Embrace True Love

Introduction

Today, on this day after Valentine’s Day, we wrap up our “True Love’s Journey” series. Last week we took a look at “The Breakup” discussing the importance of breaking up with a sinful life. We discussed things such as being resolute and not looking back on our past lives with nostalgia. We said to embrace the new identity that God has given us, an identity of holy living. This week, we are going to discuss what it looks like to “Embrace True Love”. We may see some shadows from last week overlap, but this is all about embracing our new life in Christ. But first, lets take a look at our historical context.

Historical Context

(Slide 2) Deuteronomy 6 takes us through history to about 1400 BC where we can witness Moses offering instruction to the Israelites just before entering the Promised Land. These paintings are from the 15th-century BCE “Tomb of Rekhmire” (Rehk-mih-ray). They depict Semitic people making bricks from mud under the supervision of an overseer. You may recall Exodus 5 referencing the Hebrew people being forced by Pharaoh to increase they’re brick production after requesting to worship their God, an increase that brought extreme hardship. Soon after, God answered their cries and delivered them from Egypt in miraculous ways. We find them in today’s scripture having just wandered the wilderness for 40 years after that deliverance, a period of being a nomadic people as one generation passes and the next emerges. Now they listen to instruction as they prepare to be transformed from a nomadic life to settled nationhood, and at the forefront of that instruction is Moses telling them to “love The Lord their God with all their heart, all their soul, and all their strength”.

True Love is Wholehearted Devotion

(Slide 3) God does not want partial love. He does not want leftovers. He does not want Sunday-only devotion. You may recall from Revelation 3:16 where Jesus rebukes the church in Laodicea for being lukewarm. I don’t know about you, but I love my morning coffee. However, I want it to be hot. So much so, that I have two ember tumblers that have internal heating to keep it at an optimized temperature. My wife, on the other hand, prefers cold coffee most of the time, and she wants it ice-cold. Neither of us want our beverage at room temperature. We would pour it out. Jesus is saying here that God has the same feelings about believers with a superficial faith. They are not appealing to Him, and therefore would be rejected by Him. So Moses, out of love for God and his people, are telling them to be completely dedicated: body, soul, and strength. They need to devote all of themselves to His love. They need to show a love that is faithful!

What does that mean for us as his children? We can’t have a spiritual double life. No secret loyalties. No divided allegiances. When we move from sin, we can’t just change behavior, we have to change ownership. We no longer belong to sin, we belong to God. So Sunday commitment doesn’t cut it. True love chooses Him daily, remaining committed through temptation, deciding to never go back. Faithfulness is the evidence of true love!

True Love Produces a Holy Life

(Slide 4) And with the things of God, true love produces holy living. Be careful not to understand holy living with an understanding of legalism. That was the mistake of the religious leaders that Jesus had to deal with. They took a legalistic approach to holiness. Jesus even said in Matthew 23:2–3 ““The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.” He was very critical of their actions. They had the knowledge of how to please God but not the heart to exercise it.

When love is real, it doesn’t ask “what can I get away with”. It asks “Lord, how can I please You?” True love understands that even though the relationship reciprocates goodness to one another, it is not meant to merely be transactional. We know the law has transactional language in it as it states things like “if you” then “I will”. But remember, while the law lists the expectations and promises of God, Christ showed that it is properly fulfilled through relational intimacy. Therefore, neither does away with the other. The law sets the standards and makes the promises, the relationship shows how it is lived out in love. Jan and I stood before one another 33 years ago offering vows, but we have learned over those 33 years that the vows are naturally lived out in love. It is similar with God, the law being the vows, and the holy life is our expressed love. So we need to embrace a holy life as a response of our love for Him.

True Love is Daily Surrender

And embracing true love is not a one-time decision. It is a daily reminder. Every day we choose:

Faithfulness over compromise

Holiness over temptation

Obedience over convenience

Loving God with all of our heart, soul, and strength means that we:

Guard our thoughts

Guard our relationships

Guard our choices

So I know that sounds odd, but in a sense, we can surrender by guarding. How do we do that? We surrender to holiness by guarding ourselves against sin. That comes with intentional practices such as daily devotionals, an active prayer life, being part of an active church family, knowing and avoiding our temptation triggers. We develop holy habits to build holy virtue, which will eventually move beyond effort into normal life. This is how the Holy Spirit redefines our character. And what is this process called? SANCTIFICATION!

Conclusion

So friends, the world offers counterfeit love. Sin offers temporary pleasure. But God offers transformation. Those of us who have gone through the breakup need to be resolute, embracing our new love and making it a forever love. Love God:

Completely

Faithfully

Passionately

Shun evil. Pursue holiness. Be eager to please Him. Because when you embrace true love, you embrace the God who made you new.