God Planted Love Within Us

St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

Scripture Passage

John 15:9-17

Worship Video

Worship Audio

Sermon Script

The Last Commandment

Love one another. This is the last commandment Jesus taught us.

It is the last commandment, the greatest commandment, and the most important commandment.

When you put together everything Jesus did, said, and taught, the ultimate conclusion is this: LOVE.

So Jesus said this conclusively.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

What is the meaning of the word, commandment?

It doesn't mean having obligation to do what you don't want to do.

It means what is the most important in your life. What makes your life life. The reason for you to live.

The reason for you to live is to love. The ultimate purpose of life is to love.

Love is the most important thing in life.

That's why St. Paul said at the end of his famous chapter on love.

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

That was his conclusion too.

Do you believe that?

Love Makes Us Happy

Also, love gives you happiness. When you are in love, you are happy.

People who are in love have a big smile on their faces. Because they are joyful. They are happy.

That was what Jesus said today.

I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:11)

The reason Jesus came to the world was to make you happy.

He came to love you and tell you how much God loves you so that you may become happy.

Love makes joy come alive. Love makes you happy.

Do you believe that?

Then if we believe that love is the most important thing in life and love makes you happy, how come I don't see love much around me?

I see a lot of hatred and anger. I see indifference. People don't seem to care. But not love.

Maybe we say we believe that but don't truly believe that in our heart? Maybe we don't have conviction in that?

Created in the Image of Love

Christians believe that love is the most important thing in life and love makes us happy.

Because our Lord Jesus said so. Because we are also convicted in our heart as the truth. Because we have also experienced that ourselves in life.

When God created us, God put love within us.

When love is the most important thing, wouldn't God put that in our heart?

It is more important than eyes, ears, arms, and legs. It is more important than stomach, intestines, liver, and kidney.

When God put all those things within us, wouldn't God put love which is the most important within us?

Yes, God put love within us when he created us. God created us in the image of God and the image of God is love.

This was what John said.

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

Because we have love, we can be connected with God. Because God is love.

God put love within us so that we can relate to God. Also so that we can relate to each other and relate to the creation.

This was what the first human being said about Eve.

This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. (Genesis 2:23)

Growing to Love

We have love almost like an instinct.

I could see that last week. Teddy and Nicole's baby, Cody, had a complication.

I received a text on Wednesday from Nicole, asking for prayer. Fortunately, Cody is Ok and he came home.

I know the feeling of Nicole and Teddy because Yong Mi and I went through a similar situation. I saw the love of parents.

Babies will grow with parents' love.

They are the first people they see when they are born. That is the first world they encounter. The first thing they experience is love.

Love makes you grow. Love makes you a complete human adult.

Being an adult doesn't mean now you are 18. It means to become a person who can fully love.

That was Paul's idea of love and being an adult.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. (1 Corinthians 13:11)

He said this in his famous love chapter.

When you are able to fully love, you put an end to childish ways and become an adult.

Teach your children love. There is nothing more important than that.

When they learn to love, they will survive in any situation. They will be strong.

You are strong not when you have muscles. You are strong when you are able to persevere through extreme situations.

When you have love, you will have that strength.

Rekindling Our Love

The reason we cannot see much love around us is because the love within us is damaged.

When we are hurt, we are not just hurt but the love within us gets damaged.

We become hardened. We become incapable of receiving love and giving love.

Jesus came to heal the damaged love within us. Jesus came to rekindle the love within us.

Love heals. Jesus' love heals.

Jesus expressed his love in this way.

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. (John 15:13)

Jesus showed love that laid down his life for a friend. He showed the ultimate form of love.

He sacrificed himself for love. That love flowed out of the cross. The love that flowed out of the cross flowed into us.

That love heals us. Our diseases, our hurt, pain, suffering, worries, doubt, anxiety, and darkness – love heals them all.

Our hardened heart will become soft. We could not receive love before. Now we can.

We could not freely give love. Now we can.

A Way of Life

Love is not something you feel. Many people think of love as feeling. But that is not true.

Feeling comes and goes. But love does not. If love is a feeling, no one can love forever.

(Baek Hyun-woo) did not just feel for (Hong Hae-in). He took the bullet for her. (Korean drama – Queen of Tears)

Love is neither feeling nor action.

There are times when you cannot do anything. But that does not mean you cannot love.

Love is the way we live our life. Love is something within us.

Love is the way we interact with others, other people, the world, and God.

Since it is the way we live our life, we should practice. We need to practice to receive love from God.

Meditate on God always and carve in your heart how much God loves you. That is a practice.

You have to practice to love so that love within you grows. You cannot learn a full marathon overnight. You cannot learn to love like Paul overnight.

Empty yourself and build others up. That is a practice.

Don't let your hurt damage the love within you. Turn it into compassion: Suffering love.

Learn to understand others. There is no love without deep understanding.

Thick, Nhat Hanh said,

Without understanding, love can't be true love. We must look deeply in order to see and understand the needs, aspirations, and suffering of the one we love.

Practice it so that love within you becomes healed and stronger.

Practice it so that love within you freely flows out of you.

The post God Planted Love Within Us appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.