PASTOR’S CORNER: Love is the reason

Community this morning when love is the reason for anything something good always happens. Try it sometimes.

Real love changes the atmosphere, melts hearts and brings out the best in the people that it touches. Love is the one thing that can break down barriers and bring people together. No wonder love is the greatest of all gifts (1 Corinthians 13:13).

For every event, there is a reason behind it — a purpose for which it exists — for everything has a beginning.

The word love this morning is a mighty powerful word; the strongest word in the English language. When it is put in action it can make your enemy your friend, it will bring about reconciliation, it tears down walls and brings about forgiveness and harmony.

It’s not money, not prophecy, not the laying on of hands; not just talking a good game, not just teaching this, not just singing this, not just preaching this or being a good orator; but doing it will bring people together.

Love has to be expressed and given away. Love gives when it receives nothing in return. I wish people would understand what real love is, and I wish that God’s people of all people would walk with love in their hearts to the extent that the world would see it in us and among us.

Love is a gift. Wouldn’t be good if we gave it away?

That’s what love does, it gives! And wouldn’t it be wonderful if everything we did, we did it in love? That would take away selfishness, showboating, and doing things to be seen by men like when our right hand doesn’t know what our left hand is doing. When we give something, we give it in love. When we talk to one another, even if it is not a good moment, wouldn’t it be good to speak in love?

In this holiday season while with our loved ones, love sees that there are people all around us hurting who have lost their loved ones, those who are broken as I speak. The holiday can be a lonely time. We know some of them. Love reaches out to them to help heal their broken hearts. When we have to confront someone, and sometimes we do, wouldn’t it be great if we did it in love?

When love is expressed and shown, it can move mountains. It kills grudges, tears down walls and it defeats the devil! For he can’t work where there is real love and love brings about unity. When we Christians show true love to sinners and let our light shine, it will draw them to Jesus Christ. Sinners are lost. They need a savior, and love and kindness will draw them to the cross. While Jesus walked this earth, sinners like Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus, Nicodemus and others were drawn to him and were saved. That’s what light does, it draws. Light and love go hand in hand.

Here we are in the full season of Christmas. I call it the “holiday of love” because that’s what it is. I don’t care what nobody else calls it. I don’t care how they dress it up, color it up, hold up reindeer and snowmen, or try to remove the Christ-child from it, it is still the holiday of love because it is the day that love, real love was born.

In fact, love is the reason for the season today. No other holiday touches the heart of man like the Christmas holiday does. It brings out the best in some people; some people can be mean and downright ugly, but the Christmas spirit can melt the heart of the hardest sinner. It causes folk to smile and be friendly. It causes people to give to bless somebody else. Folk are happy this time of year. The spirit of joy is in the air. Christmas carols are being played everywhere.

Somebody said that Valentine’s Day is the love holiday, but I beg to disagree. People do not act on Valentine’s Day the way they act at Christmas, and Jesus our blessed savior was not born on Valentine’s Day. Christ is the heart of Christmas because Christ is love, and the world changed and would never be the same on the day that love was born.

You know we hear people all the time talking about love; men telling women and women telling men “Oh, how I love you; let me count the ways!”

“When a man loves a woman” he can’t think of anything else one song said. That’s not the kind of love I’m talking about for that kind of love, physical love, doesn’t always last.

The Apostle Paul said, “For when we were without strength, (helpless and without hope) in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6-8).

He died, not for good people, but he died for the ungodly, the unlovable. That’s got to be love, Agape love! The best of heaven died for the worst of earth.! The cross is proof of his amazing love. How can we ever doubt His love?

In this season of love, this is what love is all about. That’s why the savior was born so if anybody ought to have joy, hang up Christmas lights and make a noise about Christmas it ought to be Christians.

The reason we can sing carols, decorate the tree, attend Christmas parades and have Christmas parties is because of love. And as the gospel quartet group the Gospel Keynotes sang “Had it not been for Love, there would be no Christmas today!”