The Greatest of These is Love!

Hello Friends,

Well…IT FINALLY SNOWED! And it didn’t just snow flurries…IT SNOWED AND SNOWED AND SNOWED AND SNOWED! It snowed so much last weekend that church was cancelled and Miss Emily and I were snowed in for a few days. When we finally ventured outside, we measured almost a foot of snow! That’s a lot of snow! Were you able to enjoy the snow by maybe building a snowman, or making a snow angel, or going sledding?

When I was your age, I remember going to my Aunt and Uncle’s who had a massive hill. Myself, my siblings, and my cousins would all go sledding for several hours and then afterwards we would pile up our snow gear in the garage and head inside for some hot chocolate. If the sun was still shining, we would head outside again. As stressful as snow can be sometimes–stopping school, keeping us inside, halting our routines–it can also be a reminder to slow down and enjoy the moment. I think that is why I love snow so much. I hope you were able to enjoy the snow in some special way!

Switching gears, today I wanted to tell you about something that I think is very important and wonderful–something more wonderful than snow. I want to talk about cereal! That’s right, cereal. It’s such a wonderful and energizing way to start the day, don’t you think? Now I happen to have my favorite cereal right here; Honey Nut Cheerios. It’s just the right combination of crunchy and sweet, it holds up to milk, and overall is just delicious. I’m so excited just thinking about it, I should pour myself a bowl right now.

Wait a minute…What’s going on here? This box is empty! There’s no cereal inside. That’s awfully heartbreaking. Did you eat my cereal? I bet Miss Emily ate my cereal…

You know, it doesn’t really matter how good something looks on the outside, or how well I talk about it. In the end, if there’s nothing there on the inside, nothing to back all of those promises, it’s pretty pointless. Hollow. This is the way it works in our lives, too, believe it or not. We can talk a big game about something or try hard to do things well, but our efforts are empty without the right motivations. What should those be? What should be behind our words and actions? What do you think?

Those are all good answers, but I believe the Bible gives us a better answer. The Bible tells us that LOVE should be what is behind our motivations! The love we have for God and for others ought to fuel everything we do.

What does love look like? We see ideas about love everywhere, in movies and magazines and in stores around Valentine’s Day. But the Bible has a lot to say about what love truly is. In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul describes how Christian love should be. The apostle starts by saying that even if he spoke in tongues, gave up his life, or had faith to move mountains, without love, it would all be worth nothing. The passage then says what love is and isn’t: love is patient and kind. It doesn’t envy or brag. It isn’t rude or arrogant. It keeps no records of wrongs. Love believes, hopes, and endures all things. This means that genuine love is selfless, always seeking the best in others and for others.

Where does this love come from, though? Do we make it up from somewhere deep within ourselves? Of course not. We love because God first loved us. God demonstrated His love for us by sending His son to die on our behalf. Jesus took our place and died on the cross to rescue us from sin and death. That sacrifice is the greatest example of love we have. Since we know God has loved us so deeply, we can now share His love with other people. We can pass along to others the kind of love that 1 Corinthians 13 talks about, caring for people and showing them patience and kindness. We can tell them about God’s love, and we can give them examples of it in the way we live and act. And if we’re not sure how to best do that, we can pray and ask the Lord to show us the best way to love others.

This empty box of cereal can be so much more now. With the cereal all gone, we can fill it full with love.

Let us pray: Dear God, Thank you for giving us the greatest example of love. Help us to share your love with others. And know what real love is. Thank you for your love. We love you, Jesus! In Jesus name, Amen!

Your Friend, Holy Spirit!

Lesson Borrowed from: https://sundayschool.works/childrens-sermon-object-lessons/childrens-sermon-1-corinthians-131-13-love-is-patient-love-is-kind/