What price for love?

What would you give up for someone you loved? Everyday people all over the world are giving up something for those that they love. Some people give up their dreams so that a child can realize theirs, others give up a hobby, or a way of life so that they can meet the needs of someone that they love. The truth is, when it comes to love there’s not much we wouldn’t do.

Now let’s re-examine that question with a new twist, what would you give up for someone who didn’t love you? How far would you go to show someone who doesn’t even love you, or even know you exist, the love that you have for them? Would you be willing to risk it all? Would you give up everything that you were—leave your family, friends, everything that you are and have ever known for someone who could possibly never even return the love you have showed them, and never appreciate the sacrifices that you made?

Although the majority of us would be willing to sacrifice whatever we could for our loved ones, I bet not too many of us would be willing to make those same sacrifices for people who may or may not ever love us, or show us the same love we have showed them. I must admit that I find myself in that majority more often than I would care to admit. I would give anything for my wife and my children, they need only ask and anything within my power to accomplish is at their command. Heck, for the most part I like to think of myself as a caring person—I like to think that I do make sacrifices for others, but my sacrifices for others are truly “peanuts” compared to what I would for friends and family.

Did it ever occur to you all of the things that Jesus left to come to earth, what about the things that He “gained”—sorrow, pain, heartache, temptation, and stress. The bible explains it this way:

 though Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness…he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross(Phil 2:6-8NIV)!

Think about it, Jesus left everything that he was to come to earth, take on our humanity and live, suffer and even die—all because he loved us. The creator of the heavens and the earth put aside his glory to dwell among his creation. He did not come to be worshiped, but to serve and to be the perfect sacrifice for our sin. One of my favorite verses in the bible describes the purpose of Jesus’ incarnation (the taking on of humanity):

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is the devil (Hebrews 2:14NIV)

I love that he calls us “children”. Think back to my earlier question, “What would you give up for someone you love?” Jesus loves us and he made himself “nothing” so that he could come and be the person that we could never be; that pure sacrifice for our sins. Why? Because we are his children…and a parent would do anything for his children.

Reclaiming that Loving Feeling

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to pick out newlyweds? They walk around completely oblivious to anything or anyone else around them. They are in their own little world, lost in each other—completely enamored with one another. Ah, love! The misanthropic among us will look at these newlywed couples and scoff that they are still in the “honeymoon” phase of the marriage—wait until things get hard, wait until the bills are piling up, the kids are in trouble and the dog is in the trashcan, just wait until “life” happens then we will see how they act. The sad truth is that many of our marriages and relationships move through a sort of downward spiral never recapturing the devotion and intensity of their earliest days. It’s not that we don’t love our significant other—it’s just that the “awe” is gone. We still do all of the same things, we may even do a little more than we ever did before, but the enthusiasm that was there at the beginning is missing.

Unfortunately this type of “love apathy” is not relegated to our relationships with other people—it also finds its way into our spiritual lives and our relationship with God. Jesus, in the book of Revelation, addresses just such a situation. In His “message” to the church in Ephesus Jesus begins by acknowledging all of the good works of the church, He then admonishes them for their failure to remain true to their “first love” (Rev. 2:1-7). Even though they were busy doing great things, they had lost the true focus of why they were doing those things. They had moved out of the “honeymoon” stage of their relationship with Jesus. The awe was gone. They had forgotten what it was really like to be in love.

Too many of us find ourselves, like the church in Ephesus, forsaking our first love. We have lost the intensity and enthusiasm for Christ that we once had. The works are still there, but the focus is not. Fortunately Jesus provides us with a formula for reclaiming that “loving feeling” (with apologies to the Righteous Brothers): Remember, Repent and Do. First we need to remember and reflect on the early days of our relationship with God, the “honeymoon” days, and compare that to our present situation—how does it match up? Next we are to humble ourselves and admit that the intimacy that we once had is no longer there. We need to seek Him like we did in those first days, with an all-consuming desire. Finally, we are to continue in our good works, not motivated by conscience or tradition, but by an intense, awe inspiring love, for a Savior who loves us with a never wavering love.