(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
What's our greatest need?
Intro:
Today is about love — both the greatest possible love and that love that answers our focus question — What is humanity’s greatest need?
It’s likely you know the answer…and it’s likely that you need to hear it again. And again. Because it’s both what we need, and what we need to be as a result.
So today I’m going to do something a little different, a bit more like combining our regular Scripture reading with a Sunday Reflection.
To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial; to be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us. ~ Tim Keller
New Testament segment:
Passage: John 17-19:30
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 103
Words: ~2062
The bottom line:
A few days ago we read:
No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends. Jn 15:13, CSB.
Today we have just witnessed this love — the greatest moment in what we know of as history.
Interestingly, the language here reflects the fact that Jesus was speaking to His disciples, but the bigger-picture imagery that God uses is that of marriage. We are Jesus’ bride. God’s heart is for faithfulness between we and He. And while we are to live out the sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrates, there is no greater model in human relationship than that of marriage between one man and one woman.
So let me close where we began.
To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial; to be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us. ~ Tim Keller
There is no-one who knows us more deeply than Jesus, and every day we see that fear in the people around us. Maybe we even see it in ourselves. Because I know how I don’t measure up before God’s perfect and holy love. I also know how I don’t measure up before you. But here’s the twist: until you know…really know…how a perfect Jesus perfectly loves you, you’re going to struggle being loved by other, imperfect people and loving them in return.
When you love like Jesus loves, it liberates the other person from pretense, humbles them out of our own self-righteousness, and fortifies them for any difficulty life can throw at them. You give at the point of greatest need.
May we all love like that.
I love you. Amen? Amen.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) D.A. Carson, For the Love of God (Vol. 1, Trade Paperback): A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God's Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1998), location 5587, Kindle.