The seriousness of "I love you"
1 Corinthians 13: 4-13: 13
What do we mean when we say “I love you”? What comes to mind? Under what conditions do those precious words come out of our lips? Is it hard for us to say them or do they come out as smooth as silk?
According to the Word of God, “I love you” are words to be taken with the utmost seriousness. So seriously, in fact, that they could mean life or death. What am I saying? They ARE life or death! However, some of us “love” baseball, soap operas, cars, or material objects and / or hobbies. What happened to loving God, our neighbor, and ourselves?
You see that love makes us vulnerable. It puts our heart of heart in view of others. Love marks us, doesn’t it? It marks us for crushing blows. Most of us carry heart scars from past unfortunate encounters with other human beings. Therefore, it is easy to understand how easy it is to love objects instead of people. However, God does not want us to live like this. He wants us to live His example of Love, especially the Love shown on the Cross.
Let’s review what God’s Word, the Bible, says about love. Fair warning. God takes love very seriously. Throughout the Bible, He states very strongly that we are to love one another in the same way that He loves us:
John 3:16 18 says: “Thus God loved the world: he gave his Son, his only Son. And therefore: so that no one may be destroyed; believing in him, anyone can have a complete and lasting life. God did not take the hassle of sending his Son simply to point the accusing finger and tell the world how bad he was. He came to help, fix the world again. Anyone who trusts him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him. he has been under the penalty of death for a long time without knowing it. And why? Because that person did not believe in the only Son of God when it was presented to him. ” (The message)
Luke 23:34 says, “Jesus prayed” Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing. “Jesus said this while on the cross. He prayed for his enemies, they themselves savagely beat him, spit on him, whipped him, nailed him to a cross, cursed him, mocked him He even rolled dice to divide His clothes on His face, He even promised one of the criminals who were crucified with Him that He would be in paradise with Jesus.
You can say, “Well, I’m not Jesus. You don’t understand what I’ve been through.” I hear you clearly. Let me introduce you to Hosea, an Old Testament prophet. God spoke to him and ordered him to marry a prostitute. Obeying God, he married Gomer. Can you imagine what that meant for a man of God, especially a prophet? But Hosea obeyed God, despite the social and personal stigmas. Can you imagine having to buy your wife from her pimp according to God’s instructions? Let me point out something blatantly obvious. Hosea was a man. Hosea was not Jesus Christ. Hosea obeyed.
“Love suffers a lot or endures people who are easy to renounce. Love is kind, above all, it treats well those who have treated us badly. Love does not envy, does not boast and is not puffed up. promotes himself, but promotes others. Love does not seek his own. A person who loves is willing to put aside his own plans or rights for the good of another. Love is not provoked, it means no is irritated or overly sensitive to others, easily angered. Love does not think badly when we love someone, we do not immediately assume evil from him. Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; love does not delight in evil in any way, including the downfall of a brother or sister. Love bears, believes, hopes, and bears all things. ” (From NKJV Commentary, Parallel Study Bible, page 2823)
The Bible also says that love covers a multitude of flaws. We all make mistakes. We all need mercy and understanding. We all have flaws. However, someone jumping ship because of someone else is the biggest and most crucially dangerous failure.
How many faults has God forgiven us? How many consequences have been less serious than we really deserve for the sins we have committed? Have we really taken into account what Jesus did for us?
What exactly will we say to Jesus when he asks us why we don’t forgive so-and-so? What excuse will suffice, especially when we consider this parable spoken by Jesus in Matthew 25: 31-46?
Christian, what does God mean to you? You love him? Do we love you enough to love your people in extremely harsh conditions and do whatever it takes no matter what the circumstances or what people think of you?
What will we choose? Life or death? God or the devil?
Yes, my friends, love is that serious.
Let’s start choosing correctly.