Loving in Christ

A couple years back a well known artist released a country song entitled, “Love Wins.” The premise suggests that the remedy for our broken fallen world is simply “love.” If we all just love one another our troubles will be no more. But the fact of the matter is, it’s not that simple. The lyrics to the song leave one floundering for the meaning of true love. You see, how love is defined and demonstrated varies significantly depending on who you talk to. Not everyone understands this simple-yet highly nuanced concept in the same way. We all know it exists and that it’s profoundly important, but we all have trouble defining it. Scripture actually has a lot to say about this topic. John says in his first epistle, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” At the center of the gospel is where we find the truest and highest demonstration of love. The apostle Paul affirms this in Romans 5:8. It stands to reason then why love receives such prominence in 1 Corinthians 13. Paul says if we have the power to understand the mysteries of life, if we have faith, or if we even make the ultimate sacrifice, but fail to love, we are nothing (13:2-3). Therefore, we look to Christ. Apart from the coming of Jesus, we can’t fully know what love is. He is the remedy for our broken and fallen world; not some obscure warm affectionate feeling. Our understanding of love must be grounded in the person and work of our Savior. The fact that “God is love” insists that we must continually depend upon Him as we seek to love rightly and grow in our understanding of this high calling. In our text for this week, the Apostle Paul instructs believers to “walk in love” (Eph. 5:2). But he doesn’t leave us hanging. He again defines love by pointing us to the person and work of Christ (v2b). Paul argues in this text that the only life worth living is one that is committed to loving in the way God has defined it. As we live this week, may God help us to imitate Him in the way we love one another. And may He be our highest love as the gospel continues to shape our affections. –Pastor Nate

Sunday at Liberty