Fill the earth and subdue it

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Fill the earth and subdue it

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Genesis 1:28

When I was teaching at a school in London, my Head of Year arranged for the whole year group to visit the London Wetlands Centre. None of the staff were particularly enthusiastic about the trip, and when it turned out to be a wet and windy day, the prospect of leading our Year 7 tutor groups around the centre was rather depressing. As it happens, we we all surprised about how much we enjoyed the day. Seeing so many different birds up relatively close in a beautiful wetland environment was really rather special. Even the weather didn’t prevent our enjoyment.

Even though I enjoyed my visit to the Wetlands Centre, the picture I have in my mind’s eye of the Garden of Eden is even better. I imagine the Garden of Eden to be a beautiful, warm, sunny place, teeming with natural beauty and phenomenal wildlife. It was here that God uttered the words in today’s verse. He commanded Adam and Eve to have lots of children and to “fill the earth and subdue it.” Humans were given the task of spreading out across the globe in order to look after God’s creation as his appointed representatives. God wanted every square mile to be tended by the pinnacle of his creation – namely us, the human race.

Since those days, we’ve been very good at filling the earth, but not so good at looking after it. Particularly since the industrial revolution we’ve been harnessing the earth’s resources, particularly coal and oil, at an ever increasing rate. We’ve been burning fuels faster and faster, and pumping more and more pollution into our atmosphere. At the same time, we’ve been cutting down the rain forests that act as the planet’s lungs, absorbing the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting it into oxygen.

Let’s all take a moment today to look around us and marvel at the beauty of God’s creation. Let’s stop and reflect about the impact that our lives are having on our planet and think if there are ways that we can honour God by making changes to our lifestyles. Can we use our cars less, and perhaps walk more, or use public transport? Are we leaving lights on unnecessarily? Are we throwing things away that could be reused or recycled, such as glass bottles or plastic bags?

Let’s remember that our planet is a wonderful gift from an incredible God, and make sure that we treat it appropriately!

Come, Lord Jesus

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Come, Lord Jesus

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

Revelation 22:17

I love going on holiday. Having recently been on two holidays in close succession, however, I find myself in a position where I have no more holidays planned. When that’s the case, I find I get itchy feet. Part of the joy of a holiday is having something to look forward to. The sense of anticipation is almost as good as the holiday itself.

There’s a real sense of anticipation in today’s verse. It begins with the Holy Spirit and the “bride,” a term often used to describe the Church, urging Jesus to return, as he promised he would. The bride (the Church) is looking forward to the arrival of the bridegroom (Christ) so that the relationship of love that has been fostered during their engagement can reach fulfilment. The Church waits with eager anticipation the return of Christ, so that those who love Christ can enter the house of the Father, heaven, where there is no fear, no hatred, no illness and no death.

In the second part of the verse, the call goes out to “the one who is thirsty.” Yesterday we considered how Jesus will quench the thirst of all those who believe in him – not a thirst for water, but the spiritual thirst that is within us all. Here again we have a call for “the one who is thirsty” to come. We are invited to take the “free gift of the water of life.” This water, the water that is Christ, is life-giving; if we drink it, we will have eternal life in heaven with Jesus. The best thing about this water is that it is free, a gift offered to us all. There is no cost to us for receiving this water. Like all gifts, it has been paid for by someone else, in this case by Jesus. He paid the greatest price possible for this gift; he paid with his life on the cross. We are not forced to accept this gift; we can refuse it if we wish. “Anyone who wishes” can accept it, there is no restriction or limitation, but it is up to us whether we choose to accept it or not.

Reflect today on whether your voice is amongst those of the wider Church urging Jesus to return. Are you excited about Jesus returning? Do you feel that sense of anticipation? Or do you not give it a second thought? Have you accepted the free gift of living water that Christ offers? Do you marvel at the price that Jesus paid for this gift, for us, for me, for you? Are you eager to share this gift with those you know and love, or are you ashamed about it, and keen to hide away from this amazing revelation? Join with the Spirit and the Bride today in calling for Jesus to come!

Thirst No More

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Thirst No More

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

John 6:35

Have you seen some of the ridiculous claims manufacturers put on the side of bottles of so-called sports drinks? These drinks claim that they will rehydrate you for longer, or faster. They’ll make you faster or more focused. One brand even suggests that by drinking their particular product you’ll be lured into trying sky diving, or water skiing or any number of other crazy sports! The one thing that they never claim is that if you drink their product, you’ll never be thirsty again. Indeed, it would just be impossible for such a claim to stand up. If such a product existed the manufacturer would quickly go out of business.

This is just the claim that we find Jesus making in today’s verse. He says that whoever comes to him will never be hungry or thirsty again. When we see people starving around the world, and read about the millions on our planet who don’t have access to clean water, does this claim really stand up?

The kind of bread and water that Jesus offers is not literal, physical food and drink. He is, he tells us, the Bread of Life. The appetite that he will satisfy is not for the food that we might eat and the water that we might drink, but our spiritual cravings. St. Augustine famously spoke of a “God-shaped hole” within all of us. For many, that hole manifests itself as a sense of emptiness, a feeling of lack of purpose, and a striving to find meaning of some kind. But that hole, like a missing piece in a jigsaw puzzle, is a very precise shape. There is only one piece that will fit, there is only one thing that will go into that hole. Until the hole is filled, though, we will hunger for that missing piece.

In today’s verse, Jesus says to us, “look, I am that missing piece! The spiritual longing you feel, I will quench. If you follow me, your spiritual hunger and thirst will be satisfied.” If we strive to follow Jesus, we will, spiritually, never hunger or thirst again. As we live out the Christian life, we will discover purpose and meaning that cannot be found anywhere else.

Today, give thanks that Jesus is that missing piece in the puzzle of our lives that fits the God-shaped hole within us all. Give thanks that he alone quenched our spiritual hunger and thirst, and pray that as we strive to follow him more closely, we will feel increasingly satisfied.

There is no condemnation

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There is no condemnation

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1

If you commit a crime, you can expect to be punished. You might not be caught initially, but  eventually your illegal activities will catch up with you. You might be spared a custodial sentence the first time, but if you carry on breaking the law, sooner or later you’ll end up in prison. That’s how a legal system works. In a developed, pluralistic society, this is true no matter what your position is; according to the Rule of Law, everyone is equal before the law. There are no special circumstances. You could be a President of Prime Minister, but if rob a bank, you’ll face the same penalty as everyone else.

In God’s eyes, the same is true. Due to the Fall, in which Adam and Eve disobeyed God, all people are sinners. There is no one walking around today who is anything but a sinner. Not a day goes by when we don’t break God’s laws, neglect him, or worse. The Bible is absolutely clear that sin deserves punishment. Paul himself tells us in this same letter that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). We are all condemned by our sin, and therefore face a very bleak future.

Or we would do, if it were not for Jesus, and his powerful intervention. Jesus, as the Son of God, was entirely free from sin. He did not deserve to die, but did, in a gruesome, horrific way. In doing so, he took the punishment that should belong to you and me. He died, but then, in an amazing show of the power of love over hate, of light over darkness, of life over death, he came back from the dead, conquering death once and for all.

In today’s incredible verse, Paul tells us that those of us who are “in Christ Jesus” are saved from the punishment that we deserve. For those who follow Christ, who accept that he is the Son of God, and who strive to live out his teachings, there is no condemnation. We should be condemned to death, but instead, we have new life through Jesus. We should be condemned to eternal separation from God, from love, from all that is good in creation, but instead we find ourselves promised an eternity of love and goodness in God’s heavenly kingdom. We should be condemned to live in a world in which evil triumphs and all hope of a better future is gone, but instead we live in a world where, even though things may seem bleak, love triumphs over hate, and we can have hope in a better tomorrow.

Rejoice today that through Jesus we have been saved from condemnation. Give thanks that love has triumphed, that evil cannot win, and for the future hope that we can all have that Christ will one day return, and we will be with him for all eternity!

Finding inner peace

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

It’s easy at the end of a week to feel absolutely exhausted.  The pressures of work that have built up over the course of the working week often seem like a weight around the neck, which, as the weekend approaches, we can’t wait to throw off and relax a little.  Add to that the other pressures that we find ourselves under – from family and friends, from Church and from other commitments, and life can feel like a bit of a struggle sometimes.  In that context, today’s verse is a great encouragement.

In this verse, Jesus is speaking in the context of the religious legalism imposed on the Jewish people by the scribes and the Pharisees.  They often spoke of taking on “the yoke” of the law.  Jesus, whilst affirming that he had not come to abolish the law (Matthew 5:17) had a rather different take on the message.  His kind of faith is not one that forces followers to live by a prescriptive list of rules and regulations that must be obeyed; instead, it is a faith of personal commitment to him.  If we strive to follow him and to honour him, everything else will fall into place, and we can be sure of our salvation.  In Jesus we can find rest, for he is “gentle and humble in heart” and by following him we will find rest for our souls, that sense of inner peace that all humans long for.

Jesus might not be able to take away all the commitments of work and family life that we feel can burden us, but he can give us true inner peace.  By knowing Jesus, the rest of our lives take on a different focus.  By seeking to live out his teachings in our workplaces, no matter how good or bad our bosses are, we know that we are living for Christ.  When things get tough at home, we can draw comfort from the knowledge that we, and our families, are loved by God.  And ultimately, by knowing Jesus, all the stresses and strains of our modern lives are put into an eternal context; yes, life in the here and now but be busy, stressful, and at times painful, but if we honour Jesus, we are promised eternal life with him in heaven after death.

So as you prepare for the weekend, reflect on the fact that real peace, that inner peace that we can feel in our souls, is found in Christ. Let’s pray that we will feel that inner peace in the days ahead.

Safe from death

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Safe from death

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Romans 7:24-25a

I do enjoy picking a scab.  I have no idea why.  I know that the best thing to do would be to leave it, and then the wound will recover quickly.  Sometimes I find myself thinking that actually, perhaps I’d prefer it if the wound didn’t recover, because then I’ll get another scab that I can pick off.  I know, I know, I’m disgusting.  But admit it, you’re the same, aren’t you?  We all do things that we know we shouldn’t because they’re bad for us, whether it’s picking a scab, eating at McDonald’s, or teasing the dog.  We just can’t help ourselves.

Today’s verse, taken from a very complicated passage in Paul’s letter to the Romans, applies this same principle to the idea of sin, or wrong doing.  We all do things that we know that we shouldn’t because they dishonour Christ.  Despite this, we go on doing them.  Earlier in this chapter, Paul says that this is partly because we know that we’re specifically told that we shouldn’t.  The Ten Commandments, Paul says, forbid coveting, yet this commandment produced in him “every kind of coveting.”  Paul believes that this is because we all have sin living in us, a consequence of the Fall, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, despite being specifically told by God not to do so.  Since the punishment for sin is death, this puts us all into a rather unfortunate position.  Sin is within us all, we all sin, and therefore, we are all destined to die.  In other words, as Paul says in today’s verse, our bodies, which are the instruments through which we commit sin, are all “subject to death.”

There is good news, however.  There is hope.  Paul asks who will rescue him from his body that is subject to death.  He knows the answer, of course.  We have all been rescued from the death that we deserve as sinners by Jesus Christ our Lord.  He was entirely free from sin, and took on the punishment for all of our sin himself.  He died in our place.  Since he is God, however, he died, but then rose again three days later, defeating death.  Death is not something that we, as Christians, need to fear, therefore.  Whilst our bodies might be subject to death, our souls, the essence of our being, are safe.

Give thanks today, as Paul does in this verse, that we have been saved from sin through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Give thanks that even though we sin, offend God and disobey his commands, we have nevertheless been saved.  And in recognition of all that Jesus went through in order to save us, why not also strive to eradicate sin from your lives as much as is possible?

Praise be to the Lord

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Praise be the the Lord

Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, saying, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master.”

Genesis 24:26-27a

When I was younger, my parents used to drill into me the importance of writing thank you letters to people who had given us gifts. Usually, the morning of the day after Boxing Day would be given over to putting pen to paper to write to all our generous friends and relatives. It’s a habit that I’ve tried to maintain in my adult life, but it’s something that I’m not particularly good at. Often, the best that people get out of me is a quick text message or email, which is probably not really good enough.

Thanking God is something that we should all get into the habit of doing too.  Yesterday we considered the importance of acknowledging God’s sovereignty and asking for his blessing at the beginning of every day. We witnessed Abraham’s loyal servant praying to God before commencing an important task. In today’s verses, we see the servant’s actions after he has completed the task. He now bows down and worships God, acknowledging his kindness and faithfulness.

Abraham’s servant prayed before completing the task (in this case finding Isaac, Abraham’s son, a wife), he has confidence that God is with him whilst undertaking the task, and afterwards he thanks God for being with him as he completed the task.

This is an important model for us. It’s just as important to acknowledge God’s kindness and faithfulness at the end of the day as it is to pray at the beginning of the day that he will be with us.

Writing a thank you letter is a way of expressing gratitude to someone who has given us a gift, and showing that we don’t take their kindness for granted. With God, we have far more than a book token to be thankful for. He is the God of creation who has made all things, including us. He provides for all our needs. He loves us unconditionally. He is always with us.  He gave his son to die for us, so that we could have eternal life. The least we can do is to pray to him and to give him thanks for all that he has done.

Why not make a conscious effort to focus on your prayer life today and in the week ahead? Try and acknowledge God’s presence in your life and to thank him for all that he has done for us, and continues to do for us on a daily basis?

Please grant me success today

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Please grant me success today

And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.”

Genesis 24:12

I was touched by the words of John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, when he appeared on Chris Evans’ Breakfast Show on Radio 2 recently.  Asked how he started his day, the Archbishop said that the first thing he did each morning was to say, “Good morning Lord!” before praying for the day ahead.  My day, in contrast, usually starts in a blur of semi-consciousness; my wife, Claire, gets up to go for a run, has a shower, then eats breakfast, whilst I struggle to remember what my own name is.  Eventually I manage to make it into the shower, before sorting out some food for myself and reflecting on what I need to do that day.

There are many people, like the Archbishop of York, who are great at praying first thing every day.  Others of us accept that it is a good idea, but really struggle to do it.  Perhaps we can all learn from the servant of Abraham, whose prayer is our Daily Reading today.  He may well have prayed at the beginning of the day, but in this passage, we witness him praying in the evening, just before a very important task; trying to find Isaac, his master’s son, a wife.  In his prayer he recognises the sovereignty of God over all things, and knows that, if God wishes it, he will be successful in the task that his master has set him.  Whilst he knows that it is he who has to take the initiative and work hard in his task, he also understands that God has the power to intervene and ensure the success of his mission.

How often do we pray before an important task?  Do we acknowledge, through prayer, that God is the master of our lives, or do we trust not in him, but in our own strengths and abilities?  Today, why not try and get into the habit of asking for God’s support and love before facing a new task?  And why not join me in trying even harder to begin the day in prayer?  What better way could there be to start the day than acknowledging the sovereignty of our Father in Heaven, and asking for his blessing?

The ultimate sacrifice

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The ultimate sacrifice

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”    “Here I am,” he replied.  12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”  13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

Genesis 22:9-14

The death of a loved one can be a truly painful experience.  If that loved one is a child, it can be devastating.  Children are not supposed to die.  Children are supposed to outlive their parents.  I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose a child.  I’m sure that many parents who find themselves in this dreadful position must feel wracked with guilt.  Surely I could have done something? they’ll think.  What if?

In this passage from Genesis, we find Abraham facing the possibility of losing Isaac, his own son.  What makes matters worse, however, is that he is facing the prospect of killing his dearly beloved son himself, because God has asked him to give Isaac as a sacrifice.  Abraham has complete confidence that God will resurrect his son; after all, God had previously promised him that his son would be his heir (Genesis 15:4) and that he would be a great nation (Genesis 12:2).  Facing the ghastly prospect of killing his son, Abraham knows that God will ultimately save Isaac.

God does indeed spare Isaac.  As Abraham was about to kill his son, an angel intervened and ordered him to stop.  God had seen the level of Abraham’s faith.  God instead provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice.

For me, this clearly foreshadows the events on Calvary many years later.  Just as God provided Abraham with a substitute to sacrifice – a ram instead of his own son, he also provided his own son, Jesus, to die on the cross as a substitute for humanity.  Similarly, just as Abraham was willing to offer up his own son, God too was willing to do the same, and offered Jesus as a sacrifice for all humankind.

Since Jesus death on the cross was the “once for all” sacrifice for all humanity (Hebrews 10:10), we won’t be called on to sacrifice our children for God.  We are nevertheless called to make sacrifices.  We’re called to give up our entire lives for God, to trust in him, and to have complete faith that he will look after his people.

Reflect today on whether you have the faith of Abraham.  Are you willing to give up everything to follow Jesus, or are you a half-hearted follower of Christ?

Just Love: The Love Revolution

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7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God;but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

1 John 4:7-21

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Mark 12:28-34

What follows is the text of a sermon I preached on 26th June 2011 at Southwater Community Methodist Church in West Sussex. 

Martin Luther King Junior. Considered by many to have been a revolutionary, he fought against injustice in the United States using nonviolent methods. Martin Luther King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination. His life was tragically cut short in 1968 when he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 39.

Nelson Mandela. A revolutionary in the battle against apartheid in South Africa. Arrested in 1962 and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela served 27 years in prison before being released in February 1990. After his release he served as leader of the ANC and took part in the negotiations that led to multi-racial democracy. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, served as president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 and to this day is regarded as one of the world’s elder statesmen.

Southwater Community Methodist Church. Known throughout the south of England as a band of revolutionaries, demonstrating love to all they encounter. Fighting injustice wherever they see it. Supporting the most needy in their community and further afield. Reaching out to the vulnerable. Working with the youth. Supporting the work of local schools. Striving wherever they can do make a difference in their society. Living out their faith 168 hours a week. Aiming to be disciples of Christ 24/7.

Do you recognise this picture of our Church?  Do you see yourself as a part of revolutionary group, striding out to radically impact the world we live in?

Because that’s what you are!

All of us who profess to be Christians are revolutionaries, called to make a difference in our world.

That’s something that at Southwater we’re very good at. But there’s always room for improvement! As a church, and as individuals, we could do better.

Kath has said twice in recent weeks that we, that you, are amazing, and I completely agree. We can’t afford to be complacent though. So today, we’re going to go back to basics and look at what Jesus considered to be the central message of the Christian faith, the most important part of following him.

Today, we’re going to be looking at Mark 12:28-34 and 1 John 4:7-21, and you may find it helpful if you have these open in front of you.

What we’re going to be considering today is nothing short of a revolution. A love revolution.  We’ll be looking at three key points: loving God, loving our neighbour, and loving ourselves.

Let’s turn, then, to our first point: loving God. That’s the first part of our love revolution. Before we can do anything else, we just need to love God.

At the beginning of this passage, Jesus is asked by a scribe, an expert on the Jewish law, “which commandment is the greatest of all?” Jesus replies with great simplicity that the most important commandment is, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Jesus neatly summarises all of the teaching of the Old Testament into this simple commandment: just love God. That’s it. Just love him.

God doesn’t just demand love from us without offering anything in return. In fact, in our reading from John’s first letter, John reminds us that we love because God first loved us. John also says that God demonstrated his love by sending his son Jesus into the world that we might live through him. God loves us so much that he sent Jesus to die for our sins. Jesus loves us so much that he willingly went to the cross and died for us all. That, surely, deserves recognition from us.

Of course, loving is not always that easy. If we say we love another person, we place their needs above our own, we do everything within our power to make them happy. We certainly don’t betray them, lie to them, cheat on them or neglect them. We make a conscious effort to put them first in all that we do.

Claire and I got married last year. On August 13th to be precise. Since then, I’ve tried to put Claire first in everything, not because I feel some obligation or requirement to do so, but because I love her with my whole heart. I want to make her happy. That’s just what you do when you love someone. If I’d selfishly neglected Claire, not spent time with her, not done my best to look after her, you’d wonder whether I really loved her.

Often it’s possible to see the bond of love between people, whether it’s the bond between a husband and wife, a bond between two brothers, or the bond between a group of friends. Just by watching, an outsider can tell that there is a real intensity of feeling there. You can tell when people are close by the way they act towards one another, the things they say to each other, even the way they look at each other.

This is how our relationship should be with God. Do we put him first in everything? Is every fibre of our being, our soul, our mind and our strength, dedicated to loving God? Or is loving God something that we only do on a Sunday morning? Is our love for God evident to those around us? Or is our love for God something that we keep hidden?

If we really love God, if we really do make loving him our first priority, then our relationship with him will underpin our entire lives; what we do, what we think, what we say. Every waking minute should be dedicated to displaying our love for God; listening to him, talking to him, and striving to live out his commands in our lives.

How do we do this in practice though?

Well, this brings us on to our second point. Jesus said that the second most important commandment is, “love your neighbour as yourself.”

This commandment is very closely connected to the first. In John’s letter, John says, “dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.” A little later, he continues, “dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Loving our neighbour, then, loving one another, is a response to loving God. If we obey that greatest commandment, to love God, it follows that we should love others. We should do so because our fellow humans are loved by God, and if we love God, we should love what he loves. By loving others, we are also demonstrating that we love God. This is an indication that we have been transformed by God. John tells us that “God is love.” He doesn’t say that God loves, or that God is like love, but that God is love. When we love God, strive to follow him, and live our lives focused on him, that love floods into us. It transforms us. It transforms our lives. And it can transform our world.

If the best way to serve God is to follow his commandments, we can demonstrate our love for God by loving those around us: not just our literal neighbours, those who live near us, but also our friends, our family, our work colleagues, people we see in the gym, people we see as we pay for our parking. In short, we show our love for God by loving all those we encounter.

If the world only followed this commandment, it would be a very different place. There’d be no more bickering or arguing. There’d be no more violence or theft. Everyone would recognise the value and worth of every other person, and wouldn’t try to belittle other people. On a global scale, there’d be no more war. Nations would seek to live peacefully together. There would be no poverty or hunger, because we’d share what we had with those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

This is the revolution. The love revolution.

And all we need to do is love.

Just love.

Of course, it would be unrealistic to expect people to live this way if they do not know God, our God who is love. But there are two responses to this.

Firstly, we need to ensure that we spread the Gospel far and wide, to make disciples of all nations, as Jesus commanded us to do at the end of Matthew’s Gospel. Simply by living out this commandment and seeking to love everyone we come into contact with is a very effective way of making disciples.  If we just show love to all those we encounter, if we put the needs of our neighbours before our own, if we show real sacrificial love, people will see something different about us. They’ll want to know why we’re different.  They’ll want to know why we love them.  And we can point them to Jesus as the answer.

We love them because he loves us.

The second response is to acknowledge that whilst the world cannot be expected to follow this commandment if they do not know Christ, there are enough of us to make a difference in the world. We can act together as the Church of Christ.

There are two billion Christians in the world. Imagine how the world would be transformed if all two billion of us lived according to this commandment?

If we just loved.

The two greatest commandments seem so simple. It seems like there’s nothing to them. But in this short statement Jesus is being truly revolutionary. He is calling us all to be revolutionaries in his love revolution.

Being a revolutionary, though, can be difficult. It’s all well and good to talk of a love revolution here in Church, but what about the other 167 hours of the week? Out there, in our every day lives, it can be very hard to love our neighbours.

How do we love that irritating person in our office? How do we love the person who cuts us up whilst we’re driving? How do we show love to the person in the supermarket who grabs the last bag of Braeburns?

At the most basic level we love them by liking them, by not getting irritated or angry, by seeking to serve them.

Go for a coffee with that irritating guy at work.

Let that driver who is trying to cut us up pull in in front of us.

Offer that last bag of apples to our fellow customer with good grace.

These are all small things, but if we all based our actions on loving our neighbours, if we all sought to demonstrate love in everything we did, the world would be a remarkably different place.

What about bigger issues?

What about the hurt caused by a parent who rejected us?

Or a sibling who has tormented us?

What about the partner who tore our lives apart by not loving us as they should have done?

What about that employer who has made our lives a living hell?

How can we possibly love in these circumstances?

John again has words for us here. We need to “know and rely on the love that God has for us.” We can draw comfort from the fact that God loves us. John goes on that, “there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear is to do with punishment.”

We need not fear because ultimately we are going to a better place, a place where Jesus is, where his Father is. And if we strive to love now, all fear will leave us.

If we love unconditionally, as Jesus loves us, there is no fear.  Often we hold back our love because we fear rejection and humiliation.  But if we just love, without expecting anything in return, then all fear will disappear.

Loving unconditionally can be very hard.  That’s how we’re called to love, though.  Sometimes we need to make the first move. Even if we’ve been terribly wronged, we need to love. We need to forgive.

Until we forgive, we cannot be free from the anger and the hatred and they will consume us. Anger and hatred will becoming the guiding forces in our lives, not love.

We might need to pick up the phone, or to write a letter, or to arrange to meet up, even if we feel the other person it at fault. But if we don’t make the first move, the situation might never resolve itself.  We’re called to love and in order to love we need to face up to relationships that are marred by hatred, by upset and by disappointment.

We need to love, and we need to forgive.

If we’re going to love our neighbours, we need to take action to rectify ill-feeling.

That’s what we’re called to do.

That’s the love revolution. To just love.  To just love God.  To just love our neighbours.

The third point I think we need to consider is one that is often overlooked.  In the command to love others, Jesus says, “you shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There’s a big assumption here; that we love ourselves.

We need to love ourselves before we can love our neighbour, before we can display the unconditional love that Jesus shows to us.

We’ve just seen that John, in his letter, says that, “perfect love casts out fear.”  Often our fear prevents us from loving, our fear of rejection or humiliation.  We can’t bring ourselves to love because we’re worried about the reaction our love will get.  We can’t bring ourselves to love because we can’t see how anyone could possibly love us.

Over the last few years, I have met so many people who not only don’t love themselves, but hate themselves.

They feel inadequate, useless, or worthless.

They hide themselves away.

They tell themselves that they are a burden on those around them, and that no-one could possibly love them.

Sometimes they cut themselves.

Sometimes they even consider taking their own lives.

This is one of the saddest situations in our society today.

Perhaps you feel this way about yourself. I did, until fairly recently.  I felt like a burden to others.  I couldn’t see how other people could love me.

If you do feel this way, I want to tell you that you’re wrong.

People do love you.

You have impacted on the lives of people far more than you could possibly have imagined.

There are people who love you passionately.  You might not know it, but it’s true.

We have value and worth in their eyes, even if we struggle to see that for ourselves.

Look around you.  We’re Christian brothers and sisters.  We love you.  We love each other.

We love because God loves us.  And we love you.

Perhaps you’re one of the fortunate ones.  Perhaps you don’t struggle with loving yourself.

If you don’t struggle with this, then I will guarantee that at least one of your close friends does. You’d be surprised at how many people do.

The truth is, though, that God loves every single person on this planet. When he created the human race, he saw that his creation was “very good;” everything else he made he thought was simply “good.”

God loves us so much that he sent his son to die for us, so that we could once again be brought into his arms. God doesn’t see us as worthless, or useless, or hateful; he loves us, and that is a remarkable thing.

In conclusion, there is a vital message for us all in this passage.

We just need to love.

We just need to love God.

We just need to love our neighbours.

We just need to love ourselves.

This is the love revolution.

Just love.

That’s what we’re called to do.

Just love.