02-12-2023 Why is Love So Important?

Beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder. With that in mind, note the response of former first lady Barbara Bush when in 2001 she was asked if she still considers her husband the most handsome man she's ever seen. She replied, "Yes. But my eyesight is getting bad."

After his first wedding anniversary, Rex explained to his dad, “I feel like my marriage GPS spends most of the time recalculating.”

The first purpose of love is to cast out fear of judgment (1 Jn 4:17-8)

Acts 17:29–31 ESV

29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

1 John 4:17–18 ESV

17 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. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

The second purpose of love is to prove that God is concerned about us (Exodus 20:4-7; 1 John 4:8-9; Romans 5:8)

4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Exodus 20:4-7 NIV1984)

8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 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. (1 John 4:8-9 NIV1984)

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The third purpose of love is to express the forgiveness of God (Psalm 103:1-8; Colossians 3:12-14)

Psalm 103:1–8 ESV

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Colossians 3:12–14 ESV

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

During World War II, Corrie ten Boom's family hid Jews in their Holland home. When their secret was discovered they suffered the same fate as their Jewish friends. Corrie and her sister, Betsie, ended up in Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. Betsie died there and Corrie was miraculously released due to a clerical error. Several years later, in 1947, Miss ten Boom returned to the war-torn city of Munich. She spoke to a group of defeated Germans about God's healing power of forgiveness. She used one of her favorite mental pictures to describe the completeness of God's forgiveness: "When we confess our sins, God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever." After the service was over, a man began to make his way to the front. In an instant she recognized him as one of their guards. He thrust his hand out and said, "A fine message, Fraulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea." Corrie ten Boom froze; rather than take his hand she began to fumble through her purse. As she did, the man went on to say he was a part of the atrocities at Ravensbruck. "But since that time, he said, I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well." He again extended his hand and asked, "Fraulein, will you forgive me?" It seemed implausible, could he kill her sister and then so easily find forgiveness? Everything within her resisted his request, but she knew what God had commanded. Because she worked with victims of Nazi brutality, Miss ten Boom knew those who were able to forgive were the ones who moved on with their life. Those who harbored unforgiveness became incapacitated by their bitterness. So out of sheer obedience, she silently prayed for God's help and stuck out her hand. She said, "I forgive you, brother, with all my heart!" Miraculously, her heart filled with love as she clutched his hand. The former guard and the former prisoner both experienced the beauty of forgiveness. It was a moment of which Corrie ten Boom wrote, "I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then."

CHALLENGE:

1 Peter 4:7–8 ESV

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

God Desires Clear-Minded and Self-Controlled People who are then able to PRAY…

Today we are often foggy-headed and reactionary and if we pray it is often self-centered or only done when we are in a pinch...

He then Desires us to KEEP LOVING WITH FERVENT

We want to dig up dirt, throw it in the air, and rejoice that we have exposed all the terrible things of others....