Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Tough Love

January 12, 2015

Recently I listened to a sermon in which the preacher (not our pastor Joe) spoke repeatedly of Jesus' love for us. After the service, learning that I was a pastor, he asked me if the Gospel had been presented clearly. It was, but somewhat incompletely.

We all like to hear about God's love for us, and properly so. "Islam" means "submission," which reveals much about that religion in which Allah is seen as Master. There is much debate today as to whether Islam is as peaceable as some say, or if it is as militant and hard core as ISIS claims, but I've never heard anyone claim that Allah's primary attribute is love. This is however, the claim of Christianity. St. John says it as clearly as anyone: "God is love" (1 John 4:16 & 16), but it echoes throughout the New Testament. "God proved his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). And perhaps the most memorized and quoted verse in the entire Bible, "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" (John 3:16).

No other religion is grounded so deeply in love as is Christianity. But what is this love like? How is it manifest? I love my children, but when they were young, that love wasn't always expressed in tender words, warm hugs, and constant approval. There were times that love required discipline, tears, and pain. Similarly, to speak of God's love without mention of its cost is to diminish it. God's love isn't demonstrated by his acceptance of us, but by his sacrifice for us. He didn't ignore our sin; he met it head-on at the Cross. To speak of God's love without mention of the Cross and the price paid upon it to secure our salvation is to devalue that which is of inestimable worth. St. Peter puts it this way: "You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:18-19).

If we forget the divine cost of love, we are apt to treat it in a cavalier manner. It is the Scripture that defines love, holding me to the high standard, demanding that I recognize and honor it in repentance, confession, and faith. Tonight I am grateful for this love that never lets me go.

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