Better Relationships #3

In this new role of superintendent I’m on the road a lot more than I was as a local church pastor. As a result, I’ve changed the oil for my car quite a bit more often lately. You need to change the oil because when your engine is really working hard, there is friction and the oil eases that friction. If there is no oil, the friction creates incredible heat, and your engine will be damaged and eventually no longer work. In the church, love is the oil that keeps things lubricated and running even when there is friction; and there will be friction from time to time. 

We’re looking at what the Bible says about how we are to love each other in the church from the key passage on how we treat one another in the church.

1 Corinthians 13:2-3 “If I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

#1 When I love others, what I believe will have meaning.

If we do not love, our faith means nothing to God or anyone. Being a Christian is much more than just believing the right theology. I am an advocate for correct doctrine, however, it is not what you believe about the Jesus, but what difference has Jesus made in your life? What difference has Jesus made in how you behave at home or in school or in the church? The Bible says in Hebrews 11 that without faith it is impossible to please God, but that needs to be a faith that also has love. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:6 “What is important is faith expressing itself in love.”

The prophet Jonah had great faith. It was because of his faith in the power of God’s Word that he resisted going to Nineveh to preach.  He had faith to know that if he preached, and if they repented, that God would forgive them. Jonah hated the people of Nineveh. They were the enemy of Israel.  Because of his lack of love, he did not want the sinful Ninevites to be saved from a horrible judgment. After the whale experience, Jonah went to Nineveh and preached, bringing great revival there. BUT, Jonah’s faith meant nothing because the only faith that pleases God is one that expresses itself through love.

#2 When I love others, what I do will have value.

Paul is talking about agape love, self-sacrificing love. But, self-sacrifice doesn’t necessarily come from love. In 1 Corinthians 13:3 the apostle Paul talks about sacrificing and providing for others. Way too often in this world parents have given their children gifts rather than spending time with their children. They sacrifice their time and provide things, when the child really needs their parent.

God is love, and as his followers and as his children, we are called to love one another. This gets difficult because of the friction we have when we are close with people, this is why we need to check the oil and make sure that we really are loving one another. Jesus said it like this, “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). If we want to have better relationships we need to have love for others which is more important than our theological framework and it is more important than any gift or good deed. Will we really love one another?