Calvary: Love's Deepest Expression

Bruce Kendall Barnard

Lead Pastor – Warrick Valley Church of the Nazarene, New York

 

“Anyone who claims to live in God’s light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark.

It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light

 and doesn’t block the light from others.”

(1 John 2:9, 10 The Message)

 

“How wonderful it must be to speak the language of the angels,

with no words for hate and a million words for love.”

Eileen Elias Freeman

 

I seldom use the word “hate.” Mostly because I hate very few things—and using the same word to describe my feelings about tyrants and spinach seems absurd. Kids, on the other hand, seem to have no problem with using the “H” word. Recently a mom in our congregation described to me this moment with her 4 year-old son:

 

Recently, Nicolas was on a time-out in his room upstairs and he started saying, "Mommy, I will love you again if you let me come down.”  I guess that was his version of "I hate you," but it wasn't as strong. I don't like to use the word, especially when it's very much used out of context.  So, my boys haven't learned to use that word which is used so widely in any given conversation.  I asked Nicolas if he stopped loving me because he was on a time-out, and he said, "I will love you again if you let me come down".  I asked him if he had stopped loving me, and he slowly answered, "Yes".  I asked him if he was sure, and he said, “No.”  I explained that it made mommy sad and that I didn't believe he stopped loving me just because he was being punished.  He admitted he hadn’t stopped loving me.  He hasn't said it again.  It's funny how they learn what buttons to push.

 

Sometimes I think we say to God, "I'll love you if you do this...give me that...answer this. Take away this pain or that suffering, and I'll love you again, God." We're all living with the consequences of our choices (or choices others make that impact us), but we somehow expect God to look away and simply bail us out of our mess. And we think we can withhold our love from Him until he does. How foolish of us!

 

Wouldn't it be great if this week, this most Holy Week of the year, we could simply love God for what He has done for us? He created us from His heart of love; He gave up his Son to die on the Cross because He loves us; He covers us with his grace because He loves us. How much more do we really need? 

 

“I need no other argument, I need no other plea.

It is enough that Jesus died, and that he died for me.”

(Lidie H. Edmunds, 1891)

 

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the love you have for sinners…and for me. I am one of those for whom Jesus died. I will never be able to thank Him enough for dying on the Cross…for me. Create in me a heart for Him. Lift my eyes to Calvary. Let me understand more completely the height and depth and width of Your love. And help me show that love to others so that they too will leave their hatred behind and turn to the One whose love knows no bounds. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.