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Love Principle - Study 16: Love Redefined

  • 16 hours ago
  • 11 min read

John 10:11, 14-15, 17-18 NIVUK 

[11]  ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  
[14]  ‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.  
[17] The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. [18] No-one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.’ 

A few weeks ago, an attempt was made to make me a victim of cybercrime. It had me fooled for a while, but I managed to figure it out before I lost any money. 


Not everyone is so blessed. 


Some attempted frauds are so blatantly obvious that you seriously wonder how anyone could be that naive. Others are much more sneaky. 


Every year it is estimated that $10.5 trillion are lost to online fraud and cybercrime. That is an enormous amount. 


The basic weapon any fraudster uses is to pretend to be someone they are not. 


It might sound strange to start a study on love by talking about fraud and cybercrime.


However, this world has been successfully fooled by fraudulent love for generations. It has been convinced that love means romance, or love means sex, or love means a close friendship.  


But that isn’t all love is. If we think that’s all love is, it’s a bit like saying we have all of the Pacific Ocean in a droplet of water. 


There is so much more to it than that. 


The greatest gesture of love was not romantic or even friendly or hospitable in nature. It was way, way more than that. 


The greatest gesture of love was Christ’s death on the cross. 


It was violent. It was painful. It was gory. It was hate-filled. It was dehumanising. It was degrading. It was as far from romantic as it’s possible to be. 


Yet the fact that He was willing to undergo it all for us is the single biggest gesture of love this world has ever seen or will ever see. It redefined what love should be. 


Now, I am not advising you to find a romantic partner based on whether or not they are willing to die on a cross for you. If you do, you are very likely to never marry. 


What I am suggesting is that we explore just what this incredible gesture of love really means for us.  


There are three aspects of the love Jesus showed for us by dying on the cross from which I believe we can learn. The first of these is that it was a Love That Releases. 

 

Love That Releases 

Philippians 2:5-7 NIVUK 

[5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: [6] who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; [7] rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 

Have you ever played tug-o-war? We played it in PE in school. Physical activity was never my strong point. My brain was always stronger than my biceps. 


Safe to say that I was never first pick for that particular team. 


In tug-o-war, each team grips onto a rope and tries to pull the other team towards them. It’s a competition to see who has the stronger grasp. 


It is a metaphor for life. We all try hard to jealously guard what we have. One side is forced to surrender. Everyone ends up in the nurse’s office with painful rope burns. 


The other way to describe this is a ‘zero sum game’, where one side has to win and the other side has to lose. So we grapple and battle with each other to make sure that we are the winner. 


Then we come to Jesus. 


He didn’t grasp. He didn’t grip. He didn’t hold on for dear life. 


He let go. 


He let go of everything He had in heaven – and He had more than we could ever dream of.


He had everything that we live for and so much more besides. 


Yet He let it go. 


Why would someone do that? 


Think for a second why it is that we trade one thing for another, or swap one thing for another, or hand over money to buy something. It’s because we need the thing we are obtaining and we believe that its value is at least worth what we are surrendering to obtain it. 


Think about that for a second. 


What this means is that we were so very precious in the eyes of Jesus Christ that He was willing to let go of all of heaven to gain us. 


That is an extraordinary thought. 


Yet it is true. 


Galatians 1:3-5 NIVUK 

[3] Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, [4] who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, [5] to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

Galatians 2:20 NIVUK 

[20] I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/gal.2.20.NIVUK)


1 Timothy 2:5-6 NIVUK 

[5] For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.  

What we celebrate at Christmas is not just the birth of a baby, but the birth as a baby of a Saviour who let go of all He had in Heaven to come to earth as a baby and take hold of us.  


It is a truly awesome thing. 


But after that we from Christmas to Good Friday, because as well as seeing a love that releases, we also see a Love That Sacrifices. 

 

Love That Sacrifices 

Philippians 2:8 NIVUK 

[8] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/php.2.8.NIVUK)


And what a sacrifice! 


It’s always heart-warming to hear stories of people who met the living organ donors who saved their life through their generosity. To undergo surgery for someone else, especially if it means losing all or part of an organ, is a really special thing to do. We should all appreciate those who are willing to do it. 


But what Jesus did goes way beyond that. Because we were not just dying when Jesus intervened: the Bible tells us that we were dead: 


Ephesians 2:1-2 NIVUK 

[1] As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, [2] in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  

Now, I have never worked in a funeral home, but if there is one thing I know about dead people it’s that they are unable to do anything about being dead. If they could, they probably would not be dead anymore. But they can’t. They are wholly unable to change their state. 


The Bible tells us why we were dead: we were dead in our transgressions and sins. We were dead because we had crossed the love line and were not loving God, our neighbours or ourselves.  


We were dead because we deserved to be dead and could do nothing to change the fact that we were dead. 


We also see that Christ died because we were dead: 


1 Peter 3:18 NIVUK 

[18] For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/1pe.3.18.NIVUK)


That is what makes Good Friday so remarkable. We see that all human beings are dead because of their sin. They deserve to be dead. They cannot do a thing about being dead.


Yet Jesus Christ died to bring us life. 


As see in Romans: 


Romans 5:6-8 NIVUK 

[6] You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. [7] Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. [8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

God’s love sacrificed. But it didn’t sacrifice for those who deserved it. Instead, it sacrificed for those who absolutely did not; who, if we looked at them on merit alone, would definitely not be worth it at all.  


But God’s love for us made us worth it. 


And that is truly incredible. We should never stop appreciating that amazing truth. 


We have seen, then, that true love is a love that releases and a love that sacrifices. And the thing with sacrifices is that they are always painful. If they are not painful, then they are not sacrifices (2 Samuel 24:24). 


But we also see that Love That Rises. 

 

Love That Rises 

Philippians 2:9-11 NIVUK 

[9] Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

A number of years ago, we visited a real bucket list destination with our family: El Nido in the Philippines. 


This place is utterly extraordinary and unique. Bacuit Bay, with its soaring limestone cliffs like something from ‘Lord of the Rings’; its stunning white sand beaches and its sense of adventure was one of the most amazing places we have ever visited. 


But it’s not the simplest to get around. Sure, there are boat tours. But what adds to the adventure is the fact that some of the attractions are not just the cliffs themselves, but what’s inside the cliffs, because behind the imposing exterior, through holes just about big enough to clamber through, were enormous lagoons and even a white sand beach.  


Our motorised bangka boats were nowhere near small enough to fit through the holes. And so, in some of the most spectacular nature we have ever seen, you had the slightly more unedifying sight of boatloads of tourists jumping into the sea in their not very fetching bright orange life jackets and bobbing their way towards the cliffs. If you see footage of it from drones on YouTube, it’s a rather odd sight. 


Why am I talking about bright orange life jackets? 


Because when you wear them, you are pretty much unsinkable. You can try as hard as you might to go under the waves, but that hideous bright orange thing will keep you afloat. 


Loving God’s way is like that.  


Look at Jesus. He left Heaven behind. He came to earth as a baby. He survived His first assassination attempt before He was even three years old (Matthew 2:1-18). They arrested Him. They flogged Him. They tried Him. They tortured Him. They killed Him. They did everything they could to finish Him off. 


But it didn’t work.

 

Why? 


1 Corinthians 13:8 NIVUK 

[8] Love never fails.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/1co.13.8.NIVUK)


When you truly love God, your neighbour and yourself as God intended, you ally yourself to a Power so great that even death itself could not conquer it; that every ancient power in the known world tried to silence, but failed; that every world power since the beginning of the world until now has tried to defeat, but has failed. And will fail. Again and again and again. 


Because love never fails. 


Even when you arrest it, try it, torture it and kill it, you make no difference, because the Bible says plainly: 


1 John 4:16 NIVUK 

[16] God is love. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/1jn.4.16.NIVUK)


And God lasts forever: challenged, but never defeated. 


In a world like ours, riven with and reeling from the worst kind of hatred, we might become confused and think that love has lost. 


That just is not true. 


Hatred will fail. Love always rises. Love is victorious. 


If a sports fan decides to switch allegiance to a team that wins more often, they are often tagged as a ‘glory hunter’. 


Do that with love. Abandon hate. Only losers hate. Be done with bitterness before it is done with you. Forget unforgiveness. Cast aside the burden of grudges. 


Love.

 

Love because you must. 


Love because you want to.


Love because God is love. 


Love because when you love, you are victorious. 

 

Conclusion 

Ephesians 5:1-2 NIVUK 

[1] Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children [2] and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 

Philippians 2:5 NIVUK 

[5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/113/php.2.5.NIVUK)


Different cultures celebrate Easter in different ways. I don’t know any other culture other than the European/North American ones that send their children out to hunt for chocolate eggs. We once showed a British Easter egg on a video chat to my Filipino nieces and nephews. They gazed in amazement when they saw how big it was. 


Their faces fell when they saw it was hollow. 


They have nothing like that where they live. 


Most Christian traditions have a similar element to their Easter celebrations, where we celebrate the fact of our salvation in Christ. And that is absolutely worth celebrating. It is a wonderful miracle, and one we do not deserve at all. 


But there is another side – a side we often miss. 


Paul, like Jesus at the end of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, tells us that we should go and do likewise (Luke 10:37; Philippians 2:5). 


Look how Paul applied it to the Philippian church, so divided by strong personalities: 


Philippians 2:1-4 NIVUK 

[1] Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, [2] then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. [3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 

Paul is basically saying, ‘You are loved by God, so love others.’ 


As John also explained: 


1 John 4:19-21 NIVUK 

[19] We love because he first loved us. [20] Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. [21] And he has given us this command: anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. 

Paul taught that the cross that saved us is the example of how we should love one another. As did John.


Our love for them should be a love that releases: that doesn’t have to win every argument or every game or take the highest place and be superior. It should be a love that sacrifices: that bends low to lift others high. 


Because a love like this rises and cannot be defeated. 


The question of Easter is: do we love like this? 


Because when we do, we are truly following Jesus. 

 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me when I was far from You and dying for me when I did not deserve it. I confess that I often make other people deserve my love when You did not do that to me. Help me to love like You love me. Amen. 

 

Questions for Contemplation  

  • What is so special about what Jesus did for us? 

  • What should we do as a result? 

  • Why does following Jesus mean that we should love like Him? What will this mean for you? 

 

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