Based on “The Cost of Love”
by Pastor Dean Corns; 2/13-14/10,
Message #DC130; Daily Devotional #4
“Love Makes the Difference”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35) With the world’s emphasis on love this time of year, it is easy to forget that there is a big difference between the love believers have for people and the love that the world touts. Jesus said He was giving us a “new” command. The command is for us, as fellow believers, to love one another. That sounds easy doesn’t it? Well, sometimes it is, but there is a qualifier Jesus used here. The command was to love others as “I have loved you.” What does this mean? It means that we are commanded to follow Jesus’ example of love. That example led Him to the cross. That sounds pretty extreme. You may not believe that He is calling us to that kind of love, but He is. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? (1 John 3:16-17)
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): Jesus doesn’t equate love to a greeting card or a box of chocolates. He says that love would cost us or it wasn’t love at all. The cool thing about this passage is the source of the love that does things like this: The love of God. The love of God is pure love. It isn’t affected by anything from the outside. It moves us to do things that we wouldn’t normally want to do. This love tends to well up in us. It is a movement in our hearts and spirits to follow after God’s will for our lives. This oftentimes means stepping out of our comfortable borders. Look at Ananias’ experience for example. In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. (Acts 9:10-19) Ananias was willing to lay down his life for his soon to be brother.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): Ananias had reasoned, and logically so, that Saul could have him arrested and killed. Something moved him to go and do it anyway. We could call it obedience, we could call it reverence, but ultimately this whole story began with the love of God. How do I know that, you may ask? I know that because God had every right to strike Saul down dead for attacking His children, but God had mercy on Paul. Ananias’ actions were a continuation of God’s work in Saul’s life. The love of God moved in his heart to go somewhere and do something that he would have never done before. Just think of what the church would have missed out on if this one man would have disregarded the love of God in his life! The New Testament would be much thinner, the Gospel may have never reached our ears and the population in the Kingdom of Heaven would have been cut significantly. Think about that for a moment. Kingdom growth depends on you and me sensing and reacting to the love of God in our lives. We can singlehandedly impact future generations by simply laying down our lives for those God calls.
Cultivating (Additional Reading): Luke 23:33-43
TCH
Calvary Chapel of Melbourne; 2955 Minton Road; W. Melbourne, FL 32904; 321-952-9673
All Bible references are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.