"All You Need Is Love"

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FOLLOW-WEAR
You know what people follow based on what they wear.  For example, who do these people follow?

Broncos Fanatic

Buddhist Monk

That’s right, the guy on the top follows the Broncos, and the person on the bottom follows the teachings of Buddha.  We can tell by what they are wearing.  So what should Jesus followers wear?  They seem to be all over the spectrum.

John 3:16!

Rather heartbreaking.

For some reason, I don’t think that’s what Jesus wanted His followers to wear.  People aren’t eager to start following Jesus because of those things (although I do like that guy in the John 3:16 picture, he looks pretty happy).

WHAT TO WEAR?
In John 13:34-35 Jesus says:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
(John 13:34-35)

Now maybe you’ve heard this before.  I mean this command isn’t so “new” when you think about it.  “Love one another.”  Yeah sure, I already knew that.

It can be so easy to just breeze through this.  But Jesus gives us more.  Not just “love one another,” but to love one another as He has loved us.

What does that mean?  How do we love the way that Jesus loves?  Loving like Jesus loves means loving people no matter how hard it may be.  When Jesus called His disciples, He didn’t ask them to change anything about themselves.  Nathaniel, one of the disciples, literally insulted Jesus by dissing His hometown the first time he met Jesus.  But what did Jesus do?  He loved Nathaniel unconditionally, meaning, without any conditions!

That’s how people will know that we are Jesus’ disciples, by our love for one another (v. 35).  This separates Christianity from all other religions.  Jesus wants to make sure that religion doesn’t become rule-keeping.  For Jesus, it’s about relationship-building.  It’s about LIFE CHANGE.

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
Just like that Beatles song, “all you need is love.”  But not just any love.  We have to love others the way that Jesus has loved us.  Sometimes people talk about love like it is some force of its own, and “all we need is love” to solve all the world’s problems.  World hunger, wars, power, politics, etc.  While I would say that this is true to a certain degree, love only has power when it is rooted in Jesus.

That’s why Jesus tells us to love others as He loves us: unconditionally.  Without Him, we are unable to truly love anyone.  And when we love others like that, people will know we follow Jesus.

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:8)

WHAT IS LOVE? (baby don’t hurt me)
The Apostle Paul helps us to define love.  Lots of Christians turn to 1 Corinthians 13 on the definition of love, but as a matter of fact, that is a bit out of context (Paul is talking about how using spiritual gifts without love is not good, then he defines love in this context ).  Here is another text that Paul writes that can help us:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14)

We are to “clothe” ourselves with: Compassion, Kindness, Humility, Gentleness, Patience, Forgiveness, and Love.  An easy way to remember can be through this acronym:

“For the Greatest Life Possible, Keep Choosing Him!”

JUST SHOW ME SOME LOVE
So what do Jesus followers wear?
            -We are to be clothed in LOVE
            -Not just in ANY love, but the love that comes from JESUS.
-Not just about rule-keeping, but it’s about relationship-building.

Think of someone that can be difficult to love.  Perhaps you only show them love when you feel like they’ve “earned” it.  It could be a friend, a family member, or a fellow Christian.  Jesus says that if we follow Him, then we will love each other unconditionally.  It might be difficult, but it’s possible when we come to Jesus with it.


“Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Romans 13:14)

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