I was honored to be the Lay Day speaker one fall Sunday at my church. As part of my discourse, I discussed that loving each other is what is expected of us as the children of God. On this February 14th, let’s look at what love is. This is an excerpt from my Lay Day sermon:
In Matthew 22, Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees. They were playing word games with him to get him to incriminate himself. One asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment. The Ten Commandments found in the Decalogue are just a drop in the bucket of the 613 commandments taught by Moses. In your church-going, you may have heard “The Summary of the Decalogue.” This summary was Jesus’ reply to the Pharisees. In Matthew 22:37-40 (New International Version), Jesus answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Therefore, as followers of Jesus, as children of God, we are to love God and love each other.
How do we give love to God? We honor Him. We keep his commandments. We obey him. We praise him. We offer ourselves as living sacrifices for him. We seek his mercy and forgiveness. We follow his path. We commit ourselves to his will. But know this, God does not intend for us to hoard His love. His love within us should compel us to share that love with others.
How do we give love to each other? This may be the harder of the two. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 13:4-7), he described what love looks like. We are patient with each other. (Love is patient.) We are kind to each other. (Love is kind.) We are not envious of each other. (Love does not envy.) We do not exalt our triumphs over another. (Love does not boast.) We treat each other honorably. (Love does not dishonor.) We rejoice with each other. We respect each other. We are agreeable with each other. We protect each other. We do not hold grudges against each other. We act selflessly. We lift each other. We forgive each other. We do not speak evil of each other.
So, on this day that has morphed into celebrating romantic love, let’s also celebrate, and practice, neighborly love. Take time to love God and each other.
What a beautiful tribute to Our Lord and to the real meaning of Valentines Day. Your words reveal the beauty of your heart and soul, and they challenge each of us to remember what LOVE really happens to be. In this chaotic world in which we live, it is so easy to forget, but when you love the Lord with all of your heart He finds ways to remind us of His will. Today, Sabrina, He used you.
What a wonderful biblical perspective on love. I had never thought about hoarding love, but that is exactly what we do when we don’t share love. Thanks for sharing and adding to my understanding of Christian love.
Thank you this reminder. In today’s environment we forget, we look for the survival of oneself. My space, my peace which may be the root of the world today. Love one another as HE loved us. Bless you for allowing GOD to use you!