Imagine you’re tucking in a child at night. You
put the covers over them so that they are warm and cosy, you give them a hug
and a gentle kiss on the forehead and then whisper goodnight. Then, the moment
of all moments, with those innocent little eyes looking at you a tiny voice
replies: “I love you”.
Such precious words! There’s nothing quite like hearing:
I LOVE YOU. They can melt your heart; can change a heart of stone.
But Love isn’t just about saying those words; it’s
about actions like a smile to someone who walks by. That smile could change a
person’s day or giving someone a hug shows that you care and are there for
them. One action or gesture can turn things around for someone just like in Les
Mis.
There is a fantastic scene where the main
character, Jean Valjean, is released from prison after serving 19 years for
stealing a loaf of bread. He finds refuge in a church where the bishop shows
him kindness and yet Valjean gets up in the middle of the night, returns to a
life of crime and steals the church silver.
The Bishop had every right to hand him over to
the police but the bishop immediately tells a lie. He says that he did give
Valjean the silver. And then when it should have been enough to have let Valjean
go free, the bishop walks over to the table and picks up the two large candle
sticks and gives them to Valjean saying to him he had left the best behind.
This shows that one man’s kindness sets another
man free. It was love that went the extra mile and we can do the same for
others. That love, to set someone free is so powerful it needs to be passed on
to change a person’s life.
…In 1 Corinthians chapter 2 it tells us that
even before time began....., because of that great love for us, he put into motion
a plan that started with the creation of this world in order to create man in
his own image. And out of his desire for us to freely love him in return we
have been given the ability of free choice.
God also at that perfect moment in time sent his
son to this earth to complete his plan. Jesus was the fulfilment of Gods deep
love for mankind and gave himself up for us so that we might have life through
him. 1 John 4 verse 10 says This is love: not that we loved God but that he
loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
God has loved us since before time began and
will love us till the end of time as Jeremiah 31 verse 3 says I have loved you
with an everlasting love.
This love that God has for us is impossible to
keep to ourselves! We should share the love that we have for him as well. It’s
like the women who wept at Jesus feet, letting her tears fall and wiping them
with her hair. Kissing his feet and pouring perfume on them. That woman could
not contain her love for God.
For all of us to pass on God’s love we have to
experience it for ourselves and express it like the woman at Jesus feet and
only then can we love our neighbour. It is in discovering Gods love that we
learn how to love each other.
We can only love our neighbour when we love God
and when we do love God we will love even the unlovable. We won’t just love the
people of God..... We will love all people......
This means even people we don’t like and most of
the time the people we don’t like are those who don’t like us. Well known author and Christian spokesperson John
Ortberg says that it is far easier to love people who like us than to love
people who don’t. For us to love our neighbour we must not judge them, we must
see them through the eyes of God.
It means loving a next-door neighbour who annoys
you, loving a person who says something horrible to you and loving someone who
you lose all respect for.
Fulfil your calling today by loving your
neighbour.
(Based on Mark 12:28-34)
Sermon preached on May 12, 2013 by Officership applicant Laura Jones pictured here with Major Sheila Loman, CO Birkenhead Corps
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