“Truly Displaying Love”

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Showing love is a risky endeavor. What if it is rejected? What if I do it wrong? What if it is accepted, but not returned? It is much easier to play it safe and choose not to show any love, but not to show any rejection either. If we are reserved with our efforts to love another person, then at least we risk less disappointment and pain. And so perhaps we do not speak too highly of our loved ones for fear they may think it strange. Perhaps we do not show physical affection to our spouses because we fear it is the wrong timing. Perhaps we decide not to give up our free time for other members of the church because they may not appreciate the sacrifices we’re really making.

But is this the Christian way? Is it our responsibility to watch out for ourselves and keep ourselves insulated from risk and from pain? Quite the opposite, Christian love is meant to mirror the love of Christ—a man who did not insulate himself in any way from damage that others could do to him by rejecting his passionate attempts to help. Even in his earliest teachings, he told that those who show love to the world will be persecuted (Matt. 5:11-12). There is an inherent risk in the way that we love others, and there must be a risk or it is not the kind of true, sacrificial love of which Jesus spoke. Only that kind of love—love without reserve—truly imitates him in his nature and his purpose.

Practically speaking, this means if you know the best way to love someone, do it. Say the words they most desire to hear, go to the places they need you to go, make the sacrifices they need you to make… even if you’re putting yourself at risk of rejection by all of it. This is the very definition of humility. It is not just that we think of ourselves as lowly, although there is that aspect of humility, to be sure. More than that, it is that we make the decisions necessary to risk—and even sacrifice—self in whatever situation we can for the sake of someone else! Can you love the people in your life like Christ loves us?

- Dan Lankford, minister

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