Rooted in Love: Our Highest Calling

REFLECTION
This is my favorite time of year in Ohio. The cool nights, the leaves changing color, campfires, hikes and apple cider, what’s not to love? But as I was reflecting the other day, I started to think back on all that God has been doing in the past couple of seasons.

As a church, a lot has happened. We’ve gone through seasons and changes. Even in our Sunday services in the last year and a half we’ve gone through the bible in the year, looked deeply into the heart of worship, prayer, missions, and our mission
as a local church.

Recently, Pastor Chase has encouraged us to zoom out and look at our mission by reminding us that in order for this church to achieve the mission that God has given to us, we need each individual member to take personal ownership over the collective mission, which is to see lives transformed by the word of God so that all of the corners of the world will know that Jesus is Lord. 

This is a beautiful mission that God has entrusted His church with. But if we aren’t careful, I think at times we can get too caught up in all of the different events and efforts and tasks that combine to fulfill that mission.

So, this morning I want to step back even further. Take a moment to pause, to take a breath,
and to set aside the other worries of the day or the tasks that you have to get done. Because while these things we have been learning about are so important for us to know, and while there are many good and worthy tasks for us to accomplish today, there is one thing that Jesus calls us to above all else, and without it, all our other efforts in life are meaningless.

That one thing of course is Love.

In I Corinthians 13 Paultalks a lot about love.  He even mentions faith, hope and love and says that the greatest of these is love!

Jesus says this in Mark 12: 30-31:

30  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength.’  31  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [b] There is no commandment greater than these.”

This is the greatest commandment. This is the calling. It can be easy to get wrapped up in so many other things, good or bad, and lose sight of the ultimate calling. Love God, Love People. This is the basis for everything we do as Christians.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul is saying that you can speak eloquently, have
all the faith in the world, prophecy and have wisdom, and server others, but without love, it is meaningless.

To put it in our context a little bit, we could reach the community, hold bible studies,
study and teach the word of God, and even tell others about Jesus, but if we do it without love, it is a waste.

However, conversely, if we have the love of Christ and we operate out of love for him and for others, everything else comes with it. If we have love, then patience, humility, protection, trust, perseverance, service, making disciples and more will follow.

Furthermore, Paul goes on to say that love is eternal. One day, we won’t need hope, because our hope will be fully realized in eternity. One day we won’t need faith, because we will be in the presence of God, but love will remain. And look at the incredible statement that Paul makes in verse 8.

Love Never Fails.

Never. How can this be true? Because the love of Jesus is perfect. There is no
selfishness, there is no flaw, there is no limitation. This is what Christ has called us into, His love that is perfect and works to perfect us.

In John 4:18, Jesus says: There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in love.
The Love of Jesus perfects us.

This is what we need as a church. To be transformed by the love of Jesus and perfected by it. When we allow the love of Jesus to change us and guide us, the rest falls into place. If we want to accomplish the mission that God has given us, personally and collectively, it has to be done through the power of Jesus’ transforming love.

So the question for us today is, how can we do everything that we do with the love of Jesus
in mind. What would it look like to do your job, or household chores or go grocery shopping powered by the love of Jesus? Let’s fix our minds today on loving our neighbor, and loving God, and pray that the He would continue to perfect us in love.

SCRIPTURE 
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
- 1 CORINTHIANS 13

PRAYER
Lord, thank you that you love us. Thank you for showing us what your love looks like. Even though we have done nothing to deserve it, and you gain nothing from it, you still love us.

Help us today to view the world through your love. Help us to understand how to love our neighbors, and to love you well today. I pray that we would be known by our love for you and our love for one another.

Help us to love people the way that you love them, and to do all that we do today through the power of your love.

God, please continue to perfect us in your love.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.