I have had the joy of knowing our guest blogger this week for 13 years. We met at church when we first moved to St. Marys, Georgia. Mrs. Linda, Mr. Pat and I loved on sweet babies in the nursery while getting to share with one another about our lives. Linda didn’t hesitate to join in with 52 in 2020, and I’m so glad she didn’t. She has some wise words to share about loving others. Get ready to read about the true love that outweighs any Valentine’s Day.
WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE, SWEET LOVE
On January 1, 2020, we opened our eyes not only to a new year but to a new decade. God has blessed us with another opportunity, another year, another decade to serve Him. But what does serving Him really mean? What does it NOT mean? I’ve struggled with the answers to those questions for quite some time…actually years. Am I doing what He wants me to do? Or am I missing His will for my life?
You see, several years ago when we lived in St. Marys, Georgia, I taught a women’s Sunday School class. I taught that class for twelve years and loved every minute of it. We laughed together. We cried together. We studied together. When we left St. Marys to move to the panhandle of Florida, my husband and I found a church that has been a cool stream in the desert for us. You know it’s God when you hear teaching from Scripture you’ve heard all your life (and even taught yourself) but it’s new and fresh…like nothing you’ve heard before. I pretty much thought I had heard and learned it all. (And I’m sure God chuckled at that thought!) But I was so wrong! I have grown so much in the 8 years we’ve been at Christian Life Church. Some of the things that I’m going to share are things that God has taught me through the teaching of Pastor Doug Holmes and I am eternally grateful for what I have learned.
In the Gospel of John there is a verse that has finally answered my questions. It was there all the time and I’d read it probably hundreds, if not thousands, of times. But like the fireworks on New Year’s Eve lit up the sky, God has lit me up with this verse. Fasten your seat belt!
But before we take off, we need to do a little background work.
Many Bible scholars are in agreement that in the Old Testament there are 613 Commandments; 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments (one negative for each day of the year…how convenient!) But how many commandments did the Israelites start out with? How many commandments did God give to Moses? Yep! 10!! But over the years it grew to 613!! After all, only 10 wouldn’t cover it all so they added more and more and more until they reached 613. That’s 603 more that GOD gave! The Jewish leaders certainly needed to “help” God out since He must have needed more than 10 commandments to keep His people in line. It probably made them feel very spiritual to be able to follow some of the 613. We read in Scripture about all the “laws” the Jewish leaders felt required to follow and they sure didn’t mind requiring everyone else to follow them also.
But here comes the rub!!! I’m pretty sure God tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Oh, Linda! Yoo Hoo! My dear child, don’t you realize that you also have ‘laws’ that you live by and you critique every other believer according to whether or not they live their lives according to your ‘laws’?” I was stunned. At first I was a little angry and may or may not have said, “Now God, You know that’s not true! I don’t have laws I live by and I certainly don’t require anyone else to live by the laws that I don’t have!” I think God said, “I think if you’ll evaluate your life a little you’ll realize that you DO have ‘laws’ and you DO require everyone to live up to them.” And then He began to bring to my mind some of my ‘laws’ and I began to see things in a whole new light. “She doesn’t dress like me! I dress more modestly than her.” “I sure don’t listen to THAT kind of music!” “Oh my, I’d never be caught dead in THAT place.” “I sure don’t watch THAT kind of TV show.” And probably the most telling of all were…”I’ve read the Bible through umpteen dozen times and memorized most of it…especially the “Thou shalt nots!” or “I get up at 3 am every day to have my devotions because Jesus got up EARLY and so do I!” “I’ve won 876 people to the Lord. How many have you won?” As I listened to what God was saying to me, my heart was breaking! He was right! (DUH!) I did have my own set of do’s and don’ts and I expected everybody else to follow my lead. I wanted them to live up to MY standards. I was making what I do or don’t do a marker of spirituality
But it’s not my standards that are the marker of our spirituality! (It’s ok if you say Hallelujah right there!) Jesus gave us the REAL marker of our spirituality. Are you ready? Here it is!!
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34 New Living Translation (NLT)
I began to think and meditate on this verse and ZOWIE how God opened my eyes to what this verse really says!
First, He gave us A NEW commandment. It isn’t the 613 Old Testament Commandments. It isn’t even the 10 Commandments given to Moses. It is ONE brand new commandment. ONE that would shake the core of Christianity. It’s LOVE! LOVE! LOVE is to be the REAL marker of our spirituality.
It hit me like a ton of bricks! I’m to LOVE others JUST AS JESUS HAS LOVED ME!!! But what exactly does that mean? To love each other as Jesus loved, we need to know what His love looked like while He was in this world. Here are some ways Jesus demonstrated His love.
- He healed the sick in Love (Matthew 14:14)
Jesus, the Great Physician, felt amazing love for those who were made helpless by disease; while many of the religious leaders of the day considered the physically disabled as cursed by God.
While we may not be able to heal the sick, we can certainly love the sick, help the sick, pray for the sick, take meals to the sick, or give a ride to the doctor for the sick.
- He raised the dead in Love (John 11:35, 38)
Thousands of people who were thought to be dead for a few short minutes have been resuscitated back to life through modern technology. But Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after he was in the grave for 3 days! His love for Lazarus and his sisters was evident in His tears.
Again we can’t raise the dead but we can show love in the last days of a person’s life and we can show love to the family in the days, weeks, and even months after the death of their loved one.
- He fed the hungry in Love (Matthew 15:32)
In one of the greatest miracles ever, Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish to feed five thousand people. These people weren’t just a little hungry—they had gone 3 days without food, listening and taking in the precious words of Jesus.
This is one we CAN do! We can feed those who are hungry. There are so many right where we live that go to bed hungry every night. There are elderly people who are not able to cook for themselves and would so appreciate a hot, home cooked meal. Moms of new babies could use a meal. A sick neighbor. The list is endless.
- He preached the Kingdom in Love (Mark 6:34)
Although the disciples longed for Jesus to set up His kingdom to overcome the Romans—He had a much bigger plan not just for the Jewish people, but for the whole world. Jesus’ love for the world compelled Him to preach the kingdom of God that was destined to grow in unthinkable numbers.
We can certainly be a part of advancing the Kingdom. And our pastor has taught us to always pray a part of what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.”
“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
So there it is! One new commandment! LOVE each other…Just as I have loved you! Even though this verse is specifically speaking about the disciples loving each other, there are many verses that tell us to love others like our enemies, Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27; our neighbor, Matthew 22:37-39; and ALL people, 1 Thessalonians 3:12.
So I’ll close now (and all God’s people said…AMEN!!) by explaining the title of this rambling, WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE, SWEET LOVE.
In 1965, a song written by Burt F. Bacharach and Hal David and sung by Jackie DeShannon was released. If ever we needed to embrace the lyrics to this song, it is now in 2020.
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.
© Warner Chappell Music, Inc, BMG Rights Management, Royalty Network
God bless you all in this New Year as we live out the new command. And as you love as Jesus loved, I’d like to share with you the blessing that our Pastor ends every service with. May this blessing be yours!
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
Linda
Linda thank you so much for this most timely word. Thank you for narrowing down the 600+ to just ONE! Have a most blessed and joyous day!
We make things so complicated. God keeps it pretty simple!! It was good to be reminded by Linda to follow the simple path.