John 14
Pastor Jeff Allen
To love or not to love…that is the question.
How would you describe love? Is it an emotion or a feeling? I hear it from our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders all the time, describing love for pizza the same way they describe love for their Dad and Mom. Is that the way it should be? One moment we love pizza and the next moment, it’s chocolate chip cookies. I wonder sometimes if we’ve distorted this thing called love.
In John 14, Jesus talked a lot about love. For example, “If you love me, obey my commandments.” (verse 15, NLT) and “Those who obey my commands are the ones who love Me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them…” (verse 21, NLT)
Let’s think about this. What are Jesus’ commands? I can think of several, but let’s go with “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44, NLT) and “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important; ‘Love your neighbors as yourself.” All the other commandments and all the other demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NLT). Although these verses are worded a bit differently in some Bible versions, they say the same thing. They are commands to love God and people.
God created us and knows how we function. He knows that our feelings are up one moment and down the next. They are ever changing, depending on how we slept, the weather, how someone talked to us, traffic jams, not eating, etc. So why would He base our entire living on a command that incorporates a feeling into our daily lives? My sense is that Jesus knew that love isn’t just an emotion, but a choice. If it wasn’t a choice, He wouldn’t have commanded us to do it. There are times when I don’t feel like loving God or people (yes, I’m human) and maybe the same is true of you.
It’s worth repeating - love is not just a feeling, but a choice. Choose to love, even if you don’t feel like it.
Did you know that – if he could – Pastor Jeff would grill every meal?
