The Church is a Love Story

 

“You can always give without loving, 

but you can never love without giving.”  Amy Carmichael

 

 One of Jane’s favorite romantic movies is The Princess Bride, based on the fantasy romance novel by William Goldman. She loves the characters and humor. My all-time favorite romantic movie is While You Were Sleeping. Every time I watch it, I spring a leak. It stars Sandra Bullock as Lucy, a Chicago Transit Authority token collector and Bill Pullman as Jack, the brother of a man whose life she saves, along with Peter Gallagher as Peter, the man who is saved, and Peter’s crazy, wonderful, generous loving family that has open arms for Lucy. It’s a modernized Cinderella story. Boy from the rich side of town meets poor working-class girl, they fall in love. They should never have met, much less fallen in love. But all who are watching can see how right it all is. We quietly cheer and pray that somehow, someway, they’ll make it and it will have a fairy tale ending. 

  What is it about this theme that so resonates so well with us that we keep coming back for more? From the dawn of storytelling, whether it’s Belle and the Beast, Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, or movies like Sabrina, Notting Hill, or even The Adventures of Robin Hood? Each of these stories portrays something extreme, something that couldn’t possibly be, and yet something we love and long for. We all wish someone would love us in such a sacrificial way, someone who’d willingly throw away security, fame and fortune and risk it all because they believe that we’re worth it.

  Think about it. That’s what our world is looking for—passionate, radical, extreme love. Why does it resonate so well with us? Because we have been wired on the inside for such a kind of love. But only One Person can love us this way. This is the love of God that we find in Jesus Christ for us. And when we, His followers, accept His love and learn to walk in His love, then He gives us the power to extend that same unbelievable love to others.

  Part of what so resonates with me about While You Were Sleeping is that it’s not just a love story, it’s a family love story. Jack and Lucy not only find each other, but Lucy also gets a whole new family who love and accept her. Much of the movie is in the Christmas season. Maybe you’re like me and remember some miserable Christmases from your formative years. Family love was something that was “only in my dreams.”

  The cross makes such love not just a dream but a reality. It’s what Jesus designed for us to have in our church. God doesn’t just love me, He loves us! Jesus didn’t just die for me, He died for us! We are family!

  Because God loved us, we’re commanded to love each other. It’s not a selfish love that says, “This is what I want. Give it to me if you love me.” 

  The kind of love Jesus calls us to is self-sacrificial love.  It’s the kind of love fleshed out by Jesus in His public and private ministry as He formed His disciples into a community of believers. It’s the kind of love demonstrated in His Passion as He suffered and died for those believers and the entire world. The love we’re to have for one another is to be self-sacrificing. It’s a committed love without a selfish or self-serving agenda.

  Not long ago, I finished reading The Long Walk by Salvomir Rawicz. It’s an incredible story. Rawicz was a soldier in the Polish Army when the Germans invaded Poland in 1939, thus beginning World War II. Trying to escape the Nazis, he inadvertently crossed the Polish border into Russia, where he’s captured by the Russians and charged with being a spy. After months of brutal interrogation, he’s tricked into signing a confession stating he’s a spy and sentenced to 25 years of hard labor in Siberia. He, along with hundreds of other prisoners, are transported by train 3,000 miles east, then chained to a truck and forced to walk another 1,000 miles north into the bitter cold of the Artic Circle where the labor prison was located.

  Upon arrival he begins plotting his escape. Over the next six months as he plans, six other prisoners join him. Finally, they all escape, heading south for India. It’s a heart-wrenching account. Some don’t survive the 3,000-mile trek south that takes over a year to complete – through the bitter cold of Siberia and the Himalayas, and the blistering heat of the Gobi Desert.

  These men not only escaped together they grew to love each other though they were from varied backgrounds. Some were Poles. One is an American. But it’s one for all and all for one. They are committed to one another in both life and death. They moved beyond convenience and sentimentality and came to really understand love, sacrificial love.

  That’s what we pray for and long for here at Grace. A vital part of having this kind of love for each other means that we must move our relationships beyond Sunday mornings. It’s why we’re urging you to join one of our Grace Groups that begin the week of September 12^th.

  It’s easy to talk about love at church. We want it to be much more than just words. As our Savior traveled the distance from heaven to earth in love for us, God has called us to make a long walk together. It requires love for those who journey with us. It’s committed love. It’s selfless love. It’s sacrificial love. And it starts with me and it starts with you.  

  Author and lecturer, Leo Buscaglia, once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four-year-old child whose next-door neighbor was an elderly man who’d recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.” That’s what God has called us to – to rejoice…to cry with each other. Grace groups help make that happen. We get to know each other and as we know each other, we love each other.

  So are you in? When we have that kind of love for each other, the world sees it. It lets them know that we’re Christians and belong to Jesus. Isn’t that what our Lord said, “A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).  

  What does the world know about you? What does it know about us? Do they really know that we love each other because He loved us so much?  Such love doesn’t just happen. It takes time and commitment. 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

God-Talk in God's Family

“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.”  Anne Morrow Lindbergh

  Does your family have a story? Nearly every family does. Our family loves to spend time together just talking. Sometimes it’s serious. Many times we’re giggling or laughing. Lots of times we reflect on funny stories from the past. There are stories and “key” words only we understand. For example, all five of us know what “pudding” means and it’s not a dessert.

  These family stories make us who we are and draw us closer to each other. Someday we’ll pass on many of these wonderful stories to our grandchildren. They’re the heartfelt conversations which make us unique and who we are. Your family probably has them too.

  God’s plan is for each local church to be a family. Sadly, we’ve veered from that, particularly in America. Often the local church is more like a business, a religious franchise. It’s not what God designed us for.

  Anyone studying the New Testament quickly realizes God planned for the local church to be a family. It’s one reason why we believe joining a local church is biblical. It’s very hard to be a “family” when you’re uncertain of who’s really in the family or who’s committed to it.

  It struck me recently we’re missing out on something when we’re together we can’t have out there – family conversations. Jesus designed us to be a Christian counterculture. Our conversations with each other when we gather to worship and fellowship should be different than nearly any other place. Have you ever noticed though, when we’re with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we talk about nearly everything else but family matters? Shouldn’t spiritual family conversations dominate our dialogue, rather than be the exception? Our times together are opportunities for us to fulfill those powerful “one another” commands in the New Testament?

  Some conversations shouldn’t take place though in a church family. They’re story and “one another” killers. Let me touch on a few.

  Whining/complaining. Whining kills communication and God hates whining. It cost the Children of Israel 40 years of wandering. Most churches have far too much of it. It’s usually over miniscule things: room temperature, music, seating, refreshments, minor annoyances, volume, etc.

  Sarcasm. Our culture is verbally cruel. Sometimes at church the pagan language of digs, put-downs or cuts is used. It’s wrong and it’s sin.

  Politics. When it comes to biblical values, there’s very little difference between the political parties. It’s primarily a philosophy of government. The only biblical form of government is a Theocracy, which was for Israel and won’t happen again until King Jesus returns. To cause Kingdom division over human government is a violation of Galatians 3:28.

  Business. Jesus cast the moneychangers out of the Temple. Yet, Americans are so “business” focused, it dominates our conversations, even in church. In a day of cell phones and e-mail, let’s work to keep the main thing the main thing – Jesus and His family.

  Just a side note here, as plans for our new facility continue to develop, it’s tempting to focus on style, costs, etc…and talk about it a lot. This new facility is not the church, WE are. It’s merely a tool to help us serve King Jesus. Most conversations about it should go something like this, “Isn’t it exciting what God is doing? How can we pray more wisely?”

  What are some family conversations we should be having lots of? There are many, let me just touch on a few. All of these find their heart with first loving each other, as Jesus commanded us to do, John 13:34-35.

  We must encourage each other. If you and I do not encourage one another, where else is encouragement going to take place? Each week many come in battered and bruised for a myriad of reasons. For some in our church family, this is their safe place. Look for ways to encourage others, particularly spiritually encouragement, 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

  We must pray for and with each other. Nothing so thrills my heart than to see folk gathered together praying for each other. Perhaps someone shared a special burden or need. Brothers and sisters stopped right there and prayed with them. Where else can we do that? If you do that at Walmart or the Packer’s game, people will think you’re a wacko.

  We must be kind to each other. Do you look for kind things to say to others? Do you ask how things are going so you can pray for them more intelligently? Do they know you care? Do you? Do you know what burdens or blessings they have? We’re to be kind to each other, Ephesians 4:32.

  We must admonish each other. Isn’t this odd? It’s not strange at church to ask someone how work is going or how their kids are doing, even if they’ve lost weight. Yet, somehow it’s weird to ask: What is God teaching you these days? What are you learning from His Word? We need to admonish each other, Colossians 3:16.

  We must forgive each other. You’re not a Christian unless you’ve been forgiven. Each of us has been forgiven horrible crimes against God. Yet, many of the “forgiven” carry smoldering cinders of bitterness, often for years, toward other believers. We must forgive each other, Ephesians 4:32.

  How can we grow in this area? How do we start making spiritual church family conversations “normal”? It’s simple – just start. Perhaps begin sharing one on one something the Lord is teaching you or something you need prayer for, or some special blessing the Lord has given you.

  This is new, so baby steps are best. Here are some questions to consider: What’s your most important spiritual goal right now? What’s something you believe from the Bible without any doubts? What book of the Bible has had a great influence on you? If God granted you any one request, what would it be? What would you most like people to remember you for after you die? What are the biggest questions you have about your relationship with God? What’s something you’re thankful for in your life right now?

  If there is one place for God-talk, it’s when you’re with God’s family!


Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed mine in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.