Go Forth With Love - November 16, 2014

Go Forth with Love

John 15:12-17

November 16, 2014

Grace Presbyterian Church

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller

Charlie Brown A little girl telephones Charlie Brown and says, “Marcie and I are about to leave for camp, Chuck. We’re going to be swimming instructors.” Then Marcie gets on the phone and says, “We just called to say goodbye, Charles. We are going to miss you. We love you.” After the girls hang up, Charlie Brown stands by the phone grinning from ear to ear. A friend asks, “Who was that on the phone, Charlie Brown?” Charlie Brown replies, “I think it was a right number.” Yes, the mighty power of love engulfed Charlie Brown and filled him with great joy and well-being.

Go Forth With Love  Last week I suggested that we go forth into the worlds in which we live and work and play and worship with courage. This morning, I ask us to also go forth with love. In a way, courage and love go together. To love someone without reservation takes courage, and to let someone love you takes courage. And when I urge us to go forth with God’s love, I’m doing so with the knowledge that God loves each of us without reservations. God knows us completely, warts and all, and still loves us. So we go forth being loved and with the commandment to love.

Love Heals the Body Love is more than mere emotion. It is a power which can transform us, both outwardly and inwardly. This healing power is so great that it is nearly immeasurable. Dr. Karl Menninger of the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas believed that the most devastating emotional experience that a human being can have is to feel unloved. Why?

Because, as he said, “Love cures people, both the ones that give it and the ones that receive it.” The following true stories illustrate what he meant.

Puppy There was a doctor at a sanitarium who decided to try an experiment of love. There was a particularly affectionate puppy who had been hanging around the building. She made a small incision on the puppy’s leg and bandaged it. She then instructed people at the sanitarium to feed the puppy, but to show him no attention or affection. The effect on the puppy was dramatic. Instead of being frisky and affectionate, he grew quiet and quite forlorn. After six weeks had gone by the bandage was removed. The incision had not healed. Then the doctor instructed the staff to lavish attention, affection and love on the puppy. Soon he was not only frisky and energetic, the wound quickly healed.

Elderly Woman In a convalescent home, a volunteer aid was assigned to an elderly woman patient who had not spoken a single word in three years. The other aides disliked her and tried to avoid her whenever they could. The volunteer decided on a different approach. Since the elderly woman spent all day in a rocking chair, the aide pulled a rocking chair up next to the woman and began to rock with her. As she rocked, she showered the lady with unqualified love and affection. After the third day, the lady looked at the volunteer and said, “You’re so kind.” After two more weeks of being loved, the lady was well enough to return to her own home.

Elizabeth Barrett The story is told of the poet, Elizabeth Barrett who was an invalid for many years. She had reached the point where she was unable to lift her head form her pillow. However, one day Robert Browning visited her. He gave her so much joy that she lifted her head. On his second visit, she sat up in bed. And after the third visit, they eloped. [Rogers, Adrian, “God’s Way to Health, Wealth and Wisdom,” 1987]

Love Heals the Heart When one is immersed in the lifting power of love, it not only heals the body, it heals the heart. A minister once asked a rhetorical question to his congregation if they knew of anyone who was suffering. Although it was a rhetorical question, a little six year old girl raised her hand and said, “My daddy’s hurting inside but he won’t tell anyone.” She then hugged her father as tightly as she could. The father, by now quite embarrassed, said, “Stop it, honey! You’re hugging me to death.” “Oh no, daddy, “ she replied, “I’m hugging you to life.”

Hug Back to Life  What most people need more than anything else in the world is someone to hug them back to life when their spirits are down, someone to hold them until their fears go away, and someone to put their arms around them until their tears finally stop.

In this day and age, people are often fragmented and alienated from each other. People desperately need to know that somebody cares about them and loves them. John Nesbitt, in his book “Megatrends,” calls the age in which we live one that needs to provide both High Tech and High Touch. His thought is this. With increased technology comes the need for increased touching.

Love One Another Since love heals our bodies, souls and hearts, it’s no wonder that Jesus tells us in our gospel lesson this morning to love one another. This seems such a simple command. At first glance, his command to love appears to be no different from the love that compassionate non-Christians practice.  People of many different religions and even no religion at all know and appreciate the power of human love. However, what Jesus adds is that we should love one another as he has loved us! There's the difference!  

 

As Christ has loved us! Christ’s love, as we know, never ceases for any reason.  John wrote, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) Jesus did that for us. Paul wrote, "God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) It is a love that loves us in spite of the times we turn our backs upon him. In spite of the times we deny even knowing him. In spite of the times we betray him.  

That's the way we are to love one another. Is it possible for us to do that? Apart from Christ, no.  But with the Spirit of the living God dwelling within us, yes!  And such a love as this will reveal to all people that we are his disciples. It is a love which is constant and consistent no matter what. As Kahlil Gibran wrote, "Love is the only flower that grows and blossoms without the aid of seasons." ( Broken wings, p. 44 )

Peter Marshall  in the book, A Man Called Peter , the story is told of the time when Peter Marshall asked Catherine Wood to marry him. She told Peter that she needed a few weeks to think and pray about it. Then one day when Catherine was riding in the car with Peter, she told him that she would accept his proposal of marriage. When Peter heard this joyful news, he immediately pulled off the road and stopped the car. He then bowed his head and offered a prayer of thanks to God. Only after doing this did he take Catherine in his arms.

Hard to love like this There are times when it is very difficult to allow God's love to flow through us to those who need loving. Why? Because it usually means paying a price. For instance, to apologize is an act of love and it costs us our pride. To forgive is an act of love and it means giving up resentments. To accept is an act of love and it means foregoing revenge. To care is an act of love and it means to sacrifice interests of self.

Not only can love be difficult to give, it doesn't necessarily take away all our problems. Instead it enables us to grow as we cope with the problems we do have. Love doesn't prevent us from sinning, but it enables us to receive forgiveness. Love doesn't eliminate rejection, but it makes us feel a whole lot better about ourselves.

Remember, love came to earth through the baby Jesus born in a manger. And for the three years of Jesus' ministry, that love reached out to teach, heal and create a church. It was a love transformed by the cross into a power which lifted us in victory over the power of sin. It was a love resurrected by God to lift us in victory over the power of death.   

Final thoughts Not only does God's love lift us up, the love we offer to the world round us creates the person we become. Houssaye wrote, "Tell me whom you love, and I will tell you who you are."  Where our treasure is, there our heart is also.

Do you need to be lifted up this morning? Then allow God's love to touch your life right now.  

If you feel depressed, allow his divine love to touch you with hope. Then offer loving hope to someone who needs it.

If you are struggling with temptation, allow God’s love to touch you with strength. Then pass on God’s loving strength to someone who needs it.

If you brought anxieties with you, go to your home lifted up by God’s love and experience the countenance of God’s peace. Then offer God’s peace with love to someone who needs it

And if you came ridden with guilt, be lifted up and experience the cleansing of God's forgiveness. Then offer that forgiveness to someone who needs it.

During this coming week and in the year’s to come, go forth with love that God might lift you to the highest plane of living and loving from this moment on. Amen.

 

John 15:12-17 NRSV

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.