| I Don't Know How To Love Him |
Love Songs From God: I Don’t Know How To Love Him
Micah 6:6-8
February 24, 2008
During this month we have been exploring ways that God loves us. Of
course, a month will never be enough. It will take a lifetime and beyond
to discover the extent of God’s love for each of us... God’s remarkable,
accepting, unconditional, complete, never-ending ways of loving us that
can be experienced through the passion of Jesus and the presence of
the Holy Spirit.
Through popular songs we have also looked at the contrasting ways of
the world’s love, as Tina Turner asked the question, “What’s Love Got
To Do With It”... As Cher said love is found in his kiss… As Joe Cocker
suggested that “love lifts us up where we belong.” And this morning, as
we listened to music from “Jesus Christ Superstar” and Mary
Magdalene questioning how to love Jesus.
Hopefully you’ve heard that God’s love has everything to do with it... That
God’s love is found in his cross… And, that it is only God’s love that will
truly lift us up!
The simple, yet unique message of the Bible is that God loves us
unconditionally and will never stop loving us. We can deny the validity of
that message.... but, it doesn’t cause the message to be invalid. We can
deny our own worth... but, it doesn’t cause God to stop finding worth in
us. We can refuse to believe in God... but, God will never refuse to
believe in us.
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.”
So.... we are presented with God’s love for us. That is only part of the
story. To fully experience a relationship, to wholly immerse oneself in the
sensation of being loved, compels us to return love. Loving back
completes the love being offered.
Sometimes, however, it is hard to love back. We don’t always know how
to love God because our perception of what it means to be loved has
often come from encounters based on weakness rather than strength.
We respond out of the gaps... rather than the gifts.
This morning, I would like to come at the issue of God’s love from
another direction. In the words of the prophet Micah: “what does the
LORD require of you”... and me?
One of the earlier answers to that question which we find in the Bible
comes as Moses tries to free the Israelites from Egypt. It isn’t
happening, mostly because the Israelites don’t trust Moses leadership.
As Moses discusses how to get through to the people God says, “I will
take you as my own people, and I will be your God.” It simply started with
God.
As the faith of the people developed, so did the requirements for
responding to God. Not, because God changed the rules... but, because
the people, out of weakness, felt the need to add layers to the rules. To
get the full depth of how human frailties and needs get in the way by
establishing barriers to God’s love; you only need to read the book of
Leviticus. The minutiae of detail that was added to try to get God to
accept the people is incredible... especially considering the fact that
God neither needed or wanted the details to get in the way of a
reciprocal relationship.
You’ll remember that I said, “The simple, yet unique message of the
Bible is that God loves us unconditionally and will never stop loving us.
We can deny the validity of that message.... but, it doesn’t cause the
message to be invalid. We can deny our worth... but, it doesn’t cause
God to stop finding worth in us. We can refuse to believe in God... but,
God will never refuse to believe in us.”
God did not let the rules get in the way. Through the prophet Jeremiah,
God says, “...when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to
them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and
sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your
God and you will be my people.”
It’s hard to think that a relationship with God can be that easy. And,
obviously, others struggled with the simplicity of the message because
as we read earlier in Micah the issue came up again: “With what shall I
come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I
come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the
LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of
oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for
the sin of my soul?” Human nature is to think that there has to be more
required of us in order to be loved by God. So what are the “attached
strings?”
Micah responds: “He has showed you, O people, what is good. And
what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and
to walk humbly with your God.”
God doesn’t want sacrifices of things. God wants a relationship with you.
Unfortunately, we still struggle with layers of rules that would place
barriers to a complete relationship with God. We still struggle with the
idea that God loves us unconditionally because too often the tangible,
real-life experiences we have had with love have been far from
unconditional. So, we develop extra rules to protect ourselves.
We have experienced those who would hammer us down with guilt, and
we accept their accusations. The result is we begin to feel we are not
worthy of God’s love... or any love. We have lived in those moments
when people have said if you want to be accepted by me you need to
change the essence of who you are. And so, told that we should be
ashamed of our uniqueness... even our sacredness, we assume God
must also ashamed of us.
Hear me when I say, “The simple, yet unique message of the Bible is
that God loves us unconditionally and will never stop loving us. We can
deny the validity of that message.... but, it doesn’t cause the message to
be invalid. We can deny our worth... but, it doesn’t cause God to stop
finding worth in us. We can refuse to believe in God... but, God will never
refuse to believe in us.”
You need only to read the Gospel message to have the impact of that
statement become real. God broke through the barrier of rules once
again to prove God’s love for us. God became one of us in the person of
Jesus. In that personhood, all reasons to separate us from God’s love
were gathered and nailed to a cross to be forever destroyed. The rules
cannot be used to keep us from loving God back because there are no
rules. Never have been... never will be.
Are you at a point in your faith journey where you are saying “I don’t know
how to love Him?”
What will cause the wholeness of our relationship with God to be
complete? What will truly fill us with God’s love? What does the Lord
require? Simply this: To risk allowing God to love us. To open our hearts
to God’s presence. AMEN.
I don't know how to love him.
What to do, how to move him.
I've been changed, yes really changed.
In these past few days, when I've seen myself,
I seem like someone else.
I don't know how to take this.
I don't see why he moves me.
He's a man. He's just a man.
And I've had so many men before,
In very many ways,
He's just one more.
Should I bring him down?
Should I scream and shout?
Should I speak of love,
Let my feelings out?
I never thought I'd come to this.
What's it all about?
Don't you think it's rather funny,
I should be in this position.
I'm the one who's always been
So calm, so cool, no lover's fool,
Running every show.
He scares me so.
I never thought I'd come to this.
What's it all about?
Yet, if he said he loved me,
I'd be lost. I'd be frightened.
I couldn't cope, just couldn't cope.
I'd turn my head. I'd back away.
I wouldn't want to know.
He scares me so.
I want him so.
I love him so.
Micah 6:6-8
February 24, 2008
During this month we have been exploring ways that God loves us. Of
course, a month will never be enough. It will take a lifetime and beyond
to discover the extent of God’s love for each of us... God’s remarkable,
accepting, unconditional, complete, never-ending ways of loving us that
can be experienced through the passion of Jesus and the presence of
the Holy Spirit.
Through popular songs we have also looked at the contrasting ways of
the world’s love, as Tina Turner asked the question, “What’s Love Got
To Do With It”... As Cher said love is found in his kiss… As Joe Cocker
suggested that “love lifts us up where we belong.” And this morning, as
we listened to music from “Jesus Christ Superstar” and Mary
Magdalene questioning how to love Jesus.
Hopefully you’ve heard that God’s love has everything to do with it... That
God’s love is found in his cross… And, that it is only God’s love that will
truly lift us up!
The simple, yet unique message of the Bible is that God loves us
unconditionally and will never stop loving us. We can deny the validity of
that message.... but, it doesn’t cause the message to be invalid. We can
deny our own worth... but, it doesn’t cause God to stop finding worth in
us. We can refuse to believe in God... but, God will never refuse to
believe in us.
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.”
So.... we are presented with God’s love for us. That is only part of the
story. To fully experience a relationship, to wholly immerse oneself in the
sensation of being loved, compels us to return love. Loving back
completes the love being offered.
Sometimes, however, it is hard to love back. We don’t always know how
to love God because our perception of what it means to be loved has
often come from encounters based on weakness rather than strength.
We respond out of the gaps... rather than the gifts.
This morning, I would like to come at the issue of God’s love from
another direction. In the words of the prophet Micah: “what does the
LORD require of you”... and me?
One of the earlier answers to that question which we find in the Bible
comes as Moses tries to free the Israelites from Egypt. It isn’t
happening, mostly because the Israelites don’t trust Moses leadership.
As Moses discusses how to get through to the people God says, “I will
take you as my own people, and I will be your God.” It simply started with
God.
As the faith of the people developed, so did the requirements for
responding to God. Not, because God changed the rules... but, because
the people, out of weakness, felt the need to add layers to the rules. To
get the full depth of how human frailties and needs get in the way by
establishing barriers to God’s love; you only need to read the book of
Leviticus. The minutiae of detail that was added to try to get God to
accept the people is incredible... especially considering the fact that
God neither needed or wanted the details to get in the way of a
reciprocal relationship.
You’ll remember that I said, “The simple, yet unique message of the
Bible is that God loves us unconditionally and will never stop loving us.
We can deny the validity of that message.... but, it doesn’t cause the
message to be invalid. We can deny our worth... but, it doesn’t cause
God to stop finding worth in us. We can refuse to believe in God... but,
God will never refuse to believe in us.”
God did not let the rules get in the way. Through the prophet Jeremiah,
God says, “...when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to
them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and
sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your
God and you will be my people.”
It’s hard to think that a relationship with God can be that easy. And,
obviously, others struggled with the simplicity of the message because
as we read earlier in Micah the issue came up again: “With what shall I
come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I
come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the
LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of
oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for
the sin of my soul?” Human nature is to think that there has to be more
required of us in order to be loved by God. So what are the “attached
strings?”
Micah responds: “He has showed you, O people, what is good. And
what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and
to walk humbly with your God.”
God doesn’t want sacrifices of things. God wants a relationship with you.
Unfortunately, we still struggle with layers of rules that would place
barriers to a complete relationship with God. We still struggle with the
idea that God loves us unconditionally because too often the tangible,
real-life experiences we have had with love have been far from
unconditional. So, we develop extra rules to protect ourselves.
We have experienced those who would hammer us down with guilt, and
we accept their accusations. The result is we begin to feel we are not
worthy of God’s love... or any love. We have lived in those moments
when people have said if you want to be accepted by me you need to
change the essence of who you are. And so, told that we should be
ashamed of our uniqueness... even our sacredness, we assume God
must also ashamed of us.
Hear me when I say, “The simple, yet unique message of the Bible is
that God loves us unconditionally and will never stop loving us. We can
deny the validity of that message.... but, it doesn’t cause the message to
be invalid. We can deny our worth... but, it doesn’t cause God to stop
finding worth in us. We can refuse to believe in God... but, God will never
refuse to believe in us.”
You need only to read the Gospel message to have the impact of that
statement become real. God broke through the barrier of rules once
again to prove God’s love for us. God became one of us in the person of
Jesus. In that personhood, all reasons to separate us from God’s love
were gathered and nailed to a cross to be forever destroyed. The rules
cannot be used to keep us from loving God back because there are no
rules. Never have been... never will be.
Are you at a point in your faith journey where you are saying “I don’t know
how to love Him?”
What will cause the wholeness of our relationship with God to be
complete? What will truly fill us with God’s love? What does the Lord
require? Simply this: To risk allowing God to love us. To open our hearts
to God’s presence. AMEN.
I don't know how to love him.
What to do, how to move him.
I've been changed, yes really changed.
In these past few days, when I've seen myself,
I seem like someone else.
I don't know how to take this.
I don't see why he moves me.
He's a man. He's just a man.
And I've had so many men before,
In very many ways,
He's just one more.
Should I bring him down?
Should I scream and shout?
Should I speak of love,
Let my feelings out?
I never thought I'd come to this.
What's it all about?
Don't you think it's rather funny,
I should be in this position.
I'm the one who's always been
So calm, so cool, no lover's fool,
Running every show.
He scares me so.
I never thought I'd come to this.
What's it all about?
Yet, if he said he loved me,
I'd be lost. I'd be frightened.
I couldn't cope, just couldn't cope.
I'd turn my head. I'd back away.
I wouldn't want to know.
He scares me so.
I want him so.
I love him so.
DeWitt United Methodist Church
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