The Language of Love

Scripture Passage

^{John 3:16-17}

¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

 

Sermon Script

Dr. Gary Chapman wrote a book called “The Five Love Languages”. He said there are five distinct ways that we express and receive love.

They are: Words of Affirmation (verbal), Quality Time (attention), Physical Touch (affection), Acts of Service (action), and Receiving Gifts (thoughtfulness).

We are not limited to any one of these languages, but every person has a dominant love language.

Looking at this list, what is common to the five love languages? In other words, what best defines the way we express our love?

It is GIVING. Giving is the most visible and concrete expression of love. It is the language of love.

When we love, we give. We don’t calculate. We freely give ourselves.

When we love our friends, we do everything we can for them. When we love our community, we serve it wholeheartedly. When we love our studies, we dive deeply into the subjects. List goes on.

That is what happens when we love. We give. We can even say LOVING is GIVING. There is no difference.

We see the connection between love and giving most clearly in God. John said it in the first part of today’s reading:

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. (John 3:16)

God is love. Love is God’s nature.

God is so full of love that he gave his one and only Son. God gave himself completely in Jesus.

This one particular verse tells us everything about God. This is the message of the gospel in a nutshell. God loves so much that he gave himself to us.

Hearing this can be comforting. It makes our hearts warm and fuzzy. Love does that to us.

But we should be careful not to project our way of loving onto God. In a way, God’s love is much greater than ours.

What did John say that God so loved?

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. (John 3:16)

It was the world. In Greek, it is called kosmos.

John is not referring to the planet earth or the galaxy. Kosmos refers to all who are opposed to God and his ways.

He came to that [the world] which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (John 1:11)

That is whom God so loved that he gave himself to it. People who were his own, but did not want him. People who rejected him. Those who, by human equation, were undeserving of his love. That includes us too.

Giving ourselves to those whom we are fond of is easy. We don’t need to think too hard about it. We just do it. In fact, we want to do it. We care about them a lot.

But giving ourselves to those who reject us is not at all easy. It is the most difficult thing to do.

Think about how you feel when someone ignores you or treats you badly. It doesn’t just annoy you – it upsets you. The thought of loving them does not enter the equation. Rather, we want to get back at them by shutting them out.

Yet, love was the path that God took even in rejection.

WHY though? To give when you received nothing seems foolish.

But God had a good reason, as John also told us today:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)

Yes, God could have condemned those who rejected him. God could have insisted on settling the score – and still be in the right.

But God knew what the outcome would be. He knew condemnation only brings separation and death.

God knew that only love saves and brings people together. That is why he gave himself.

In Jesus, God did not hold himself back. He went all the way, even if it was hard. That is the cross.

But in doing so, God ultimately showed us the path to eternal life. That is the verdict of John 3:16—

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. (John 3:16)

When we think of eternal life, we think of going to ‘heaven’. It is what we experience after we die. I think that is a superficial understanding of what eternal life is.

Eternal life is the quality of our life here in the now. It is the life of freedom.

But not in the sense of doing whatever I want. It is freedom from sin, darkness, anger, hatred, shame, and guilt.

And when are we most free? It is when we love. When we love, we experience a glimpse of what eternity is like.

God so loved the world and gave himself for us so that we may also follow the way of Jesus Christ. The way that leads to eternal life.

To believe in Jesus means to put our trust in the saving power of his love. It is saying, “I believe that Christ’s love is the only way.”

Being unable to love is being less than human. The image of God within us darkens and gets lost. We remain in total darkness.

Someone said being unable to love is what hell is like. We become enslaved to our own self-centredness.

In Jesus, God showed us that we are created to love. We are made to be GIVERS of his love.

We are meant to live in freedom, as St. Paul said:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

Think about God daily and be shaped by his love.

Don’t try to love others on your own terms. Ask God to fill your heart with love – especially when it is hard. I encourage you to make that your daily prayer for Lent.

That is why St. Paul also said:

Let all that you do be done in love. (1 Corinthians 16:14)

Loving itself is not difficult. It is choosing to love that is difficult.

When we are hurt, we don’t want to pray. We don’t want to ask God to fill our hearts with love. Even though deep down, we know that is the better way.

Allow the love God has put within you to flow out of you. Giving is when love overflows in action. Then you will be able to truly go beyond yourself.

You will be able to forgive as God has forgiven you. You will be able to embrace others in their imperfections. Then you will walk the way that Jesus walked.

Let the way of Jesus be your language of love.