Let Us Love One Another
1 John 4:7-11

We have looked at in the month of August, as well as at the retreat, what our church believes, what our visions are, and how do we live that out with one another. Today’s message is sort of the culmination of all that message, and starting next Sunday, we will be looking at a new series.

Whenever we talk about the vision of the church, sometimes the vision comes to us as very attractive. Yes, it contains our identity, and we try our best to differentiate ourselves from other churches. And we believe this vision will eventually make us a healthy church. We try to live out our vision, because it’s not only creative, but biblical.

But sometimes, because we love the vision and the idea of healthy church so much, we miss out on more important things. Sometimes we love the vision and the health of the church more than the church itself.
• This is as if an unmarried man loves the idea of wife, but when he does get married, he does not love her as much as an idea of her.
• It is also loving the idea of helping the poor more than actually helping the poor.

Of course, it is important to create a healthy church. But if we love the health of the church more than we love the church, then the health of the church can become our idols.
We need to love our children, not our children’s health.
Of course, if you love your child, then you would want that child to be healthy.

This is what Apostle John urges us. (vv. 7-8)
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

We need to love each other. We need to love the church more than we love the health of the church or the revival of the church. Paul urges us to consider others better than ourselves, and also teaches us to mutually submit to one another. We need to serve one another.

Why is this?
It is because the church is the body of Christ.
Christ died for the church, and put his name on it.
Therefore, to persecute the church or a Christian, is to persecute Jesus (Acts 9:5 – Jesus says Saul is persecuting him).
To sin against others is to sin against Christ.
I Corinthians 8:12 “Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.”

Let us look around in this room. How nice were you to others in here?
Did you ever get mad? Curse someone? Criticized others? Look down upon others?

That immature person, that one who does not even read the Bible, that shallow one, that one who doesn’t even pray. But these are precisely the people for whom Christ died. How can we be judgmental towards them?

Isn’t the love of our God long, wide, deep, and high enough to cover all our sins?
Christ’s glory is upon them, so who will condemn them?
If people sin against them, they are sinning against Christ.

So what are we to do now?
We need to love one another. As Christ has loved us, so we must love one another. If we love one another, by that we know what are in God.

Something I read recently.
Giving of yourself vs. Giving yourself

Giving of yourself can be helpful.
I can give my wisdom, joy, strength, power, etc.
I don’t lose anything.
In fact, I gain a reputation as someone who is nice.

But giving myself is giving everything that I am.
That means, I identify with you and embrace all that you are.
Your hurt becomes my hurt, and your joy becomes my joy.

The church must love each other this way, because that is how Christ loved the church. Christ, in order to be with us, came down as Immanuel God. He came for that Christian and this Christian.
He came and died for me. So we must also love this way.

We don’t love each other because that person has done something deserving of love or anything like that. We love, because what Christ has done in that person’s life. If we understand that Christ has died for that person and made that person a part of God’s family, how can we not love?

Let us love one another, share our lives together, and be the church that represents Christ.