| What's Love Got To Do With It? |
Love Songs From God: “What’s Love Got To Do With It?”
1 John 4:7-12
February 3, 2008
February... the month of love. Valentines will be given and received filled
with words and images that express our love for those we care for.
Candy... flowers... heart covered boxer shorts, heart covered ties, and
heart covered socks... special meals with that special someone... all
expressions of our love.
All this month we will be exploring what the scripture has to say about
love... and it does have something to say. In fact, in scripture, the word
love appears over 550 times. When you add in the times the various
interpreters of God’s word refer to love without specifically using the
word, the number is closer to 600. Now, it is my guess that somewhere
in those 600 references we can find some insights into this amazing
concept known as love.
However, the first comment about love this morning comes not from the
Old Testament prophets or the New Testament apostles. Our first insight
comes from a relatively recent time. Our first insight come from the
perspective of popular music and seems to reflect a callus world’s
understanding of love. It is the question raised by Tina Turner - “What’s
Love Got to Do With It?”
Based in the realm of the physical experiences of love (Eros as the
Greeks termed it)… based in the physical relationship that Tina sings
about… love is a painful ordeal to be avoided. Opposites attract and
there is no reason to have anything more than a physical attraction…
because in the world’s view, for love to be more than physical means
that somebody is going to be hurt.
“What’s love got to do with it, what’s love but a second hand emotion?
What’s love got to do with it? Who needs a heart when a heart just gets
broken?”
We all pretty much know what Tina Turner is singing about. Perhaps in
different degrees. But we’ve all been there. It can seem a given, that if
we risk investing ourselves in another emotionally.... if we go deeper
than looks, deeper than flesh, deeper than immediate gratification... the
result will be hurt.
There is no doubt about it… our hearts can get broken. Our intimacy can
turn into agony. We’ve seen it happen in others… we’ve experienced it
ourselves… So we begin to build layers to protect ourselves... layers of
protection around our hearts. As Tina sings, “I’ve been thinking about my
own protection. It scares me to feel that way.”
It is scary because the protection we try to assure, the layers we build in
an attempt to insulate ourselves from pain, instead, cause us ultimately
to feel more hurt... more isolation.
Let me suggest that the heartache Tina and the rest of us are trying to
avoid occurs because we are seeking physical love before we have
developed spiritual love.... We are seeking the world’s definition of love
before we accept God’s reality of love... We are seeking the control of
love rather than the grace of love.
Do you want to know the grace of love? Do you want to know a love that
looks neither to control nor to be controlling? If you have a Bible turn with
me to I John chapter 4 verse 10.
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his
Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
John’s implication of the impact of love is decidedly different than that
which Tina Turner sings about. Brokenness has occurred not as a
punishment directed at us, but as a gift to make us whole. God reached
out to us through the person of Jesus Christ as a way to put us back
together rather than tear us down.
What’s love got to do with it? Everything if it’s God’s Love.
As Paul wrote to the church at Corinth: God’s Love is patient, God’s
Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not
rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. God’s Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. God’s
Love never fails.
Let me suggest that without God’s example of love... we are lost. But,
with the love of God... with the love of God… building first on that love the
Greeks termed “agape” which is unmerited love offered by God...
Building on God’s love we can experience a wholeness that causes the
layers of protection to be a needless facade. One more barrier to life
that can be torn down.
You can have the gift of God’s love today... right this moment. There is
hope for wholeness. That is one of the promises of the Bible. Turn with
me to Romans chapter 5 starting at verse 1:
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained
access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in
the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not
disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time,
when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will
anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might
possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
While we are still in the midst of making mistakes…. While we are still
fumbling with the right words and right actions… While we are still
deciding if it is real… God loves us. Remarkable words of love. A
valentine for us to hang on to. A relationship of healing rather than
hurting. That’s “Good News.”
Next week we’ll continue to explore this gift of love that is offered to us
and where we can find it. I’ll give you a hint: It’s in His cross. I invite you
to celebrate with me all this month as we discover how God offers us
love and all we need do is accept it. AMEN.
1 John 4:7-12
February 3, 2008
February... the month of love. Valentines will be given and received filled
with words and images that express our love for those we care for.
Candy... flowers... heart covered boxer shorts, heart covered ties, and
heart covered socks... special meals with that special someone... all
expressions of our love.
All this month we will be exploring what the scripture has to say about
love... and it does have something to say. In fact, in scripture, the word
love appears over 550 times. When you add in the times the various
interpreters of God’s word refer to love without specifically using the
word, the number is closer to 600. Now, it is my guess that somewhere
in those 600 references we can find some insights into this amazing
concept known as love.
However, the first comment about love this morning comes not from the
Old Testament prophets or the New Testament apostles. Our first insight
comes from a relatively recent time. Our first insight come from the
perspective of popular music and seems to reflect a callus world’s
understanding of love. It is the question raised by Tina Turner - “What’s
Love Got to Do With It?”
Based in the realm of the physical experiences of love (Eros as the
Greeks termed it)… based in the physical relationship that Tina sings
about… love is a painful ordeal to be avoided. Opposites attract and
there is no reason to have anything more than a physical attraction…
because in the world’s view, for love to be more than physical means
that somebody is going to be hurt.
“What’s love got to do with it, what’s love but a second hand emotion?
What’s love got to do with it? Who needs a heart when a heart just gets
broken?”
We all pretty much know what Tina Turner is singing about. Perhaps in
different degrees. But we’ve all been there. It can seem a given, that if
we risk investing ourselves in another emotionally.... if we go deeper
than looks, deeper than flesh, deeper than immediate gratification... the
result will be hurt.
There is no doubt about it… our hearts can get broken. Our intimacy can
turn into agony. We’ve seen it happen in others… we’ve experienced it
ourselves… So we begin to build layers to protect ourselves... layers of
protection around our hearts. As Tina sings, “I’ve been thinking about my
own protection. It scares me to feel that way.”
It is scary because the protection we try to assure, the layers we build in
an attempt to insulate ourselves from pain, instead, cause us ultimately
to feel more hurt... more isolation.
Let me suggest that the heartache Tina and the rest of us are trying to
avoid occurs because we are seeking physical love before we have
developed spiritual love.... We are seeking the world’s definition of love
before we accept God’s reality of love... We are seeking the control of
love rather than the grace of love.
Do you want to know the grace of love? Do you want to know a love that
looks neither to control nor to be controlling? If you have a Bible turn with
me to I John chapter 4 verse 10.
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his
Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
John’s implication of the impact of love is decidedly different than that
which Tina Turner sings about. Brokenness has occurred not as a
punishment directed at us, but as a gift to make us whole. God reached
out to us through the person of Jesus Christ as a way to put us back
together rather than tear us down.
What’s love got to do with it? Everything if it’s God’s Love.
As Paul wrote to the church at Corinth: God’s Love is patient, God’s
Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not
rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. God’s Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. God’s
Love never fails.
Let me suggest that without God’s example of love... we are lost. But,
with the love of God... with the love of God… building first on that love the
Greeks termed “agape” which is unmerited love offered by God...
Building on God’s love we can experience a wholeness that causes the
layers of protection to be a needless facade. One more barrier to life
that can be torn down.
You can have the gift of God’s love today... right this moment. There is
hope for wholeness. That is one of the promises of the Bible. Turn with
me to Romans chapter 5 starting at verse 1:
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained
access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in
the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not
disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time,
when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will
anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might
possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
While we are still in the midst of making mistakes…. While we are still
fumbling with the right words and right actions… While we are still
deciding if it is real… God loves us. Remarkable words of love. A
valentine for us to hang on to. A relationship of healing rather than
hurting. That’s “Good News.”
Next week we’ll continue to explore this gift of love that is offered to us
and where we can find it. I’ll give you a hint: It’s in His cross. I invite you
to celebrate with me all this month as we discover how God offers us
love and all we need do is accept it. AMEN.
DeWitt United Methodist Church
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