The Power of Love

The Power of Love in Speaking a Good Word for Jesus

As we consider how to approach friends and neighbors with the gospel of Christ, let us continually be mindful that we are not trying to win arguments, but rather secure hearts. Of course, we do need to prepare ourselves to present intelligent and compelling answers to their questions. The thing to remember, however, is that we will be distinguished by our love for others, our love for each other, and our love for Jesus (I Cor. 13:1-3; Jn. 13:34-35; 17:21-23).  Isn’t it amazing God saw fit to design a plan of salvation that would be most effectively communicated by the one thing each of us is capable of doing well?  Our ability to love is not limited by our intellect, our wealth, or our social standing; it is limited by our lack of concern for the needs of others.

Paul well understood this reality. He taught this truth arrestingly to the Corinthians who were obsessed with the idea of obtaining status by gaining miraculous gifts.  Today, in different ways, we may also be consumed with secondary pursuits. Such things may seem to be keys to improving our influence for Christ, but as at Corinth, absent our genuine love for people, we are just wasting our time.

While the dynamics governing the human heart may be elusive, they are nonetheless knowable.  Our hearts are not captured by people who are smarter, more athletic, or generally more successful than we are, our hearts are touched by small, sometimes insignificant, acts of kindness. Such things go unnoticed by many, but are treasured by the individuals who receive them.  As we improve our ability to communicate our Lord’s gospel, let’s not forget to continue to work on our ability to love.

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing” (I Cor. 13:1-3).

LOVING JESUS, THE KEY TO SERVICE

If You Love Me, You Will Keep My Commandments

            In John 14:15 Jesus make a very direct, easily understood statement. The KJV and NKJV capture the thought in John 14:23. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

            Jesus built His church (Matt. 16:18; Heb. 12:22-23). He is the One the church is to obey (Matt. 28:20). Why then do we so commonly ignore Him in this most fundamental aspect of Christian response?

            Jesus is smart, hardly a revelation, yet a truth we can all too easily ignore. If the church is to address successfully the business of the Christ, it must love the Christ. If we love Him well, we will follow Him faithfully and zealously; if we do not love Him sufficiently, we will not. Simple, isn’t it.

            This love of Christ is to control us; it is the key to victorious service (II Cor. 5:14-15; cf. Gal. 2:20). Whatever the particular item of service might be, it is the heartfelt love of Jesus that will insure its pursuit. All the well-defined lists of doctrine and all the acknowledged biblical patterns will not, in themselves, bring us to obedience; love is the key.

            How do we come to have this love? What is the practical plan for developing this all-important key to service? We need no rocket scientist or brain surgeon; the answer is within clear sight of us all.

            We will come to love Jesus in the acceptable, substantive biblical way as we get to know Him. To know Him is to love Him. Where do we find our most direct encounter with the Christ? It is in the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, almost 48% of the New Testament, is the place where we see Jesus “in the flesh” (Jn. 1:14; 14:7-9).

            Yes, we must also come to know the mind of Christ as it is expressed to the church in the Epistles. The love of Christ would allow no other choice. Nevertheless, it is in the Gospels where we see Him in the form of His most personal appearance. The key is to loving Jesus is obvious. The Gospels must be read. Their picture of Jesus must be the source of our ongoing meditation and application (II Cor. 3:18). If we never tire of hearing the “old, old story,” we will never be far from the four books of “good news.”

            We have, at times, given our first look to bare doctrine, or to programs   and methods devised by men. Some have even said that Acts chapter two is the “hub of the Bible,” as thought the beginning of the church is more significant than its Builder (Heb. 3:3). We need to look first to the Christ (Col. 3:1-3). It is to Him we must go before our focus can be clear elsewhere (Matt. 11:28-30; cf. I Cor. 11:1).

            I purpose a prescription for increasing our love to Jesus. Read a Gospel a week, taken in daily doses. Read, marvel, meditate, and be captivated by Jesus. As we grow in love for Him, we will grow in our keeping of His commandments. As Philip told Nathanael, “Come and see” (Jn. 1:46).