"WHEN ONE LOVES!"

JOHN 15:9-15

O'Henry tells a delightful tale called "A Service Of Love" in which he depicts Joe Larrabee and Delia Caruthers. Joe is a talented artist and Delia a gifted pianist. They met at a gathering of artists and in the due process of time, married. They took a meager apartment but were happy because they had their art, they had their home and they had their love. Both continued their studies, Joe under a great artist, and Delia under a great pianist. Each had aspirations of not only success, but renown in their field. Their aims were clear and defined. They were blissful in their studies, in their love, and in their little abode as long as the money lasted. Then hard times set upon them with everything going out and nothing coming in, with no money to pay for the lessons and none for the food or rent. Delia made a decision: she'd quit her lessons, find pupils and work so Joe could continue his studies. Thus, she set out in quest of income. She set her heart upon doing what was good for her beloved. She knew that when one loves, no service seems too hard. So did Jesus Christ. He forgot selfish concerns to focus upon doing what needed to be done for those He loved. That's just what love does! When one loves:

• THE GOOD OF THE OTHER BECOMES THE MAIN CONCERN: V12:
• Jesus said, "love as I have loved you!" To what does that amount, and what does that mean in practical terms?
• He loved unselfishly: He never considered His own good or concerns.
• He loved tirelessly: He kept serving, helping, giving regardless of His own weariness or personal need.
• He loved by action: He touched the untouchable, fed the hungry, healed the sick.
• He loved inclusively: welcoming the outcast, seeking the lost, remembering the forgotten.
• He loved unconditionally: He didn't love because others were worthy, or if and when they became worthy.
• He loved others more than self: He came not to be served but to serve and to give His life.
• That's what the New Testament teaches us to do, too:
• Philippians 2:3-4 "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."
• Romans 12:10, 13 "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; ... contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality."
• 1 Peter 4:10 "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
• John F. Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask rather what you can do for your country." For the Christian, let me paraphrase that: "Ask not what others can do for you, ask rather what you can do for others." That's the motive for all our veterans!
• When one loves,here's how we look at the other person:
• Slow to suspect - quick to trust.
• Slow to condemn - quick to justify.
• Slow to offend - quick to defend.
• Slow to reprimand - quick to forbear.
• Slow to belittle - quick to appreciate.
• Slow to demand - quick to give.
• Slow to provoke - quick to conciliate.
• Slow to hinder - quick to help.
• Slow to resent - quick to forgive. (The Baptist Challenge)

So Delia loved and considered Joe's good ahead of her own desire to become a famous pianist. She told Joe of her decision, and that she had acquired one pupil, a rich girl named Clementina, but was sure she would soon have more. Joe protested, "Do you think I'm going to let you hustle for wages while I philander in the regions of high art? ... I can sell papers or lay cobblestones and bring in a dollar or two." Delia convinced Joe to continue his studies, and he decided that he might be able to sell some of his paintings and continue his lessons. At 7:00 each morning she packed him off to do his art work in the park before classes, and he didn't return home until 7:00 in the evening. Each week she gave Joe the $15.00 she earned and he would contribute whatever he had made that week. Their combined earnings kept body and soul together and a roof over their heads. Neither complained, neither murmured. On the contrary! They rejoiced in their good fortune to have an income, be it ever so meager. They counted their toils as work of love, and knew that when one loves, no service seems too hard. Nor did Jesus Christ who went to the cross driven by nothing less than a heart of compassion. That's just what love does! When one loves:

• NO SACRIFICE IS TOO COSTLY: V13:
• Note the degree and measure of love: "To lay down your life!" Here Jesus talks about doing it for friends; but Paul notes how Jesus even loved to a deeper degree and measure:
• "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6. While we were ungodly!
• "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8. While we were sinners!
• "For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." Romans 5:10. While we were enemies!
• Our love for one another is not measured as much by what we give as by what we keep, not by our surplus but by our sacrifice. Sacrifice isn't giving what we don't need or won't miss -- it is denying self, it is giving up what we could have and would have used for self. That's how the veterans of our nation sacrificed.
• I am moved by the true story of a little boy. He was called upon to donate blood for his little sister. He consented and when the needle was inserted the attendant noted him turning pale. "Are you all right, son?" the man asked. "Yes, sir," said the boy, "But I was wondering how soon I will die?" That boy thought that giving his blood would be giving his life -- and that sacrifice for his sister was not too great in his eyes.
• When one loves, no sacrifice is too costly, no price is too high, no giving too much.

Joe and Delia loved one another when they had enough and they didn't need to work. Their love deepened when they had to sacrifice for the good of the other. It doesn't always work that way; some relationships are annihilated by adversity, blasted by burdens, crushed by calamity and devastated by difficulty. But when one loves, no service seems too hard. Joe praised Delia for her sacrifice, and she encouraged him in his endeavors. She kept telling him about Clementina and her lessons, and He kept telling her about those who purchased his paintings. Difficulty deepened their devotion. That's what created deep fellowship between Jesus and the disciples: they endured everything together and became true friends. That's just what love does! When one loves:

• TIMES OF ADVERSITY DRAW US CLOSE TO ONE ANOTHER: VV14-15:
• Jesus and the disciples had spent about 3 years together. Homeless; hounded beyond endurance by the multitudes who just wanted to be fed, healed, and cared for; harassed and opposed by the religious leaders. But in all that adversity grew deep, personal and lasting relationships.
• That's why soldiers on a battle field become closer than brothers as they face a common enemy; that's why people form support groups and become family to one another to face a common adversity; that's why communities like Jonesboro and Thurston grow close when disaster hits and they face a common calamity. There is a kinship in suffering.
• Jesus knew that sharing hard things together would create a strong body, a close-knit church family:
• Matthew 26:38 "Then He said to them, 'My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.'" When one loves, that is what we do, and person is knit to person.
• Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." When one loves, that happens and hearts are woven together.
• Galatians 6:2 "Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ." When one loves, that takes place, and lives are bound together.
• When one loves, his or her heart reaches out to another and those hearts are bound together.

One day Joe came home to find Delia's hand in a bandage. She explained that Clementina had accidentally spilled hot soup on her after their practice. She said that the girl's father had sent someone for bandages to bind it up with. She tried to change the subject and asked about any pictures he may have sold that day. Joe examined the hand and noticed the bandages were a cotton cloth with oil on them. He asked, "what have you been doing the past two weeks, Dele?" After stammering for a moment, she broke down in tears and admitted that she had not gotten any pupils and had been working in a laundry where another employee had accidentally burned her with a hot iron. Then she asked what had made him ask. He said, "I sent up this cotton cloth soaked in oil from the basement of the laundry to bind the hand of a girl who had been burned with an iron. I've been firing the engine in that laundry for the last two weeks." They hugged and laughed. They had come to a full realization and demonstration of what it means when one loves. We see that epitomized in Jesus Christ. "One there is above all others! Oh, how He loves. His is love beyond a brother's! Oh, how He loves! Earthly friends may fail and grieve us, one day bless, the next day leave us, but this Friend will not deceive us! Oh, how He loves!" And He gives command to all who would be His disciples, "Love one another as I have loved you!" When we love like that, we are in step with Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us on the cross. Oh, how He loves you and me -- come to Him this morning and be loved like you've never been loved before.

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