Gtcotr/ss091816
Love is not the measure of the person we love but the measure of God
in us!
Too
often people mistake feelings for love. I hear about people who are falling in
and out of love with this person or that person all depending on the
circumstances or the performance of the other person. Love can be mistaken … I
mean in the sense that a person can imagine they are in love when actually they
are impressed, intrigued, interested, involved, or even inebriated. People
often mistake lust for love or compassion for love. Feelings often get into the
driver’s seat of our lives and fool us into thinking we are either in love or
out of love with something or someone.
Today
I hope to shine a brighter light of understanding on the subject of love. I
believe it will help us to more accurately identify and verbalize our feelings
without falling prey to the situations in life or our feelings.
The
English language uses the word love to describe so many different and variant
feelings. We love chocolate; we love dogs; we love cool evenings; we love family;
we love a good movie; we love the USA; we love each other and we love God. If
we aren’t watchful all of these various types of love can get colored the same
and soon there is no distinction between loving a movie and loving your
neighbor. When they’re good and they please you, you love them, and when
they’re not and don’t, you don’t!
This
morning we are going to draw some distinctions between various concepts of
love. In order to do this we will examine 4 Types of
Love. The Greeks language explains them easily by using four different
words to describe what is meant when a person says, “I love you!” The 4 are:
1.
Phileo – General
or brotherly love for persons, places or things.
2.
Stergo –
Cherishing tender love and affection for family.
3.
Eros – Sexually
oriented attention and/or attraction to another
4.
Agape –
Unconditional, transcendent, self sacrificing, everlasting love
By
the way, Lust and Love are as far apart as are Love and Hate. Many times people
experience lust and have feelings of lust and mistake it for love. The lust of
the flesh can be easily identified if we learn the dynamic and fundamental
differences between the two.
·
Lust
is motivated by a desire to gratify the flesh. Lust speaks and acts based
solely on what the flesh wants. Lust is not love. Lust wants “my good at your
expense”. Lust separates us from peace and joy and godliness. Lust promises
everything but affords nothing.
·
Love
on the other hand is giving. Love says “your good at my expense”.
·
Lust
enjoys being loved but does not give love in return.
·
Lust
says, “I want you but I don’t want you to have me.”
·
Lust
attempts to control and manipulate and punish.
·
Lust
masquerades as love. Many believe they are being loved when they are rather
being manipulated and controlled by the lusts of another person. Love plus lust
equals abuse.
·
Lust
can never get enough and can never be satisfied.
·
Love
is fulfilling and love will not separate us from God, friends and/or family.
·
Love
investigates and takes continual inventory to insure it is doing what is best
for the person who is loved.
·
When
two people are in love, the agape type of love, they want and do what is best
for the other person and have a desire to serve instead of wanting to be
served. (Jesus said that He came to serve, not to be served … He was talking
about love.)
·
Don’t
mistake or accept lust for love … you will be disappointed.
More
than Phileo, Stergo, or Eros – Agape is our saving grace!
John 3
16 "For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life.
17 "For God did not send
His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him
might be saved.
Romans 5:8 But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
More
than the love which is dependent on a mutual respect or response, God loves
unconditionally. And, God expects us to love others in the same way we are
loved by Him. We should also demonstrate our love for God and others. Love does
not mean that we agree or that we can walk together in life – nonetheless God
is asking us to love with an agape love.
Love is not the measure of the person we love but the measure of God
in us!
1 John 4
7 Beloved, let us love one
another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows
God.
8 He who does not love does
not know God, for God is love.
11 Beloved, if God so loved
us, we also ought to love one another.
He
who does not agape, does not know God. We all need to know God better.
How
can I know God better? I’m glad you asked … it begins by doing these three
things on a consistent basis.
1.
Talk to God
2.
Live right
3.
Read the Bible
As
we get to know God better we begin to experience the capacity to discern love
and we begin to love others the way God intended.
You
might say, “I love others … it’s others who don’t love me!” If that’s the
situation you are in today let me pray for you now. It is a sad situation to be
in a relationship that is one sided, manipulative, controlling, hurtful,
selfish, abusive, or to feel abandoned and unloved by those for whom you have
committed your life. There are some situations that only God can help you with.
Although we may not know how, nonetheless I do know that if you will give your
situation to God and give Him time and opportunity to work, He will as only He
can. If that sounds like something you need … pray with me right now and let
God know you need help. Then, talk to
God; Live right; and Read your Bible daily … see what God will do!
