’t hold back, I don’t care if it is with forgiveness, money, time. If you feel God is calling you to express his love with another with any means/vehicle be generous. Because the God who loves you, in his love will pour into your life, that you might pour life into others by his love.
So if anyone should ask you this Christmas ‘how is your love life.’ You can say, ‘thanks for asking.’ and you can tell them and give them the love of your life.
Notes taken by: lorelllawrence@comcast.net
The notes is for you to have for review in the series, also to reflect on during the week.
God Bless, Sermon by: Pastor Frederick Williams