How do we follow Jesus’ example in the way he loved his neighbours, his friends, his enemies? It’s such an attractive part of Jesus’ life that no matter what faith standpoint you’re coming from, the way Jesus related to people with compassion and respect and love is something to be admired.
And I want to pay particular attention to the theme and aspect of giving in the love-life of Jesus. What role does giving play in loving without limits, without conditions, without prejudice.
And to begin, I want to draw your attention to one of the most well known verses in the Bible. It is found in verse 16 of chapter 3 of the gospel story according to John and it says this:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Right from the start we see that giving and loving go together. God loves therefore God gives. And God giving Jesus for us is one of the most beautifully mysterious moments in history, because in God giving his Son there is the whole action of incarnation and within the incarnation of Jesus – God the Son made flesh – we get an incredible example of limitless love accompanied by an attitude of giving.
There is a poetic song that illustrates how the incarnation and giving are entwined. The song was probably used by early Christians in their worship gatherings and we find it today in the book of Philippians because Paul, one of the early Church leaders who took the story of Jesus around a huge chunk of ancient Europe, quoted some of the lyrics in the context of teaching about relationships. He basically says ‘follow the example of Jesus...
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
So here we have Jesus giving up his divine rights and privileges and setting aside his glory; still truly and totally God in who he essentially is, but choosing to become human, to assume our humanity, choosing to become like one of us. This isn’t just Jesus showing his love by giving us a present, or some spare change to go and buy ourselves something nice with. This is Jesus declaring his love for his creation by giving himself wholly and completely to us. If ever there was an example of demonstrating ‘Love Without Limits’ by ‘Giving All’ this is it.
God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – loved the world so much that the Father gave the Son, and the Son gave his complete self. Love without limits gives all. Love Gives.
So, what did that actually look like? Well, in addition to Jesus becoming flesh, bearing the limits of humanity and living as a first century Jewish man, we read on in Philippians: he made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant. So, we read that he is in very Nature [or in essence, or to the core, the very makeup of who he is] God but he chooses to take the very Nature of a servant. A servant rarely takes anything. A servant’s life involves a lot of giving to one’s master. Jesus adopts this role and gives up his rights of privileges and power and status, that are rightfully his due to his being truly and totally God, and gives himself totally to his people as a servant. His limitless love gives and serves.
This example of love without limits that we’re looking at, and aspiring to follow, is rooted in humility and service and giving totally of one’s self to those you are loving. And it’s more than just doctrine or theory on paper and in books. This love without limits is deeply practical.
In his earthly life we see this demonstrated in the relationships he had, especially with his disciples. For three years Jesus and this band of misfits lived and worked and travelled together. Jesus invested so much time and energy into teaching them, training them, leading them, developing them, answering their questions, listening to their conversations, guiding their thought processes. Imagine the emotions you go through over a three year period. This was real life for these guys. They spent over a thousand days with Jesus. That’s about 26,000 hours. Actual time spent with Jesus, day in day out. Imagine the fights, the jokes, the smell – Twelve ordinary lads and their down-to-earth, tell-it-like-it-is rabbi.
Jesus loved his boys so much he invested everything he had in them. And eventually, on the night he was arrested before he was executed, he gave them one last command – “Love one another. In the same way I’ve loved you, I want you to love one another. Without limits. Without ulterior motive or hidden agenda. Just give yourself to one another. Put the others first. Look out for each other. No more holding back, looking after number one. No more ‘every-man for himself’. Tend to others needs before your own. Serve one another. Value one another above yourself.”
Limitless love gives and serves.
And that’s the life Jesus lived, and asked his apprentices to live and calls us to live. The disciples took the baton and ran with it. When they formed the beginnings of the Church they built it on these foundations. The book of Acts in the NT is full of descriptions of life in the Early Church. They looked after each other. They looked after widows and orphans – people who, in that culture, couldn’t look after themselves. They looked after the poor and the sick and the hurting. They made sure that nobody had any needs. They went to the trouble and inconvenience of selling their own possessions and pooling the money to make sure there was enough to go around.
And then there’s a verse that says “and the Lord added to their number daily, those who were being saved.” And you think ‘yeah, well done, Sherlock’. Because if you were poor, or hungry or lonely or in need where would be the first place you’d go?! I’d go to the Church, because they had inherited a set of values from Jesus that said Love Gives.
And what about now? We’re called to do the same.
The church i'm currently part of has a remarkable history. In its current expression as Church.co.uk, the Oasischurch in Waterloo, it’s been here about 7 or 8 years. But before that, under various names, it’s been part of major influential social action movements and projects for centuries. And for those of us part of this church, we’re part of that legacy. We’re here, part of the community in North Lambeth and the Waterloo area and we’re called, by Jesus, to Love our neighbours.
To Love Without Limits. As he loves us, so we are to love other.
We want to be a church that’s supports families, that helps makes the streets safer, that helps lower unemployment, that raises self-esteem and family values and brings hope to people who feel trapped and worthless. That’s a noble thing to strive for. And it's not limited to the Waterloo area, it's a worldwide call. But we can’t achieve that without a love that drives us, and love gives.
We need to give ourselves to this vision and we can do that in a huge number of ways. We can give our time to help mentor school children, start clubs and groups, help teach kids to read and write and be creative and develop dreams that are huge and hopeful. We can love these kids, and love gives. We can volunteer and give our time to invest in these opportunities. We can love their parents and older brothers and sister and become a support to them. Love gives. We can setup or be part of a Foodbank and help provide food for families that otherwise would have little or nothing to live on.
Love gives. We can give our money offerings to the church to help support the work this church does in the community. We can’t avoid the fact that money is a big factor in this world and the church does need money to function and provide the opportunities that it does, so, please, think about what you are able to give. Maybe, if you’re able to, consider giving regularly to your local church as a practical way of financially being part of the church’s work. If you’re not in a place to be able to do that, and I’m well aware that for some people that isn’t possible, give what you can – every little helps.
Love gives.
God loved and he gave.
Jesus loved and he gave. He gave everything he had to give and ultimately loved so much that he was willing to die a horrific death for us. Am I willing to remove the limits from my love for God’s creation and allow it to lead me to die for the cause?
The disciples in the early church loved and they gave. They sold what they had to provide for those who had nothing. Am I prepared to sell what I own and use the money to provide for people who have nothing? Am I even prepared to use the cash I have spare to provide for those in need?
Loving without limits means giving all.
We are called to love
without limits
and
love gives.
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