THE IF OF LOVE (23 OF 52)
Scripture: John 14:15-17, John 14:19-24
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The If of Love (23 of 52)
Series: Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
John 14:15-24
What is love? Poets and philosophers have struggled to define the concept as far back as we have human records. We have declared love in multiple ways. We compare those we love to a summer's day or the fragrance of roses. We consider motherhood and wax eloquent in song about the untapped depths of human emotion. When it comes to our love for Jesus, we are still hard-pressed to define and express our love, what it looks like, and what it means. We sing songs of praise, honoring and lifting up the name of Jesus as the most important of all names. Too little do we concern ourselves with what Jesus had to say about our love for God, what it should mean, how it should be expressed, and what it should look like. Should that love not be something more and different from an emotion, a claim, or a word?
When we looked at motherhood, nurturing, and maternal instincts last week, we talked about love being sacrificial. We considered a love that puts the needs of others ahead of personal desires, that finds its fulfillment in the welfare of another. At first glance, that would seem a fitting description of the kind of love we should have for Jesus. Upon second glance, however, that is a love that depends on an inequality of relationship in which the greater submits self for the benefit of the beloved. We are hardly in a position to look upon and relate to Christ as though we were the ones in a position of power.
We may look to our notions of romantic love, in which we place our ambitions, wants, and desires in second place to caring for the one we love and helping them find fulfillment. In a sense, this expresses the love we see in Christ, but it is not the kind of love Christ requires of those who would follow as disciples. Our notions of romantic love are also very different from the cultural context of the First Century. Romantic relationships not so long ago were ...
Series: Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
John 14:15-24
What is love? Poets and philosophers have struggled to define the concept as far back as we have human records. We have declared love in multiple ways. We compare those we love to a summer's day or the fragrance of roses. We consider motherhood and wax eloquent in song about the untapped depths of human emotion. When it comes to our love for Jesus, we are still hard-pressed to define and express our love, what it looks like, and what it means. We sing songs of praise, honoring and lifting up the name of Jesus as the most important of all names. Too little do we concern ourselves with what Jesus had to say about our love for God, what it should mean, how it should be expressed, and what it should look like. Should that love not be something more and different from an emotion, a claim, or a word?
When we looked at motherhood, nurturing, and maternal instincts last week, we talked about love being sacrificial. We considered a love that puts the needs of others ahead of personal desires, that finds its fulfillment in the welfare of another. At first glance, that would seem a fitting description of the kind of love we should have for Jesus. Upon second glance, however, that is a love that depends on an inequality of relationship in which the greater submits self for the benefit of the beloved. We are hardly in a position to look upon and relate to Christ as though we were the ones in a position of power.
We may look to our notions of romantic love, in which we place our ambitions, wants, and desires in second place to caring for the one we love and helping them find fulfillment. In a sense, this expresses the love we see in Christ, but it is not the kind of love Christ requires of those who would follow as disciples. Our notions of romantic love are also very different from the cultural context of the First Century. Romantic relationships not so long ago were ...
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