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Woodstock Mountain Bike Fellowship

The Signature of True Love

May 6, 2008

Back in 1999, my oldest son (Stephen) made the bold claim that he didn't believe anyone could truly be altruistic. While I'm just guessing, it seems plausible that his statement arose from the apparent contradiction between one of the books he had been reading (Ludwig Mises' "Human Action"?) and the Christian teaching that our love for God is shown by selfless obedience apart from anything that we might derive from our actions.

By altruism, Stephen was stating the extreme case where a person shows absolute unselfish concern for the welfare of others. His point was that no one undertakes any action, regardless of how noble it might appear, unless he thinks that he will receive some type of benefit (either now or in the long run).

His point was an interesting one – one that many of us have struggled with from time to time. For some reason, we have been conditioned to think that love is most noble when it operates from a totally altruistic basis. As some of you know, I've been re-reading John Piper's book "Desiring God" lately, and I think that he sheds some helpful light on this issue. First, a few verses to consider:

  • 1 Corinthians 13:5 - love does not seek its own
  • 1 Corinthians 10:24 - let everyone seek the good of his neighbor
  • Romans 15:1-3 - Like Christ, we should seek to please our neighbor

When we read these verses out of context, we develop an impression that perfect love is stoic and unfeeling. We set a goal and expectation that we should dutifully obey, looking like people in an old photograph (do we have one?), all business and no smiles allowed. But when we consider the broader context of these verses and all of Scripture, we quickly come to a different conclusion.

Go back to 1 Corinthians 13:3 for a moment. Jesus made it clear in John 15:13 that the greatest display of love is when one person gives his life for someone else. But how could anyone give up all their possessions and sacrifice their life in a torturous death (burning) without actually having love? Two things to note here: while love is involves action (instead of just abstraction), it is possible to have sacrificial actions without love. Second, it is interesting to note that this verse of intense sacrifice speaks about profit in the context of love, showing that there is indeed a connection between true love and personal gain.

When we read 1 Corinthians 13:5, we need to understand it in this context: love does not seek its own private, limited joy, but instead, seeks its own joy in the good - the salvation and edification - of others. For in this way, we begin to love as God loves (Jeremiah 9:24), finding delight in steadfast love.

So, what role should our personal joy play in true love? According to the Scripture, it is an essential component of true love. Consider the following verses:

  • 2 Corinthians 9:6,7 - We are not commanded to love under compulsion, but with cheerfulness. If we are indifferent to whether we do a good deed cheerfully, we are indifferent to what pleases God.
  • Luke 6:35 - We love our enemies expecting something far greater than earthly rewards: we seek a reward from our Heavenly Father
  • Hebrews 12:1,2 - The greatest labor of love that ever happened was possible because Jesus pursued the greatest imaginable joy of being exalted to God's right hand in the assembly of a redeemed people.
  • Hebrews 2:10 - the joy in which Jesus hoped was that of leading many sons to the glory of the Father

We often turn to 2 Corinthians 8:1-4 during messages on financial giving, but consider what it says about how the act of giving relates to love. As a result of the grace of God, the people in Macedonia (in spite of their financial struggles) experienced an abundance of joy. The joy from them overflowed in liberality, and they begged for the opportunity to share what they had with the starving saints in Jerusalem.

With that in mind, I'd like to share John Piper's definition of true love and draw a diagram to illustrate it for those of you who have a technical bent. The definition: Love is the overflow of joy in God which gladly meets the needs of others. Pictorially, it looks like this:

So, what does this mean to us?

Have you ever found it difficult to love someone (or anyone for that matter)? If true love comes from the overflow of joy we experience from knowing God, it stands to reason that the same hindrances we face to worship of God are the ones that prevent us from really loving other people. Acts 20:35 illustrates this by reminding us of Jesus' words that we will receive more joy from giving than from receiving. Our problem: we don't believe Jesus when He says that we will find more joy and pleasure in a life devoted to helping others than in a life devoted to our own material comfort. If we're content to spend all of our energy building our 401k and IRA accounts, God would challenge us to listen to Matthew 6:19,20,21,24. We need to cease being satisfied with puny financial yields that get eaten up by the moths of inflation and the rust of death. A life invested in a labor of love yields dividends of joy unsurpassed and unending.

You know that your home will be more blessed if you have a greater love for your wife and children. You can do this by drawing nearer to God and drinking full joy from his overflowing cisterns of blessing and joy instead of your own broken ones (Jeremiah 2:13). And don't fall prey to the lie that your love for them should be sacrificially wooden. You should seek joy in their blessings, doubling the joy you have received from God (3 John 4).

If you're struggling to draw joy from your walk with God, start by realizing the miracle that sinners like us can actually delight in God - not just in his material rewards, but in His very person.

Virtually all people outside of Christ are possessed with the desire to find happiness by overcoming some limitation in their lives and having the sensation of power. The all-important difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is that the Christian has discovered that self-confidence will never satisfy the longing of his heart to overcome finitude. We are not made for the thrill of feeling our own power increase (and then fade), but for the thrill of feeling God's power increase - overcoming the un-love in our sinful hearts. I hope that you will find that the joy of experiencing the power of God's grace defeating selfishness to be an insatiable addiction.

Waiting their turn Bike Limbo! Derailleur clinic