Living the Way of Love

4/27/22 Glenda Simpkins Hoffman

In last week’s blog I spoke about “Living the Resurrection.” On Sunday I preached about “The Way of Love.” Our weaknesses and failures often confront us with the truth that we are seeking to live the values of the world—to be popular, great, and successful, and to avoid suffering. But the way of the kingdom of God is the way of love which calls for humility, vulnerability, and sacrifice. What does that look like practically? I didn’t have time to answer that question in detail on Sunday, so I want to do so in this blog.   

Remember, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less…. They honor others by making the others’ needs as real and important as their own. The desire is ‘to become like Jesus’ in his willingness to choose the hidden way of love rather than the way of power” (Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Adele Calhoun).  

First, to live the way of love, we must practice humility, which means we never pretend. Be yourself. We all face those tight moments when we are tempted to engage in image management by claiming to know something we really don’t or the ability to do something we cannot do. We may be prone to say what we think others want us to say or to make promises we can’t keep or worse never intend to keep.  

As followers of Jesus we don’t have to pretend. We are chosen, loved, and valued by the Creator of the universe. We are God’s beloved children in whom Christ dwells and delights. So we are free to be ourselves—no more and no less. Because we see all of life as a gift of grace, we don’t have to prove ourselves or put on other faces and pretend to be other than we are.  

Not pretending involves vulnerability. The way of love involves a willingness to be known for who we really are and what we really feel. We need trusting, vulnerable relationships where we can be real with ourselves, with others, and with God. As we go through personal struggles and trials and even experience times of failure as Peter did (and we will), it’s important to be honest with ourselves and a least a few others close to us about our desires, doubts, and struggles rather than remaining aloof from Jesus and isolating ourselves from community.  

We talk a lot here at VPC about spiritual friendships and community, but it’s not because we think you need one more thing to do. It’s because it is in vulnerable relationships that real change happens. Each of us needs to assess the kinds of relationships and community we need to be a part of to become more like Christ together with others.  

Author and psychiatrist Curt Thompson speaks to importance of continuing to be in connection with others where we can be vulnerable so that we can share what we are really feeling and experiencing in life. “Having moments where we see each other gives us a sense with we are not alone. We were not made to flourish by ourselves. We are who we are in response to all those around us and in our lives.”  

There are many opportunities to cultivate these kinds of relationships at VPC. Small groups are meant not merely to be a place where we study God’s word together, though that is critically important in cultivating our relationship with God.  It is also a time and space to get to know each other as children of God who are learning to live by grace through faith in Christ. Not every group relates this way, but it is possible.  

Renewing Prayer, Stephen Ministry, GriefShare, and DivorceCare are ministries that provide safe places and relationships to process our painful experiences and emotions so we don’t have to pretend we are doing better than we are. Last weekend was the Men’s Great Banquet, and this week is the women’s weekend. The Great Banquet is designed as an immersive, intentional experience in which people get away to spend time with the Lord in the community with others. Those who participate experience the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the power of the Spirit in unique and wonderful ways. It’s always a joy to see and hear how God uses this time in the lives of those who step away for three days.   

There is no one way that any of these experiences brings about transformation. The Holy Spirit is the change agent. However, humility (knowing who we are in relationship to God and others) and a deeper sense of vulnerability in being seen and known and loved by God and others are surely part of that deep transformation.  

Finally, the way of love involves sacrifice. We have to be careful that we never presume that what we want is God’s will. Nor should we presume that what God wants will be easy or comfortable for us. It may not be. God often leads us out of our comfort zone. As we confront our limits and powerlessness, we learn to let go of our human resources and rely on the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit to do what only God can do. And the fruit of that is transformation as we become more like Jesus—more loving, more faithful, more sacrificial, more generous.  

There are countless ways to live the way of love, beginning in our closest relationships. We can ask ourselves, “Am I giving the time, attention, and energy God wants me to give to my nearest neighbors—my spouse, children, parents, grandchildren and closest friends?” We are to love our neighbors as ourselves and to love others as Jesus has loved us. However, we sometimes are so busy doing our work or engaging in a myriad of activities, that we neglect the way of love with those God has entrusted to us 

We do have work to do, and it’s important. But again, we can be so focused on what we do that we fail to be a loving person. It’s not just what we do but the way we do it. Are we taking the time not just to be productive but to be relational, knowing and caring for the people around us and loving them in the ways we are able and as the Lord directs? This takes additional time and energy, but it is the way of love.   

We are called to love sacrificially and generously, and there are many ways to do it. It may mean giving up recreation time to help someone in need by bringing a meal or helping with a chore. It may mean arranging some of your time to engage in a mission project with your family or some friends. There are many opportunities ahead including the Earth Care Day this Saturday, April 30; Walk for Water, May 20; and hearing Esau McCaulley speak on Sunday, May 15. These are opportunities—invitations from God—to live the way of love through sacrifice and generosity. You can explore all of them on our website: www.viennapres.org. 

Living the way of love is a life-long journey. There is no one way to do it, and we certainly can’t do everything. We have to look to the Lord for his guidance and direction to discern how he is calling us. And then we must follow him obediently into the way of love he has for us.  

This is exciting! We are living in the kingdom of God right here right now. We have the very presence of God living in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in us, empowering us to live this way of love in humility, vulnerability, and sacrifice. God continues to write his story of redemption through our lives and the lives of all his people as we follow him. Praise be to God!