Pastor Larry Sundin, Rock Springs Church
In one of Charles Schulz’s comic strips, Lucy says to Charlie Brown, “You know what I don’t understand? I don’t understand love.” Charlie responds, “Who does?”
“Explain love to me, Charlie Brown.”
“I can’t explain love. I can only recommend a book or a poem or a painting. I can’t explain love.”
“Well, try, Charlie Brown, try.”
“Well, let’s say I see this beautiful, cute little girl walking by…”
“Why does she have to be cute, huh? Explain that! Why can’t someone fall in love with a person with freckles and a big nose? Explain that, Charlie Brown!”
“Well, maybe you’re right,” answers Charlie. “Let’s just say I see this girl walk by with this great big nose…”
“I didn’t say great big nose, Charlie.”
In the last frame, his hands jammed into his pockets, Charlie dejectedly walks away from Lucy and says, “You not only can’t explain love, you can’t even talk about it.”
In some ways, Charlie Brown’s right. It’s hard to explain love. We’re not experts on love. And most of the time we are not very good at loving. Most of us are not even sure what love really means. Part of that uncertainty comes from all these mixed-up love songs. Part of our ambiguity concerning love comes from a world that romanticizes love. And a lot of our haziness concerning love stems from the fact that we rarely experience a genuine “no strings attached” act of love. You might say we suffer from a love deficit. But one thing I do know is this: We need love. We need love to free us. We need love to heal us. We need love to help us live confidently. We need love so we can love.
But what’s so interesting about love, is that Jesus wants us to learn how to love like He loves us. He said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 These are powerful words. We learn how to love by looking at how Jesus loved us.
How has Jesus loved us? The Bible teaches that Jesus showed His love for us by willingly laying down His life for us on the cross. To put this in perspective for us, Paul wrote, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:7-8 That’s loving someone when they don’t deserve to be loved. That’s hard for us to do. Our world constantly tells us to get justice when we are wronged, but Jesus teaches the opposite. He teaches us to love our enemies, to be merciful to those who harm us. So, if you could use a little help in learning how to love like Jesus, then let me encourage you to join us this May as we look into the book of love, 1 John, and take a fresh look at what it means to love like Jesus. Come learn with us Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. in the Hermosa Ballroom and become the love our world needs!