Prayer Breakfast Message

Avondale Women’s Prayer Breakfast

Saturday 10^th October 2009, 7.30am

‘Sharing God’s Love, because our Vision is to Share God’s Love’

First of all, what is love? The meaning of ‘love’, this four letter word, changes from context to context, situation to situation, culture to culture and person to person. Love is very much a contextual ‘thing’ in that it means something different in whatever context it is used or places within. We try to define ‘love’ by rules and marriage, regulations and ceremonies.

There are, of course, difference types of love. There is love between a man and a women, or husband and wife, between two friends, between countries or leaders or from a mother to her child. There is love in the school playground or in a friendship or even a relationship at a boyfriend/girlfriend stage. Whether we like it or not, or whether we understand it fully or not, love takes place all the time in our lives. In recent years, love has taken on new meanings, and as we grow older we understand new things about what love actually is. We heard on the news this week of the love of complete strangers compelled to go and help people affected by the Indonesian earthquake, others to help relieve poverty from the world’s poorest places. I also heard of the love a mother expressed to her son’s killer last week. Forgiveness is a powerful form of love. Also, whether we like it or not, or whether we agree with it or not, we hear of the love and relationships that two men or women have for each other in a homosexual relationship. Then we can move on to the love that might be expressed, or at least claims to be love, from a man to his 14 wives and 100 children. A love of a women who helped her suffering husband die, using assisted death. The love of a mother who has to abort her baby after being raped or because she knows she cannot look after the child. The mother who leaves her child on the doorstep of an orphanage all because love is difficult. The terrorist who truly believes that killing hundreds of people is their god’s way of loving the earth.

Al these examples are examples, good and bad, of a love that exists in our world. One could argue that every act in life is done in the name of love or for love’s sake, whether or not we actually realise it. So what actually might ‘love’ be and how can be share that love with others?

First of all, it is important to note that Christianity claims to be a faith or religion based on ‘love’. Although I agree with this, I so often think we get it wrong. We get it wrong because we don’t understand truly what ‘love’ actually is. Jesus’ two greatest commandments both begin with the word love. First, love God and then love your neighbour. Matthew 22: 34-40. So already we know that our faith is entrenched in love. Love is a carpet therefore that must be walked upon.

My theory of what love might be for us today is based on the passage from 1 John 4: 7-12. I don’t usually work in points but today I have three points. Have you noticed the most popular verses in the Bible are all about love! This passage is probably the third most well known passage in the Bible. The first passage of course is ‘…for God so loved the world that he gave His only Son.’ The second probably ‘…love God… love another as yourself…’. And then we come to the first, you’ve guessed it, about love! Let’s take a look…

1. Love is something that comes from God and God alone. 1 John 4: 7-21: ‘Let us love one another, for love is from God… God is love.’ I believe that love is ‘God, coming from God.’ When we love God, we give God back to God. We give his goodness and worth back to him. Briefly, this is what worship is – giving to God or telling God who he is or what he is. So love itself is God flowing from himself, into our lives that we might continue the flow back to him. Confused?? I John 4: 16-17, says that God dwells in those who love him, because God is love. It is impossible to remove love in those places where God is and it is impossible to remove God from those places where love is. If we love therefore, it is actually God flowing from us. There is that wonderful verse that says ‘all things come from you and of your own do we give you.’ Love comes from God, so we must learn to give it back.

2. I believe that love is something wholly Christian. 1 John 4: 9 -10. God chose to disclose to us how to love him – by sending Jesus his Son. Jesus acts as the channel to allow us to give back to God what is rightfully his and he chose to disclose that to US. Love is something spiritual and powerful. Being Christian is about the spiritual and divine things, however small they may be. Love is something both spiritual and divine. It is not about anything material or physical, although it is often expressed as such, but about something heavenly and mysterious. It is, says St Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, the greatest gift of the Spirit. Truthfully, only God understands love because only God understands himself, but he chooses to give us a glimpse as he discloses to us what true love is in Jesus, his Son. God chooses us so that we may only ‘think’ we understand!

3. I believe, thirdly, that love is for everyone. 1 John 4:11. When the process of God’s love comes to us and we return it back to him, when we have accepted Jesus as the disclosure of God’s love to us, we can then tell others. ‘If God loves us dear friends, let us love one another.’ Let us share God’s love, ‘we are bound to love one another.’ It is impossible not to love others if you have never accepted God’s love. His love makes you too excited and too fulfilled not to share it with anyone else! Although his love has been disclosed to us, it is simply too good to keep to ourselves! The only reason we should tell others is so that they can love and know God. we should not tell others for our own personal glory or self worth, because then it ceases to be God flowing to others and becomes us imposing ourselves on others. Love is simply about God and sharing it with others means keeping it about God! When the Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my door, they always tell me about what they believe and they are determined that their way is the right way for me also to live my life. I always reply, well what is it that God believes? I believe God believes in nothing but love. We have made Christianity about ourselves and lost that first love. We live in a world that is self focused not people focused. We have forgotten that God’s love is for ALL people.

So from 1 John 4, we can learn a little about what love is about, and what it might be.

1. It is God – God is love. His love flows to us and should go back to him – 1 John 4: 7-8, 16-17
2. It is something wholly Christian because it was disclosed to all those who believe in God’s Son, Jesus – 1 John 4: 9
3. It is for others – for everyone! 1 John 4: 11-12, since we have been loved, we must love others with the love of Christ – this is the least we can do.

How can we share God’s love with others?

So often we think that sharing God’s love means standing in the streets, shouting at all the people who walk pass. Others think that standing on the streets with leaflets is how we ought to share God’s love. Actually, people are less likely to listen if they have no choice but to listen! Jehovah’s Witnesses are dedicated people. They are confident and rehearsed in what they believe. Their method of sharing God’s love is to knock on every door within a small area allotted to them. Usually they visit more than once, especially if you invite them in for tea. The problem I find with them is the amount of time they stick around! Another problem I find is that they intrude on your personal space, your door, your life and your house. More often than not, people are far too busy or annoyed to be interrupted. Is this how we should be seen?

When we share God’s love in Avondale, in Zimbabwe, or anywhere in the world, I want to suggest that we SHUT UP! I suggest that we do less speaking and do more action. 1 John 3:18: ‘my children, love must not be a matter of words or talk; it must be genuine and show itself in action.’ Let us base our faith more on what we are seen to do, not heard to say. This is what John meant by living in the truth. Jesus said a new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you; by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.

By LOVE shall all men know that you are my disciples. They shall see that you are God’s children and that you belong to him! When they see us loving they are actually seeing God because God is love. This is why love is action, however small, is the most powerful tool we have as Christians on earth. The beginning to 1 John is all about sight – we have seen with our own eyes, we have looked upon it, we have even felt it. We haven’t spoken it, we haven’t sung it, we haven’t even preached it – Jesus made visible – love made known and for all to see. We see Jesus in God and others see Jesus in us. If you look at all the other spiritual gifts, they are all ‘noisy’ gifts (but by no means bad!). Teaching, preaching, prophecy, tongues, speaking and so on. however, the silent gift we must all posses is love – love should be seen – it must be felt and experienced. This is why Jesus died publicly on the cross for all to see. You only love God if you have experienced his love in some way.

Sisters Elizabeth and Annamore at Penhalonga are two nuns who both remind me of the stories from Calcutta, of Mother Teresa. These two women have nothing of their own. They gave up everything to join the CZR sisters. However, to further this they both came to me last week and insisted I listened as they sat me down! “Brother Carl, we are concerned about the orphans in our community. We are going to the help them. What is the best way we can do so?” I was so humbled by their desire to help others in their poverty that I became speechless. Eventually we spoke about the different ways in which we can support orphans in the community. I wondered most of the night how they were compelled to love the unloved. This is love. Having nothing, but yet giving everything. This is why as Christians we speak of the ‘debt of love that is owed.’ The love is not ours to give, but God’s. These two women were filled with the love of God until they became humbled by it and so it overflowed from them to others.

Loving others is the deepest and most powerful form of love. It is loving others without wanting anything in return. When we love others, it means that God’s love is pouring from us. Christianity today is not about a Christ who is an example but about those who claim to follow in his footsteps (Meegan).

So often we get love wrong. I saw a little child at Mount Selinda on Wednesday. She had a severe learning problem. The ‘nurse’ told me that she couldn’t walk or talk even at the age of five years old. The nurse poked the little girl to wake her up so “we could see her” and they hooked her over the side of the cot to prove to me she couldn’t stand up or use her legs. She had severe ring worm on her arm. These carers claimed to be ‘Christian.’ Well, if I wasn’t a Christian, I certainly wouldn’t be inspired by Jesus after visiting that place!

As Christians we face the dilemma of learning how to love God’s world, looking towards reason, scripture, tradition and now ‘reality’. The use of condoms is often frowned upon in Africa, and the verses concerning sexual relations and sex before marriage and so, do favour the argument against the use of condoms. However, we know statistically that in those places that do not allow the use of condoms, HIV/AIDS is at its highest. As Christians we must try and preach what we believe, and at the same time come to terms with the reality of promiscuity. A long term programme is needed to eradicate these problems, but also a short term solution is needed. We want to love people, but we cut them off with what we believe, because ‘the bible says so’. Its all well and good shouting about sex before marriage, but not everyone will follow our shouts, some will still choose to be promiscuous without using condoms. These people actually look to see how we are living our lives. It would be nice if someone came to a couple here at church and said ‘I chose to wait to the confines of marriage until I had sex, because I saw that there was so much fruitfulness, love, commitment and blessing on your relationship.’ I’ve seen the way you live and have chosen to follow. Isn’t that what we say to Jesus when we respond to his call to follow him? We have decided to follow Jesus because, simply, we like and are drawn by the way he lived his life and continues to live amongst us today.

To be honest I like working with non Christian sinners more than I enjoy working with Christians. I like the way sinners are honest and open about what they do, while most Christians gossip about their sinless lives and attitudes. I love the way sinners are open to hear about this concept of love, while Christians think they know and can share God’s love perfectly. I love the feeling you get when a sinner acknowledges that they are loved by God. I’d rather have a church filled with 500 sinners than 500 perfect Christians. The sinners church has a vision and something to work for, while the church full of Christians is dead without knowing.

Missionaries are of course the classic way to share God’s love right? Most missionaries make the mistake, and I was one fo those last August, thinking they will be the first ones to take God into a certain area or place. How wrong could they be! It was in Highfield that I learnt that Jesus was already with His people, but was calling me to love them the same way he loved them in order for him to be seen in that place. We have to learn as Christian to draw Christ out of these places, these places where he already lives and works and waits to be found by those who love him.

We, like Christ, are called to love. Christ was the original missionary who walked and lives amongst his people. He did not need to be noticed by anyone to make sure everyone was watching or even to grab their attention. Rather, it was just enough that he was serving his people. A living missionary does not need any materials, but he needs to love, heal, forgive, listen and to reach out in love. this is the way Christ lived and generated his truth, by deed, by action, by kindness and patience. Our world really needs these things right now!

On the bus to Chipinge I met a small girl with severe burns on her face. She was still the prettiest little girl on the bus by far! Her scars were so noticeable and visible, but after a while of being next to her I forgot about the scars. I managed somehow to see through them and see ‘her’. We formed an interesting relationship. I wanted to look out the window and she stood in the way. I want to write in my journal and she took the pen to draw on the seat. I want to sleep and she wanted to play with my hair and touch the spikes! Her father sat next to her, he was a police officer. I noticed major scars on his hands. He saw me looking at his hands and before I could look away again, he told me that she fell into a house fire some years ago and that he went into the fire and pull her out. This man bore the scars of love. He risked his own life to save her from the fire. Of course, our lives too is filled with scars. We constantly fall. But because God loves us he reaches down to us and picks us up, he reaches into the fire and pulls us out. Of course, he bears the scars of love. Jesus’ hands, just like the police officer, bear the scars of love. Jesus’ gave his life in order to save us and the scars remain. There is no greater love, that a man lay down, or at least risk, his life for his friends.

From this lovely story, we see that sharing God’s love doesn’t come easy. It calls for us to leave our comfort zones, to take up our cross, to face poverty and to challenge injustice. It calls for us all to give up, not possessions and material things only, but to give up ourselves. The CZR sisters left everything to face poverty and care for orphans, the police officer risked his life for his daughter and in Highfield I faced poverty in order to know the people Jesus cares about. One of the reasons I am in Africa today is because I saw the need to share God’s love with orphans. Although in order to do that I had to leave my family, my college course, delay ordination, to leave access to my bank account and so much more. It called for a sacrifice. Love calls for a sacrifice.

I want to challenge you today. Think about how we share God’s love. It is so much more easy and exciting than standing on the street corner hoping someone will listen. Sharing God’s love means so much more than just making converts. It is so much more than a one off leaflet giving or Alpha course. Sharing God’s love means facing a hurt world in complete acceptance and with total compassion. The phrase ‘let’s do it, even if it kills us’ may seem quite extreme, but isn’t this what the Father said when he went all the way to the cross? Sharing God’s love is about being with God’s people – those non Christians, people of other faiths, the poor, the HIV, the orphans or homosexual, the widow, the divorced, the lonely and the bruised. Sharing God’s love is about sharing life with God’s people.

Jesus gave up the glory of heaven to share the Father’s love with us. He became one of us, limited to a human frame and he bore the pains of human life and sin. We too must give up the idea of self glory, self image, the ‘me’ factors, and enter into a life of service, as servants, facing God’s world, finding him in the darkest parts of Zimbabwe today and exposing his light. It is when we enter this life that we see life in its fullness. Jesus’ sacrifice was not made in vain simply because we love. When we see love in action, we ultimately see the resurrection power in action and we see God at work, in his world. Put love first. Love conquers all things, it is the greatest gift of all, says Paul. Love will never end as there is nothing – not Satan, not Kanonga, Mugabe, not even death – that love cannot face. There is not limit to love’s faith, its hope and its endurance.

So, to share God’s love in Avondale means to tough Christ. He lives here and he loves with te poor in their lives too. we see God in the scars of all his people and we heal them as we shed the life of Christ into that dark place. We touch Christ because he touches us. We love Christ because he first loved us. We love others because Christ also loves them. How will you share God’s love today in a corrupt, poor Zimbabwe? How will share God’s love in a violence ridden, unjust and hurt society? No one said it would be easy, not even Jesus. Let God love you and you will find you will love others beyond all measure.

Amen.