I Want to Love Like Jesus
“I Want to Love Like Jesus”
by Pastor Kent Munsey
January 17, 2020
But it’s obvious by now, isn’t it, that Christ’s church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It’s not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called “important” parts. But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.
If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
1 Corinthians 12:29-31 (MSG); 1 Corinthians 13:1-6 (MSG)
“I have decided to stick with love; hate is too great of a burden to bear.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
We must choose to stick with love in our everyday lives. Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment of all is to love. Love is even more important than faith or spiritual gifts. We tend to believe that love is just a feeling or an emotion. Some of us even see God’s love that way, believing that he loves us when we do good, but not when we do bad. The love of God is life-changing. The love of God is supernaturally transformative. When we choose to love, we are choosing Jesus. When we choose to love, we are choosing to invite not just the good news of the gospel but the spirit of Christ Jesus into our lives.
We are living in a time when we need to love more. We need to say to one another that we love each other more. We need to write to one another that we love each other more. We need to give love to each other more. We need to forgive in love like never before. If we are going to be the hands and feet of Jesus and ambassadors of Christ, we have to live a life of love.
Choose Love. Love is not just a choice of doing, but a choice of being. Scripture says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8 (NIV).
Love is patient. In the Bible, the Greek word for patient always refers to being patient with people, not patient with circumstances. Love is demonstrated through patience. When we look at the love of God we can’t help but choose love. In this season, if we are running out of patience with people, it could be that we have chosen to give up on love. Let’s be encouraged to stick with love and stick with patience. We can overcome evil with good and with love. When we think about the patience that God demonstrated for us, shouldn’t we also demonstrate patience for the people in our lives?
Receive love. If we’re going to choose love, it has to be the authentic, personal, life-changing love of Christ. Christ’s love works in us. We are called to receive and respond to the love of Christ and allow it to compel us.
Stick with love. Simon Peter denied Jesus three times the night that Jesus was crucified. After Jesus defeated sin, death, and the grave, he rose victorious on the third day. When the resurrected Jesus found Peter, he asked him three times if he loved him. Peter was compelled by love and responded, “Lord, you know I love you.” Christ’s love compels us to love others, to forgive, and to reconcile.
Be compelled by love. Love has the power to compel us to do things we never thought we would do. When Peter faced death, he chose the path of love. We need to allow the love of Jesus to compel us to what he has called us to. If we don’t choose love, hate will destroy us.
We must:
Choose love
Receive love
Stick with love
Be Compelled by love
Love is a choice that we make every single day. Love is supernatural. The love of God is powerful. The love of God is working and compelling. Because Christ loved us, we can demonstrate his love in our life. It’s compelled love that takes us into our prayer rooms to pray for peace, for revival, for healing. It’s compelled love that raises up great men of God like Martin Luther King, Jr. We cannot help but choose love because love compelled us, love chose us, love lifted us.
Reflection/Discussion Questions:
1. What do you find most challenging about the call to love like Jesus?
2. When have you struggled to choose love, and when have you succeeded in loving well?
3. Think of or describe a time when someone loved you like Jesus.
4. What can you do to receive and respond to the love of Jesus this week?
5. How can you stick with love this week--in your family, friendships, and other relationships?