How many of you have ever been—crazy in love—you know, just downright lovesick? Do you remember those days when all you could think of was the person who was the object of your affections? Of course for happy husbands like me that day has never ended!
But think back to your younger years—perhaps your early teens when cupid first hit you with his arrow—and your emotions for were so intense that they affected your diet—your sleep—your ability to concentrate on school work. Do you remember those days? Well, scientists say that this kind of love reaction is based in scientific fact. Their research shows that love is powerful enough to affect you physically and cognitively. With the help of Mr. Google, I want to share a list of the things love has the power to do—and the science that explains it.
- Love has the power to make you dumb and dumber.
Studies have shown that people who are passionately in love are less able to focus and to perform tasks that require attention. Dr. Henk van Steenbergen, assistant professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands writes, “When you have just become involved in a romantic relationship—you’ll find it harder to focus on other things because you spend a large part of your cognitive resources on thinking of your beloved.”
Can anyone relate? Have any of you been dumb or dumber while in love?
- Love is like a drug in that it has the power to make you HIGH.
And—scientists have the MRI scans to prove it. These scans show that when you fall in love, the same neural system in your brain linked to cocaine addiction becomes active, giving you that feeling of euphoria. Dr. Lucy Brown, a professor of neurology and neuroscience at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, told CNN, “You can feel intense elation when you’re in love—the same kind of intense elation when you’re high on cocaine.” I guess this explains the dumb and dumber behavior—but don’t worry though—love is a LEGAL drug!
- Love has the power to make you less vulnerable to pain.
Dr. Arthur Aron, a psychology professor at the state University of New York at Stoney Brook writes: “It turns out that some of the areas of the brain activated by feelings of intense love are the same areas that drugs use to reduce pain. In fact, just holding hands with the person you love may alleviate pain.” So after surgery forget the Morphine or Vicodin! Maybe all you need is a shot of romance!
- Love makes you walk slower.
Now this one refers to guys not gals. And I say that because researchers have found that MEN adjust their walking speed to match their sweetheart’s pace—an odd phenomenon not seen when guys walk with someone they consider just a friend.
- Love changes your heartbeat to match that special someone’s.
Studies suggest that when you’re in love, your heart beats as fast as your partner’s so they’re at the same rate. How romantic—two hearts literally beating as one!
- Love can affect your speech by making you go up an octave.
Women tend to speak in a higher-pitched voice when talking to men they find attractive—and men are affected this way too. Research also suggests that people in love may sometimes try to mimic or match the pitch of their romantic partner’s voice—as a way to communicate affection and a sense of being on the same page. Bill—-if you are low on sopranos or tenors—just look for people who are in love!
- Love has the power to affect your eyesight in that it makes you blind.
Some studies show that people in a committed relationship who have been actively THINKING about their partner—actually avert their eyes from attractive members of the opposite sex unknowingly — it’s called an act of UNCONSCIOUS ATTENTIONAL BIAS. Love can even make your PUPILS grow. I’m not kidding. Studies show that pupil dilation correlates with intense emotional states—like being in love.
- One more. Love turns you into a daredevil.
We’ve all heard tales of the knight in shining armor risking it all for his beloved. If I’m not mistaken Bobby Cook did something like that when he proposed to Kim. He rented a horse and a suit of armor. Well, studies of risk-taking behavior show that WOMEN probably wouldn’t do that kind of thing for the men they love—but MEN are more than willing to take unnecessary risks for the object of their affection.
I could go on—but all this scientific research proves that the old Huey Lewis song lyric is true:
“The power of love is a curious thing. Makes one man weep—makes another man sing. Change a hawk to a little white dove; More than a feeling—that’s the power of love.”
I bring all this up because as we continue our study of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth we come to the 13th chapter—verses that are the best known when it comes to DESCRIBING the power of love.
And of course, this is a very POPULAR chapter. You may remember that Prime Minister Tony Blair read it at the funeral for Princess Diana. It’s a passage that has almost become passé at weddings. I’ve used it myself tons of times. People have heard these words so much in various settings they can almost quote them. In fact, let’s all say these words together now. If you need to look at the screens that’s ok!
1 – If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 – If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,and if I have a faith that can move mountains,but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 – If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 – Love is patient,love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 – It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,it is not easily angered,it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 – Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 – It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 – Love never fails. But where there are prophecies,they will cease; where there are tongues,they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
9 – For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
10 – but when completeness comes,what is in part disappears.
11 – When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
12 – For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;then we shall see face to face.Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 – And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.But the greatest of these is love.
Beautiful words—amen? Well, in spite of the subject—love—these beautiful words weren’t originally intended for couples. I mean, sure, this chapter fits wonderfully at a wedding—but Paul wasn’t thinking of marriage when he wrote these verses. No—its PRIMARY focus is to describe how we treat other believers. Remember—the church at Corinth was not doing a very good job when it came to getting it’s “one-anothering” right. This was a church where rich people didn’t wait for the rest of the church to arrive and hogged the good food and the best seats at church potluck dinners—excluding the poor. It’s a church where people got drunk at communion. It’s a church where members filed lawsuits against each other. It was a church where people compared spiritual gifts and bragged that theirs were better than the gifts of others.
Can’t you hear Paul addressing these problems in verse 4 when he writes, “love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud—it is not self-seeking?”
My point is the most appropriate setting for this love chapter is not at a WEDDING CHAPEL but in a WORSHIP SERVICE like this one. To give you a little context: Chapter 12 focuses on spiritual gifts. Chapter 14 goes into some of the problems the Corinthians have with their gifts. We’ll deal with that in a couple weeks. Chapter 13 is sandwiched in between—and Paul was inspired to do it this way to underscore the truth that if you get love wrong—you get spiritual gifts wrong. In fact, Paul says that without Godly love—self-sacrificing love—all other things—including wonderful things like helping the poor—are nothing. Teaching as well-spoken as that of Apollos is just noise unless every word is prompted by love. Even faith and hope is empty without love. I’m reminded of something Richard McBrien wrote: “Love is the soul of Christian existence; it is the heart of every other Christian virtue. Thus, for example, justice without love is legalism; faith without love is ideology; hope without love is self-centeredness; forgiveness without love is self-abasement—fortitude without love is recklessness; generosity without love is extravagance; care without love is mere duty; fidelity without love is servitude. Every virtue is an expression of love. No virtue is really a virtue unless it is permeated, or informed, by love.”
So—Paul’s main point is that Godly love empowers and enriches everything we do. It has the power to fix the numerous problems that were plaguing the church at Corinth. Love could unite a church as fragmented as this one. It could heal their relational wounds and make them a powerful force for the Kingdom. Mark Buchanan puts it this way: “The ultimate power is love. It is the only power that can conquer hatred, cast our fear, overcome evil, and endure beyond the destruction of all things.”
Well, like the Corinthians we need this power in our lives in order for us to be effective as Christians—and as a church. But to be more specific, we don’t need power—at least power as we define it and I say that because we usually equate POWER with CONTROL. But for the Christian true power is not being IN control, but rather UNDER the control of a power much greater than us—namely, God. To quote another part of that Huey Lewis song, “With a little help FROM ABOVE, you feel the power of love.” And Lewis is right because that’s the way it works. We experience the true power of love when we put GOD in control of our lives. We feel the power of love when Christ becomes greater and we become less. In fact, it is impossible for you and me to love in the ways described in this love chapter—without Jesus in us—empowering us to do so.
You see, in the Bible four kinds of love are mentioned. There’s phileo — the kind of love between brothers or friends. There’s storge – the love of a family or a community. There’s eros — a physical love. And finally there’s agape — a self-sacrificing kind of love. The first three are common in this world—but the last is rare. Agape is an ALWAYS kind of love. It’s apparently NOT the kind of love Brad and Angelina share. Agape is a love that works for the good of the one loved even if it costs the love-er everything.
It’s GOD’S love for us–-“This is how we know what LOVE IS—Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.”
And as I said it’s a kind of love that we can’t express on our own. It’s kind of love empowered by Jesus in us. Well, this AGAPE love is what is being described in our text and today, relying on Mark Buchanan’s excellent comments on this passage—I want us to try and understand the importance of the power of this caliber love in our church. Or to put it another way, let’s seek to find an answer to this question:
“Why is Godly love—AGAPE love—self-sacrificing love—-why is it a core-value here at Redland—and at every church?”
Buchanan answers that question by saying that the kind of love Paul describes in our text is the key to four other powers—powers that are essential to every believer.
- The power of the INCARNATION, or the power of God WITH US.
- The power of Christ’s RESURRECTION, or the power of God FOR US.
- The power of SANCTIFICATION, or the power of God IN US—and
- The power of VOCATION, or the power of God WORKING THROUGH US.
Let me repeat: Incarnation. Resurrection. Sanctification. Vocation. God is with us. God is for us. God is in us. God works through us. These are powers God makes freely available to Christians like you and me and the churches we form. But the clincher is this fact. None of these powers can be realized without love. Without love, all four powers remain elusive. Through love, all four flourish. Four powers. One key: love. Lets’ begin.
(1) First, there is the power of the INCARNATION: God WITH us.
Paul talks about the incarnation in Philippians 2, where he cites an early Christian hymn about Jesus Christ. He says: “Though being in very nature God, He became a man, and took on the very nature of a servant.” That’s what the incarnation means: it happened when the infinite, eternal God willingly stepped into human flesh. Jesus was God with us. Jesus was God becoming one of us.
Do you remember how John described it in the first chapter of his Gospel? “The Word—that is, the Christ—became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” Or, as Eugene Peterson paraphrased it, “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.” These verses and others like them teach us that the incarnation means that God is with us. God is one of us. Almighty God is no longer far removed, transcendent and remote, unknowable and untouchable. No—in Jesus God became a neighbor, a friend, a confidante. He was WITH US.
But there’s a problem with the incarnation. Jesus was only on earth a mere 30 years or so. And while He was here He confined Himself to a narrow range of geography—about a 30-mile radius—and a small circle of companions as well, less than 20 who knew Him well. So how does the incarnation affect you and me—2000 years later, 5000 miles away from what we now refer to as “The Holy Land?” What does the incarnation mean to the 2.2 billion Christians living around the world today?
Of course we believe in the incarnation, of God with us. But how does it become real to any one of us now? The answer is this: through love! As 1st John 4:12 says, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives IN US, and His love is made complete in us.” Of course, in the Old Testament we read about times where people saw God, saw Him huge and vivid and breathtakingly close. And the New Testament clearly teaches that we see God in Christ—doing things that only God could do. But actual theophanies—God sightings and encounters—are rare.
They are reserved for the likes of Adam, Moses, Ezekiel, and a few others. The fact is not many individuals within the vastness of humanity ever met Jesus face-to-face. So except for rare and unrepeatable circumstances, we’re left with only secondary evidence of the incarnation.
Well, what does it mean then to say God is with us if we can’t see Him, can’t touch Him, and can’t talk with Him face-to-face? What does the incarnation mean if there is no God in the flesh here and now? John gave us the answer in his epistle—that verse I read a moment ago. John says that God becomes present through love. And this is so true. People SEE GOD WITH US—when we love in ways that only God loves. He becomes VISIBLE through Christians and churches when we love in a self-sacrificing AGAPE way. When they SEE our good works—when they see the LOVE that prompts them—they see God—God IN US.
In December 1983, 11-year old-Trevor Ferrell saw a TV news report on Philadelphia’s inner-city homeless. The young boy couldn’t believe people actually lived on the streets. When he questioned his parents, Frank and Janet reluctantly agreed to broaden their son’s sheltered horizons – and their own. They left their home in an exclusive suburb and drove downtown. One block past city hall, they spotted an emaciated figure crumpled on a sidewalk grate. While his parents watched a bit apprehensively, Trevor got out of the car and approached the man.“Sir,” he said, “here’s a blanket for you.” The man stared up at Trevor at first. Then, he softly said, “Thank you, God bless you.” That encounter altered the Ferrells’ lives forever. Night after night they drove downtown, trying in small ways to help the street people. They emptied their home of extra blankets, clothing, and dozens of peanut-butter sandwiches. When others learned what they were doing, someone donated a van and volunteers started helping. Young Trevor found himself explaining what they were doing to the local media, then to the nation. Pat Robertson, Merv Griffin, Mother Teresa, Ronald Reagan all wanted to meet the small boy with the big mission. When they each asked him why he did all that he did, he told them simply, “It’s Jesus inside of me that makes me want to do this.”
Do you know someone who—like Trevor—made God REAL—because he or she let God love you—or others through their actions? God IN us—loving as only God can—makes God REAL—tangible. The POWER of the incarnation stops being abstract theology and becomes living reality, through one thing—the power of love expressed through God’s children—Christians like you and me.
(2) Now let’s talk about the power of Christ’s RESURRECTION: God FOR us.
This power—the death-defeating power of Christ’s Resurrection–God for us—comes through love as well. And of course, the Resurrection is the linchpin of the Christian story. It is the event that validates the entirety of the Gospel. The death of Christ is what makes good our salvation. The Resurrection of Christ is what authenticates the saving effect of His death. As Paul puts it in 1st Corinthians 15:14, “If Christ is not risen, we have believed in vain.” And this is true. If Jesus died and didn’t rise, the whole Christian story is a sorry hoax—a fairy tale. But it’s not. I mean, not only does Jesus live in our hearts—we also have overwhelming historical evidence for His actual physical resurrection on the third day—the first Easter morning.
More than one skeptic has approached the historical evidence for the Resurrection in an attempt to DISPROVE it, only to be CONVINCED BY IT. Remember? That’s what happened to Lee Strobel. He was a hard-living investigative journalist in Chicago whose wife became a Christian, and he was so upset about her decision—that he decided to use all his skills and tenacity of investigative journalism to disprove the Resurrection. He was going to expose it as a hoax—but it exposed him. The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection overwhelmed him. Not only did he become a Christian because of his discovery but Strobel is now one of the best-selling Christian apologists of all time. We’ve studied his books together here at Redland: Case for Christ, Case for Easter, and Case for a Creator. This former atheist has been referred to as a modern day C. S. Lewis. And as I said, others like Strobel have made the same discovery. My point is the Resurrection is true. It happened. Jesus is RISEN! He is risen INDEED!
But—how does the resurrection become real to us? How does the objective truth that Jesus rose—conquered death itself FOR US—how does it become personal and living truth? Again the answer is: through love. 1st John 3:14 says, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.” We prove Jesus is alive—prove that He LIVES in our hearts—when we love in a way that only our RISEN Lord could love. I mean, a Godly caliber of love expressed through a flawed human like you or me—it gives a tangible personal experience of the Resurrection. And this only makes sense. You see, it’s when we love as God loves that we get a taste of a realm and a reality that transcends earthly existence. When we love with an AGAPE love—well, the very notion that we’re born, we live, we get old, we die, end of story—that becomes increasingly absurd. When we love deeply, we prove that, as the writer of Ecclesiastes says, we have eternity in our hearts. I mean, AGAPE love has the power to prove that deep down there is more. We begin to know that this life is only a dress rehearsal; this life is only a prelude. GODLY love unlocks eternity. It confirms that Jesus lives in us—proves that we have passed from death to life.
Sadly, Hollywood has secularized and sentimentalized this hope. They keep cranking out sappy stories about romantic love enduring beyond the grave. Well, what they grope for in the dark, as Christians we lay hold of in the light. Jesus is alive, and He is with us and FOR us. When we love as God loves—we show the power of the resurrection. Even Lee Strobel, who came to that truth through the facts, had it made real to him through his WIFE’S love and the love of THE CHURCH she joined. He couldn’t figure out their Godly love. It is what motivated him to do his life-changing investigation.
So—just as the power of incarnation, God with us, is unlocked through love, so the power of Christ’s Resurrection, God for us, becomes real through love. Ask yourself this question—does the way you love others give evidence of the resurrection? Do the people who know you—do they see you love as only the RISEN Jesus in you could love?
(3) Let’s move on and talk about the power of SANCTIFICATION: God IN us.
The Christian journey could be summed up in three “tion-words:” SalvaTION, sanctificaTION, and glorificaTION. SALVATION happens the moment we confess our sin and our need for Jesus’ forgiveness—the forgiveness made possible by His death on the cross. And salvation is a wonderful thing. We are called out of darkness into light, released from our captivity to sin into glorious freedom. As Buchanan puts it, “We’re no longer Hell-bent but Heaven bound.” But salvation is just the start. It’s the BEGINNING of new life. That’s why the Bible calls it being born again. You get a whole new run at life.
Then comes the second “tion” — SANCTIFICATION. Salvation is coming TO Jesus. Sanctification is becoming LIKE Jesus. And then, GLORIFICATION is the finish line. When we die we are changed in an instant—to become like Jesus.
Salvation takes place in a blink. The second you put your faith in Jesus you are saved from sin. God’s Spirit comes to live in you. You are born again. Glorification happens that fast as well. The second you die and cross into Heaven you are changed to become like our Lord. But sanctification is not an instant thing. No, it takes a lifetime to finish and daily commitment to move along in. It is walking with God, obeying God—in season and out, in sorrow and joy, in youth and old age—in our moments in the sun and our years in the shadows.
Billy and Ruth Graham were driving some years back though a construction zone of the highway. It was an inching along process. After several miles they finally got to the other side of it, where there was a sign: “Construction Ended. Thanks for your patience.” Ruth turned to Billy and said, “That’s what I want on my tombstone: Construction ended. Thanks for your patience.” And that’s what Billy did when Ruth passed into eternity. As you can see, he put those exact words on her tombstone. Sue and I saw it when we visited her tomb in Charlotte a few years back. Ruth knew that sanctification is process. It’s a lifelong deal. It is daily. It’s an “inching along deal.” It requires a life-time of effort on our part, but it’s not about trying harder.
No—the effort is to come more and more under the influence of the Holy Spirit that lives in you by faith. As we turn more control over to the Spirit, allowing Him to lead, to give us the words, to reveal truth, to shape the attitudes of our heart—more and more the Spirit changes us to be like Jesus. That’s what sanctification is. It’s the life-long process of becoming more and more Christ-like. The key, though, is love. In 1st John 2:3-4 it says, “We know that we have come to know JESUS if we keep His commands. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His Word, love for God is truly made complete in them.This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.” John is says here and in his gospel, that to love Jesus is to obey Jesus, to obey Jesus is to love others, to love is to abide in Him, to abide in Him is to bear much fruit—to bear much fruit is to glorify God. This abundant and obedient life—sanctification—only happens with love.
Our understanding that Jesus died for us—loved us enough to do that—prompts us to live and love for Him
As Paul says in our text, if I possess every other kind of spiritual power, knowledge, gifting, and influence, but are loveless, I am nothing. It’s all smoke and mirrors. It’s only noise and commotion. Love alone impels us toward true wholeness and holiness. You simply cannot have a transforming relationship with God, with Christ, with the Spirit, without love being the lifeblood.
Buchanan writes, “Pride can make you religious. Guilt can make you moral. Duty can make you decent. But only love can make you holy. Only love can make you look and act and be as Jesus. Just as the power of incarnation, God with us, is unlocked through love, and the power of Christ’s Resurrection, God for us, becomes real through love—so the power of sanctification, God in us, becomes effective though love.”
(4) One more and I’m done. The power of VOCATION: God working THROUGH us.
It too is released through love. And when I say “vocation” I’m reminding you that God has something for you and me to do. God calls us to it. God wants His sanctifying, transforming life released in some kingdom work. Put plainly: you are called by God. Every Christian is. God says something like this to each of His children. He says: “I didn’t just make you My own and make you like My son or daughter for the exercise. I have big plans. I have an assignment for you to carry out. I want you to spend time with Me to know what that is. When you know what it is, I want you to walk with Me to accomplish it.” In other words, now that we have been cured of sin-sickness through faith in Jesus—we have to get off our “sick beds” and get to work. In His infinite love, God doesn’t just save us, clean us, and dump us. He saves us, cleans us, and EMPLOYS us.
And when a Christian finds their call—their vocation—their particular role in furthering God’s Kingdom of love—it is exciting to behold.
I mean, have you talked to Jim Mitcham about his work in the prisons? When Jim talks about a Kairos weekend, his eyes light up! If you let him, he’ll grab your arm, guide you to a seat and talk for hours about the people he met—the change Jesus brought to their lives. If you keep listening, he’ll convince you to go on a Kairos weekend.
If you talk to Sue about the THRIFT STORE program, HER eyes will light up. She’ll tell you about her dreams for this ministry—and the stories of how our Thrift store team is already making a difference in the lives of the under-resourced in our community. If you keep listening, she’ll convince you to allow her fill your garage with donated items!
When you talk with Mike Smith about his experience as an ESL teacher HIS eyes will light up. His energy level will go up a gigawatt or two as he tells you about his students and where they are from. If you keep listening to him he’ll get you to teach ESL as well!
I could go on—but the fact is doing what God calls us to do is an empowering thing. And the one thing that awakens us to our vocation is LOVE. 1st John 4:19 says, “We love—we do our part—because He first loved us!” The apostle Paul, telling the Corinthians about his own call to a costly yet rewarding ministry, says, “the love of God compels me.” It’s the same for you and me. As we experience more of God’s love, as we learn to live in it, we get more and more zealous about finishing our vocation from God—our assignment. Love motivates obedience. Obedience nurtures love. Together, love and obedience produce fruit. God does kingdom work through those who love as He loves.
Do you want more of the power of the incarnation—God with us—and the Resurrection— God for us—and sanctification—God in us—and vocation—God through us? Love is the key.
You know—in his popular son, “The power of Love” Huey Lewis sings, “love might just save your life.” Well, there is no “MIGHT” about it—only your response to the LOVE of God in sending Jesus will save your life. It alone has the power to take away the sting of death itself. It alone has the power to give your life abundance and purpose. If you’re not a Christian, won’t you respond to the love of Jesus today?
LET US PRAY