I. Ideal Love
a. There was a Dad who took his kids to do a little shopping. As they drove up, they spotted an eighteen-wheeler parked with a big sign on it that said, "Petting Zoo." The kids jumped up in a rush and asked, "Daddy, Daddy. Can we go? Please. Please. Can we go?"
"Sure," He said giving them both a dollar before walking into Sears. They bolted away, and He went in looking for a scroll saw. A few minutes later, he turned around and saw His daughter walking along behind him. He was shocked to see she preferred the hardware department to the petting zoo. Recognizing his error, he bent down and asked her what was wrong.
She looked up at me with those giant limpid brown eyes and said sadly, "Well, Daddy, it cost two dollar. So, I gave Brandon my dollar."
b. what an amazing thing this little girl did for her brother. She gave up her ability to have fun so that her brother could get into see the animals.
c. In this little story we see a glimpse of what love really is.
d. Love is not that squishy warm feeling we get inside. Or at least it is not limited to just that feeling.
e. Love is about sacrifice.
f. Christ himself said truly I tell you no greater love does a man have than to give his life for his friends.
g. How great is the love of those who place their life on the line so that others may know the sweet taste of freedom.
h. On a morning that many of us will now never forget a small group of people with the final words, “Let’s roll” set off to stop four men who were seeking to destroy the lives of many others. They risked their own lives in an effort to stop people from hurting others.
i. No greater love have a man that to sacrifice himself for others.
j. And there are people in our lives who serve in a position that can and does risk their life for the benefit of others.
k. I have shared this before that I grew up in a military family.
a. My father was career Air Force – 1st flying the venerable B-52 and later as a senior mission planner for the B-1’s
b. So I have great respect for the men and women who serve in the uniformed services
c. For these men and women have answered a call to serve others in away that can put their lives on the line.
l. A firemen risking a blazing inferno to bring out a helpless child.
m. The policeman on patrol for whom a simple traffic stop can turn deadly.
a. Just the other day I saw a report about a cop who was shot after pulling somebody over for speeding.
n. No greater love have a person
o. Of course then there is the greatest example of sacrificial love, in the love that God showed us when he allowed three nails to bind him to a tree and his blood was poured out for us.
p. But we do not always see and experience the wonders of love.
q. Because we are not consistent in our love. It ebbs and it flows. Sometimes it even seems disappear.
II. Love lacking
a. True love is hard to come by because it requires a sacrifice on our part, a giving up of something of ourselves in order to express it.
b. And because of our sinful nature we are self centered.
i. We have the tendency to mistakenly believe the world revolves around us.
ii. And we focus on our own needs rather than reaching out to help others.
c. And no where is it more evident that we are self-centered than when it comes to our love God.
Cs Lewis, the author of many great books including the Chronicles of Narnia once said that “On the whole, God’s love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him.
i. Which is definitely true, because our love of God is not very evident because so often we are so often hindered by selfcenteredness..
ii. Jesus many times said that if you love me you will do my will.
iii. So to love Jesus means we have to submit to his desires and sometimes that means giving up our own desires because they conflict with his will.
iv. And if we act selfcentered we cannot do his will because his will is
v. love your neighbor as yourself.
vi. How you treat others in your life, be they the kid at the fast food restaurant who got your order wrong. Or your best friend who gave you the most awesome birthday present. How they are treated reflects just how much you love Jesus.
vii. Jesus once responded to a person saying Matthew 25:40-46 Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, ’Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ’Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ’Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
viii. In essence he is telling us if you want to show that you love me treat others well.
ix. And when we act out of a self-centered mindset these don’t happen.
x. If love is self sacrifice and we struggle with overcoming self-centeredness how is the cycle going to be broken?
III. Restoration of Love
a. Jesus took his desires to heart. And for the least of all he died.
b. He died for us.
c. In Christ, love is restored.
a. Love has been restored.
b. When Christ rose from the grave love was remade in his image. The image of sacrifice. The image that has now been given to us through his free sacrificial gift.
c. Because of this act of love we are set free from the tyranny of our selfishness.
a. Let me put it this way the freedoms we are going to celebrate this fourth of July pale in comparison to the freedom Christ has given us in his sacrifice.
d. And such love can not go unnoticed.
IV. Impact of Love
a. Ted was not what one would call the teacher pet he was Turned off by school. Very sloppy in appearance. Expressionless. Unattractive. Many looked down upon him Even his teacher, Miss Thompson, enjoyed bearing down her red pen -- as she placed Xs beside his many wrong answers.
Christmas arrived. The children piled elaborately wrapped gifts on their teacher’s desk. Ted brought one too. It was wrapped in brown paper and held together with Scotch Tape. Miss Thompson opened each gift, as the children crowded around to watch. Out of Ted’s package fell a gaudy rhinestone bracelet, with half of the stones missing, and a bottle of cheap perfume. The children began to snicker. But she silenced them by splashing some of the perfume on her wrist, and letting them smell it. She put the bracelet on too.
At day’s end, after the other children had left, Ted came by the teacher’s desk and said, "Miss Thompson, you smell just like my mother. And the bracelet looks real pretty on you. I’m glad you like my presents." He left. It broke her heart and she started to see him in a new light. The next day, the children were greeted by a reformed teacher -- one committed to loving each of them. Especially the slow ones. Especially Ted. Surprisingly -- or maybe, not surprisingly, Ted began to show great improvement. He actually caught up with most of the students and even passed a few.
Time came and went. Miss Thompson heard nothing from Ted for a long time. Then, one day, she received this note:
Dear Miss Thompson:
I wanted you to be the first to know. I will be graduating second in my class.
Love, Ted
Four years later, another note arrived:
Dear Miss Thompson:
They just told me I will be graduating first in my class. I wanted you to be first to know. The university has not been easy, but I liked it.
Love, Ted
And four years later:
Dear Miss Thompson:
As of today, I am Theodore Stallard, M.D. How about that? I wanted you to be the first to know. I am getting married next month, the 27th to be exact. I want you to come and sit where my mother would sit if she were alive. You are the only family I have now; Dad died last year.
Miss Thompson attended that wedding, and sat where Ted’s mother would have sat
b. Miss Thompson did only a little thing by wearing that perfume and bracelet.
c. But the love she made known beginning with that act had a profound impact upon Ted.
d. And if such a small act of love can have this kind effect just imagine the kind of effect a great act of love such as the Sacrifice of Christ can have on us and the people around us.
e. It changes us every time we are exposed to it. Remaking us in the image of Christ. The image of sacrificial love.
f. It is a love that can change others through us.
