Responsibility in Christ, 1

Love is a concept frequently discussed in our culture. We talk of falling in love. We say we love meals or we love tv shows and movies. Even as we talk about love in these ways, most people recognize that we don’t mean love in the same way every time we use it. However, the imprecision with which we talk of love has distanced our understanding of love from what the Bible calls love. The most common biblical concept associated with love is sacrifice. 1 Corinthians 13, the so-called love chapter, emphasizes this when Paul writes, “Love does not seek its own, . . . [but] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor 13:5, 7). Christ emphasized the sacrificial nature of love as well when He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Another important passage that emphasizes love’s sacrifice is Ephesians 5. In the context of defining submission, the sacrifice of our will to another, Paul calls husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Eph 5:25). In what way did Christ love the church? He sacrificed Himself for her. We could spend hours exploring the ways that a husband can sacrifice himself for his wife, but the reality is that our unique relationships require unique sacrifices. Christ’s sacrifice was literally to die for His bride. Few are called to such sacrifice in their own marriages, but we are all called to sacrifice something. The fruitlessness with which we often throw around the word love without evidence of sacrifice is pitiable. Far too often, we love our wives in the same way we love a meal or a movie, for what we can get out of them. But the love that is demanded of husbands is one in which we give of ourselves. Never demanding our own way; never taking advantage, never abusing our relationship for our own selfish ends. We have a great example of someone who loved in this way: Jesus loved perfectly, and He can change our hearts to help us love like we should too. May the love expressed in the homes and lives of Liberty Baptist Church be a reflection of this perfect sacrificial love. –Pastor Rory

Sunday at Liberty