Genuine Expressions Of Love

GENUINE EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE

II Cor. 6:3-13

INTRO.- Genuine expressions of love.

ILL.- A man at work decided to show his wife how much he loved her, and before going home, showered, shaved, put on some choice cologne, and bought her a bouquet of flowers. He went to the front door and knocked. His wife answered the door and exclaimed, "Oh no! This has been a terrible day! First I had to take Billy to the emergency room and get stitches in his leg. Then your mother called and said she’s coming to visit for 2 weeks. Then the washing machine broke, and now this! You come home drunk!"

Genuine expressions of love. At least, that husband tried.

ILL.- A man came home from work one day very tired, but his eyes lighted up as he stepped inside his house and saw a beautiful cake with seven candles on it setting on the kitchen table. He exclaimed, "A birthday cake! Whose birthday is it?"

"Oh," his wife replied nonchalantly, "the cake is for the dress I’m wearing. IT’S SEVEN YEARS OLD TODAY."

Genuine expressions of love. Cakes and seven-year-old dresses. Brand new dresses, for sure.

Genuine expressions of love could be lots of things. Material gifts, but much more.

ILL.- A number of years ago, U.S. Senator Jake Garn of Utah did something that most of us admire - HE DONATED ONE OF HIS ORGANS TO SAVE A LIFE.

A survey says that 73 percent of Americans approve of organ donation, but only about 20 percent actually sign donor cards and make arrangements for the donation of our organs.

In Senator Garn’s case, however, he did not wait until his death to donate his left kidney. His 27 year-old daughter, Susan Garn Horne, suffered from progressive kidney failure due to diabetes.

Jake Garn and his two sons were all found to be compatible donors. The senator insisted that he should be the one to give the kidney. Garn said, "Her mother carried her for nine months and I’m honored to give her part of me."

So, on Sept. 10, 1986, in a Washington hospital, a six-hour surgery was performed to remove one of his kidneys and implant it into his daughter. BOTH WERE FINE AFTER SURGERY.

A doctor reported after the surgery, "The senator is awake and has a bit of a grin on his face. HE SEEMS VERY SELF-SATISFIED, HAPPY AND PEACEFUL."

Talk about a genuine expression of love! Great! Fantastic!

Genuine expressions of love. Have you given out any lately? To whom and what were they? Verbal expressions? Material expressions? Physical expressions? Action expressions?

PROP.- From our text in II Cor. 6, I would like for us to consider some genuine expressions of love.

1- Avoid being offensive

2- Attend to others

3- Speak your love

I. AVOID BEING OFFENSIVE

ILL.- A college professor said to his students, "If there are any dumbbells in the rooms, please stand up." There was a pause and a lone freshman stood up at the back of the room. The professor said, "What? Do you consider yourself a dumbbell?" The student replied, "Well, not exactly, but I hate to see you standing all alone."

Calling someone a dumbbell or a dummy would be offensive, but there are worse things that could be said which would be offensive.

ILL.- While working in a retail store not too many years ago something happened that really "ticked me off." It was the day after Thanksgiving. AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS IN RETAIL BUSINESS? It means big business! Lots of people. Lots of customers. And no rest for retailers.

The manager and I and several other employees were in the customer service booth when suddenly an associate/employee asked me in front of everyone if we had any more of a certain product. I paused a moment and then told her that I couldn’t remember. Suddenly, the manager, who was much younger than I was, jumped on me with both feet. That is, he jumped all over me and chewed me out in front of everyone because I couldn’t remember. "You mean to tell that you can’t remember?" blah, blah, blah.

He did not take into account my age nor the fact that I was disabled mentally. (That’s a joke!) Seriously, he let me "have it" in front of everyone. AND I WAS GREATLY OFFENDED!

I just walked away. He knew he had blown it. And later he came around trying to make up in his own way for what he said to me and how he said it. And I let him know in no uncertain terms that he was wrong. His approach was wrong.

He may not have been wrong for reprimanding me for my poor memory, but how he was reprimanded me was totally wrong. HE OFFENDED ME, BUT I GOT OVER IT. I reconciled and even prayed for him.