Last Sunday we talked about the key to friendship with God, the key to having God responsive to your prayers and using you to lead others to salvation, the key to your own lasting happiness and success. And it’s one word – repentance, which means to change your mind about how you’ve been living and to turn from doing things your way to do things God’s way. It’s something that we need to do as often as we find ourselves out of harmony with the will of God.

This morning I want to talk about what God’s way is in summary. To repent is to turn from your way to go God’s way. What is God’s way? How does He conduct Himself? How did Jesus live, which is the way we go when we repent? It is just one word – Love. Repentance is to basically turn from self-centeredness to go the way of love, love for God and love for people. And love for people is one of the main ways we show our love for God.

There are just a few things I want to say about the importance of love, then we’ll look at a verse in Galatians which tells us what’s behind love (the catalyst of love) and then we’ll end with an example and teaching of Jesus on love in the gospel of John.

So first…

How important is love?

I was standing on the sidelines of a little-league football game yesterday. I was part of “the chain gang.” You know, the guys that hold up the yardage and down markers. Anyway I got to visit with a young guy holding a marker next to me. He told me about why He lives where he lives and does what he does, and he said, “You know, it’s all about making money.” Which I took as an opportunity to tell him what I think, “it’s all about.” We had a great conversation. He seemed excited to hear that there’s a greater purpose to life than making money. The God who made us wants a relationship with us where He loves us immensely and we love Him back immensely and we love others like He does. We’re here to learn through Jesus how to love and to choose love. If we do, God delights in us and we will glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. But if we miss learning how to love through Jesus, we miss the point of life.

James 1:12, God has promised the crown of life to those who love Him. James 2:5, He’s promised the kingdom to those who love Him. Romans 8:28, He works all things together for good for those who love God. I Corinthians 16:22, “If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed.”

And there’s no substitute for love. No amount of Bible study, prayer, fasting, church attendance, worship activities, giving, or anything else can substitute for love. In I Corinthians 13, Paul wrote, “If I were incredibly gifted, able speak in the tongues of men and angels and prophesy, if I understood all the mysteries of God’s ways and knew all there is to know, if I were to do the greatest deeds imaginable, give away all I have and offer my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not have love, it would profit me nothing” (I Corinthians 13:1-3).

In reading through the Bible, I was in Isaiah not too long ago and I was struck by Isaiah 58. It’s about how some ancient Israelites were trying hard to get God to respond to their prayers. They were praying every day, and listening to the Scriptures and the priests at the temple. They were offering sacrifices and even fasting, because they wanted God to be gracious to them, to heal them of diseases, to deliver them from their enemies and their problems, and prosper them. They were saying to God, Isaiah 58:3, “Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?” God answers, “Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.” They were fasting and doing religious things so their voice would be heard on high. But God says I will not listen as long as you continue to be so self-centered and mean to people. In verse 6 God tells them what will actually get their voice heard in heaven. He tells him, “Let the oppressed go free.” And verse 7, “Share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you seek the naked, cover him. Then [verse 8] shall light break forth like the dawn and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’” So He says I’m willing to grant your prayers speedily when you repent and start loving your neighbors. There’s no substitute for love. Without it we cannot please God or have an effective prayer life.

And did you know if we do well in the matter of love, there’s room for error in other matters. I’m not saying we shouldn’t try to be right in all our doctrinal beliefs and the way we do church, the way we conduct our assemblies and organize and such [that’s part of love, trying to know and do what’s right in every way], but if we don’t manage to get it all figured out or we’re in error in some of our actions, but if we’re doing well in the matter of love, our ignorance and error is forgiven.

Didn’t Jesus say if you forgive those who wrong you, if you love like that, your Father will forgive you of your trespasses? Didn’t He say “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

Think about the descriptions Jesus has given us of how it will be on judgment day and what He will say to those who have His favor and to those who He finds unacceptable. When He separates the sheep from the goats, does Jesus tell us that one of the things He will say to the goats is, some of you guys were wrong about instrumental music in worship and some of you were off on the proper day for church, and some of you were off in your interpretations of the end-time prophecies? No. What does He say? Jesus says, “Here’s what I’m going to say to the sheep, I will say, “I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to me.” And they’ll say, “When?” And He’ll say, “What you did to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did to me. Inherit the kingdom.” He’ll tell the goats that, “In neglecting others, you neglected me. Depart from me.”

Judgement will be decided by how we loved or didn’t.

Paul told Timothy, I Timothy 1:5, “The aim of our charge [the aim of this preaching ministry, what you’re trying to teach people…] is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” That’s my objective in preaching. In one way it’s a bit concerning and sobering to me. Because I find that sometimes I’m distracted from love, I get focused on myself, my needs and my wants. But in another way this is encouraging to me, that love will be the primary matter come judgement day; because I’m not confident that I have it all figured out. I’ve still got lots of questions. I’m not confident that we’re doing church in quite the right way, honestly. But though I may be in error in some ways, I can still be pleasing to the Lord if I learn from Him to love and keep growing in love.

Let’s look at a verse that not only emphasizes the importance of love, but also what’s behind love.

The Catalyst of Love

Galatians 5:6, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” What a simplification of life! Here’s all that matters really. Here’s all that counts in the sight of God – faith working through love.

I believe the relationship that Paul is indicating between faith and love, is that faith is the catalyst of love. Not the only catalyst. Behind both faith and love is the operation of the Holy Spirit in our lives and hearts. But real faith in the real Jesus is going to make us love and act in love… for at least 3 reasons.

One is that with such faith we realize how much God loves us. And it melts our hearts and inspires us to love like Him, because we realize how awesome and glorious love is and we want to make our Father proud. The more we grow in faith, the more real God’s love becomes to us and the more we understand how much He loves us, the more we will love.

A second reason faith produces love is that by faith we’re convinced that God’s way of love is wiser than the world’s way of self-centeredness and getting even with people. By faith we trust that the Lord knows best about how to change people’s hearts and how life is best lived.

And a third reason is that by faith we realize that we do not need to worry about ourselves. By faith we realize that the Lord is taking very good care of us and so we are free to focus on others. As we grow in faith we become less concerned about ourself and more outwardly focused on others.

So this is what makes you a successful human being and a delight to God – faith working through love.

Now, let’s turn Jto ohn 13 and we’ll look at an example and some teaching of Jesus. We’re going here to the last supper, the last meal Jesus shared with His twelve disciples before He went to the cross. And what makes this occasion and Jesus’ teaching here extra powerful to me, is to realize…

The sort of characters that are gathered around this table.

Some of them were of vastly different political opinions. There was Matthew, also known as Levi, who had been making a living as a tax collector, employed by and helping out the pagan Roman government. Then there was a man named Simon who was also called “the Zealot.” The zealots were a political group on the opposite end of the spectrum from Roman assistants like Matthew. “Zealots” advocated that the Jews should resist and revolt against the Romans. They typically despised any Jews who sought peace and favor with Rome. In modern day equivalence, there at the table we have a representative from CNN and a representative from Fox news, we have a guy who will not wear a mask anywhere anytime and thinks covid is all government conspiracy, and then at the table is a guy who is so committed to the mask, he even wears it in the car. How do you think of and treat those on the other end of the spectrum from you politically? Those who are so senseless they would vote for so and so and ruin our country? What do you do with those people?

And then around the table were people in doctrinal error, people who were plain wrong in some of their beliefs. In fact they all were. They believed the Messiah was basically going to rally the men of Israel for war, overthrow the Romans and establish the Jews as the new world power. They believed God mainly just loved Jews. They had other misconceptions and things they did not yet understand. What do you do with Christians who can’t see what’s so clear to you in the Scripture? I have lost good relationships with brothers and sisters over doctrinal disagreement. There’s times it was my fault, but not always. When you have doctrinal disagreement it’s hard not to assume bad things about their heart and their respect for God’s word.

And you know who else was at that table? Spiritually immature people. There was Peter who would deny Christ three times that night. There was Thomas who would soon earn the name “the Doubter.” Though we probably shouldn’t pick on Thomas, others probably would have been just like him if they hadn’t been privileged to see Jesus before Thomas did. They all still had some pride and selfish ambition. That very night, according to Luke’s account, they still argued about which of them was the greatest. They would fall asleep that evening in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus asked them simply to keep watch for Him and pray. They were still spiritually weak and flawed. How do you deal with those people?

And we can’t forget that also at the table was Judas Iscariot who had already yielded to Satan and worked out a deal with the Jewish leaders, to lead them to Jesus in a private setting where they could arrest Him without stirring up the crowds.

I imagine Jesus didn’t feel much like serving that night. He had a lot on His mind. He was about to bear the sins of mankind and pay the penalty for them. I can’t imagine how agonizing it must have been to anticipate that. If anyone deserved to just relax and be served at that table, it was Jesus. But…

What did Jesus do among these bunch of flawed fellas?

Let’s read what happened. John 13:1, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” We’ll skip over the dialogue with Peter about washing and drop down to verse 12. There’s good stuff there, but that will have to be another lesson. “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

Some think Jesus was commanding a foot-washing ritual. I would expect to find an example or more information about that somewhere in Scripture if that’s what He was commanding. I think His point is that they are to love each other like He’s loved them, which is what He will command them in verse 34 and repeat in chapter 15. And for them in their culture, that meant sometimes washing each other’s feet. In our culture where we wear shoes instead of sandals it doesn’t necessarily mean washing feet. But it may mean gathering plates and washing the dishes. It may mean cleaning up the mess made by someone’s muddy shoes.

What is it to love like Jesus?

It’s clearly more than sentimental feeling and being nice. It’s at least 3 things.

It’s first of all to serve the unworthy.

Jesus washed the feet of the CNN guy. And He washed the feet of the Fox news guy. He washed the feet of the mask wearer and the non-mask wearer. He washed the feet of the denier. And He washed the feet of the doubter. He washed the feet of the spiritually immature and doctrinally confused. And He came to the feet of his enemy and he removed his sandals and washed his feet just like He did for his friends. And then He told them I’m leaving you an example.

Do you ever consider before you do a good deed for someone if they’re worthy of it? Do you ask, “What have they ever done for me? Would they do the same for me? Are they a good person? Do they care about me?” Jesus didn’t ask those questions when deciding to serve people or not. He just served them because they were people. He never would have gone to the cross for us, if He would only serve those who are worthy.

Second to love like Jesus is to serve despite the nature of the task.

Normally a host would have the youngest slave or the newest slave wash the guests’ feet. It was a task for the lowest of slaves. It was not only not much fun but a somewhat humiliating task. Do we let opportunities to serve pass on by because of the nature of the work? Now, let’s see if I can get myself stoned. How about those tasks fellas we call “woman’s work”? Even God knows it’s “woman’s work” right? That’s why He made women with shorter feet, so they can stand closer to the kitchen sink. Well, I understand that women are typically better at some things than men and vice versa. But if the king of heaven and earth was not above slave’s work, I’m thinking neither should we be above dishes, babysitting, scrubbing a floor or bathroom.

Loving like Jesus is to take the initiative in serving.

You know, nobody asked Him to do this. It wasn’t His job and nobody expected Him to. But Jesus didn’t wait around for the person whose job it was to do it. Nor did He sit there thinking, “Well, I’m willing, if somebody will just assign me the task. If someone will just tell me what to do, then I’ll do it.” He just saw something that He could for them, took initiative and did it. So you see a mess, it’s not your mess, somebody else made it and left it. What if it’s not your job to clean up around here? Or you see something broken. You see something that needs replaced. You see something that needs painted. You see where your neighbor could use a hand with his fence, with his car, with his kids. So what if it’s not your stuff, your fence, your car, your kids? So what if it’s not your responsibility? So what if it’s not your wife’s birthday, it’s not Valentine’s day, it’s not your anniversary, it’s not mother’s day? What if she’s not expecting anything? Or younger people, so what if your parents haven’t asked you to do the dishes or clean up the dog poop? Living like Jesus is seeing what you could do to bless people and taking the initiative to do it.

And learning to live like Jesus is the single most important lesson to learn in life. It’s makes us a delight to the Father and will bring us into our prayers being powerful.

Notice verse 17 again… If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. Well, we all know these things, unless you managed to tune me out. Now, if we add to the knowing, the doing of these things, Jesus says, then we are blessed.

Do we believe that? We do not need to worry about ourselves if we go the way of Jesus, of love and serving others. We’re blessed, we’re taken care of. We’re well off. We’re free to just think about and care for others.

-James Williams