True Love I John 4:1-11

What a wonderful hymn to recognize and give thanks for the blessings that we all share because of the work and witness of so many women in the Bible. The particular verse that I chose to for today, verse 13, speaks about Eunice and Lois, the mother and grandmother of Timothy. In the introduction to his second letter to Timothy, Paul acknowledged the role that Timothy’s grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice played in development of his faith. The hymn verse includes a prayer that in every household true teachers of God’s Word would be raised up and asks that their lives will bear a clear witness of Christ, our risen Lord. On this Mother’s Day, among other blessings that we consider when we think of our mothers and the influence that they have had on our lives, we have to think about the ways in which they have taught and nurtured our faith. Whether it was teaching us our first prayers or telling us our first Bible stories or simply insisting that regular worship was a way of life the influence of mothers will not be forgotten.

By word and deed, many mothers and grandmothers instilled in their children a love of the Lord and modeled a life of love and service to their families and to others. That is the greatest blessing that we can recall as we celebrate a day that honors mothers. While all of the earthly blessings that we enjoy because of our mothers are important they have meaning only for this life. The spiritual blessings that have come to us through our mothers as they witness to their faith in Jesus and share God’s love have eternal benefits. They share the love that they have first known from God. It is that love of God that is the main topic of John’s first letter that has served as our Epistle lesson the last several Sundays and will continue for a few more. As we look more closely at this love on this Mother’s day, may we come to greater understanding of the source of this love and may we be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live out that kind of love in our lives each day.

Love is word that had many meanings in our world today. It is probably one of the most abused words in our language. A word that is supposed to describe a deep feeling that comes from the heart of God, that is unconditional and eternal, has become used in connection with things that are trivial and fleeting as well as things that are sacrilegious and profane. The word love has been cheapened so much in our language that the real meaning is often lost. It’s good for us to take a look once in a while at what John has to say about love in his letter. Because of his wonderful presentations on the nature of the love that we have from God and the love that we then show to one another, John has been called the Apostle of Love.

To really understand the word love as it is used in John’s epistle and as it is used elsewhere in the Bible, you have to go back to the original language of the New Testament. The Greek New Testament has several words that could be translated as love. One could mean a kind of brotherly love. The city of Philadelphia has been called the city of brotherly love because that is literally what Philadelphia means. There is also another word that describes the love between husband and wife that expresses itself in the physical attraction they have between them. While those understandings of love have their place in our lives, the love that John discusses here and throughout this letter is described with another Greek word. That word carries with it the idea of a love that knows all about the object of love and loves unconditionally. It is a giving kind of love that expects nothing in return. It is a love that would simply be expressed in the word, “I love you.” It has no exceptions or qualifiers. It’s doesn’t say, “I love you because…” or “I will love you if…” or “I will love you when…” It simply says, “I love you.” That is the love that God has shown to us. Paul writes to the Romans, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” John quotes Jesus in his Gospel, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Even though we were sinners who rebelled against God, He loved us so much that He sacrificed His only Son for us so that we could have eternal life. That is real love.

That is the love that we celebrate whenever we come together as people of God for worship. That is what worship really is. Sometimes I think we forget that. We forget about how much God has loved us. We come to worship because we think we have to. We come to worship to feel good. We come to worship to see our friends. We come to worship to receive only and we forget that we are here to give praise and thanks to God through our songs and our prayers and our responses to His love.

The greatest demonstration of God’s love we remembered and celebrated during Holy Week and Easter Sunday. That Easter celebration continues throughout the Church year and really every day of our lives as we are reminded of God’s great love in forgiving our sins and providing us with the strength, guidance and will to live our lives in response to His great love. That is why John says in our text, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” Real love, God’s love, was shown to us as He sent His son to be the propitiation or satisfaction for our sins. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Remembering God’s love toward us, a love that knows all about us and loves us with an unconditional love and wants what is best for us, we are motivated, empowered and commanded to love one another. That begins in our family. We can love our spouse with that kind of love. It is a love that knows all about the spouse and loves unconditionally. It is a love that forgives and seeks the best for each other. Once again we can turn to Paul, this time in I Corinthians 13. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

The same thing applies to parents and children. Parents are to love and care for their children and do what is best for them and at the same time, children are to love their parents, honor and obey them.

Again, remembering God’s love for us and motivated by the power of the Holy Spirit we show that same love to one another in the other arenas of our lives. That could begin in the church where we share the same basic understanding of God’s love and seek to serve our Lord according to His will. We work together and support one another in times of joy and in times of sadness. We encourage one another in the name of Jesus.

It doesn’t end there though. We also have opportunity to show God’s love to people in our neighborhood, our community and around the world as we see people who are hurting and who need the assurance of God’s love and care. They can see God’s love through the words and actions of His people as they become His hands and His voice in their lives.

With this kind of love alive in the hearts of people, our homes, churches and communities ought to be places where the love of God abounds every day. But we know that is not the case. We are still human beings who struggle with our human nature every day and who make mistakes no matter how hard we try to do what is right and God pleasing. The Good News is that even when we fail to love as He has loved us, He offers us forgiveness for the sake of Jesus and He empowers us to love one another. May that love grow in our hearts. May we find ways to express that love as the Lord gives us opportunity not just today, but every day of our lives. Amen

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