His Love is Good News! Abide in it!

This is the fourth installment in our Advent Series "A Season of Preparation"

We have considered the Hope, Peace, and Joy that we have in Jesus Christ, and now today we will look at Love!

Recently I read a humorous email that told the story of a minister, visiting a family's home near Christmas time, who upon seeing their beautiful Nativity set, asked their adorable little girl, "Do you know what this is?" With a knowing smile she replied, "Yes, it's breakable."

1. His Love Abounds and Endures (Psalm 103:8; 100:5; 136)

Psalm 103:8      The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. [used 9x in OT]

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good;
                  his steadfast love endures forever,
           and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 136:1-4, 23-26

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
² Give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

⁴ to him who alone does great wonders,
    for his steadfast love endures forever…

²³ It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁴ and rescued us from our foes,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁵ he who gives food to all flesh,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

Abounding and enduring—simply means that there is a lot of God’s love, and it lasts a long time—more than we can imagine! In passages like Psalm 136, it is a message that is hard to miss, but one we need to be reminded of repeatedly.

2. His Love Invades & Illuminates Our Hearts (John 3:16-21)

     “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,

               that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

      For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

        but in order that the world might be saved through him. 

        Whoever believes in him is not condemned,

  but whoever does not believe is condemned already,

     because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 

                            And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world,

and people loved the darkness rather than the light

                                          because their works were evil. 

   For everyone who does wicked things

                                                          hates the light and

                                       does not come to the light, 

                                                    lest his works should be exposed. 

   But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

God the Son came to earth on a rescue mission…to deliver fallen humanity from sin and death. His whole life was lived redemptively. His death and resurrection finished his mission. Jesus is the expression of the prodigal love of God running to meet us and welcome us home. Hebrews 2:14-18 tells us that this mission Jesus came to fulfill was to set us free from the slavery that comes from the fear of death that required him to be made like us in every respect. He has a physical body, in his human will he “suffered when tempted” yet was victorious and helps those of us who are being tempted today. The question is, what will we do in response? Will we run from the light or towards it? To put it in Christmas terms, will we follow the star to kneel before the King or harden our hearts against him?

3. His Love Is Shared with Us (John 15:9)

As the Father has loved me,

               so have I loved you.

                     Abide in my love.     

What does it mean to abide? We use “abide” to translate the Greek word μένω (menō). In general, it means to stay or to remain continuously, day by day. We can see this meaning in its various uses:

• In terms of place = to stay, to not depart, to tarry, dwell
• In regards to time = to continue to be, to live, to endure
• In referencing state or condition = to not become another or different

The only way for us to remain clean and fruitful is for us to maintain a vital spiritual relationship with Christ. Abiding speaks of relationship, not separation, even as branches only have what the vine and the sun supply.

4. His Love Abides with Us as We Abide With Him (John 15:9-17)

We could not hope to obey his command to “abide in my love” if his love was not itself abiding.

    If you keep my               commandments,

        you will abide in my love, just as I have

                kept my Father's commandments

             and abide in his love.

    These things I have spoken to you,

                          that my joy may be in you,

                 and that your joy may be full.

           “This is my               commandment,

                                                             that you love one another

                      as I have loved you.

    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.

     No longer do I call you servants,

                               for the servant does not know what his master is doing;

                    but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard

               from my Father

                          I have made known to you.

                                 You did not choose me,

               but I chose you and

                 appointed you that you should go and bear fruit

                                                                and that your fruit should abide,

      so that whatever you ask

                       the Father in my name,

      he may give it to you.

                    These things I command you,

                                                 so that you will love one another.

In the context of the discourse about the vine and the branches, Jesus drove home the lesson about abiding. We were intended to abide in his love through obedience to his commands. Love is not just a feeling though it does involve a response of the heart to his love for us. Obeying his commandments is an expression of love (John 14:15) if we know what his commandments are such abiding obedience makes perfect sense.

• John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
• 1 John 3:23-24 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
• 1 John 4:13-17 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

Will we believe in him and love one another? To do so is the best Christmas decoration ever (see John 13:35 above).

5. His Love Transforms Us From The Inside Out!

One of the great preachers of the early church, Chrysostom, is recorded as having said, “Heat makes all things expand and the warmth of love will always expand a person’s heart.” When the love of Christ is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5) we, like Dr. Seuss’ proverbial Grinch, experience a transformation of the heart (“his heart grew three sizes that day”), and our spiritual strength is multiplied (“12 Grinches plus two”). Christ’s love compels and controls us in the sense that it motivates us in a way that knowing it, having received it, and continuing to abide in it, we can do nothing less (2 Corinthians 5:14)!

1 Cor. 13:1-3 makes it clear that Christ’s love is the only thing that really matters. It determines the value of all that I do or say.

        If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, 

           I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,

and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains,     but have not love,

          I am nothing. 

       If I give away all I have,

and if I deliver up my body to be burned,                   but have not love,

          I gain nothing.

Hebrews 12:5-6 His love is not all warm fuzzies but does the hard things that are needed in our lives. His love disciplines us and doesn’t let us just do whatever we want.

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
                                                   nor be weary when reproved by him.
 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
                                  and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Jesus says the same thing to the Church at Laodicea, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” (Rev. 3:19)

God loves justice and hates robbery and wrong (Isa. 61:8) Why? Because it is unloving.

If we love him then what should our attitude be? One of imitating God. How do we imitate God? It is not by exercising power and authority but by walking in love. Paul, in writing to the church in Ephesus,

 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,

                           a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)

He also wrote instructions about this to a young pastor named Timothy,

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness… They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:11, 18-19)

When we have the love of Christ inside us, transforming us, it cannot be contained but flows from us.

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” (1 Peter 1:22-25) 

How can we not be captivated by the love of Christ? How could life ever be dull and dreary again? I don’t think it can unless we allow our love to turn back in on ourselves instead of abiding in Christ and loving one another.

This love prompts us to engage the needs of those around us as well. Augustine aptly described the love of Christ embodied in his followers, “What does love look like? It has hands to help others, feet to hasten to the poor and needy, eyes to see misery and want, [and] ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”

6. We Were Lovingly Chosen in Christ…Live into It! (Ephesians 1:3-6)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

                 who has blessed us in Christ

with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,

 that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 

                to the praise of his glorious grace,

 with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Why do we give gifts at Christmas? To show our love for others, certainly. But even more, we give because the gifts remind us that God gave us the greatest gift at Christmas—Jesus Christ!

During this Advent season, we have lighted candles representing Hope, Peace, and Joy over the last three weeks and this week we add the fourth candle representing Love. Let us encourage each other this week to actively abide in his love!

I will conclude by praying a prayer of blessing over you all. It is taken from Ephesians 3:16-19, 

I pray that out of his glorious riches 

he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 

may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, 

to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—

that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (NIV)