Love is Risky Business

1 John 3:23
"And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us a commandment." 
 Wouldn't it be great if love always came first! If we would truly put love above all things and love each other with fervent love there would be no stopping the church. Love covers a multitude of sins! (1Peter 4:8) For God so loved the world that "HE GAVE" His only Son. He did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world but to save the world from sin. (John 3:16-17) God's love will cover a multitude of sins! His love is fervent, relentless and powerful. His love is unconditional, uncontainable and unstoppable. His love is endless, limitless and selfless. He literally moved Heaven to earth to bring His incredible love to us. John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The word is God's divine expression. God showing His love became flesh! Jesus was fully God and fully man. He experienced all things just like us, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) This is how love works God gave us His son because He loves us. We love Him because He first loved us. We love each other because of His love in us.1 John 5:2 says," By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments." We are told in scripture to be imitators of God! In First Peter we are told to love without hypocrisy, to be genuine, and sincere with a pure heart. Wow, If we could just wrap our hearts around this kind of love we could change the world. To love like this is to have no regard for self. To love even without love in return. To love knowing that people will take advantage of you. Knowing that you will be hurt, ignored, cursed and slandered. When you love people like Jesus loves them these things will happen. It is hard to commit to love in such a way as this. Knowing that your just setting yourself up. However there is another side. When we love like this, lives are changed, people are saved and their sins are forgiven! They come into a right relationship with God and receive real life! We must never let the other side harden or callous us. A hard heart will never win anyone to Christ. We must rescue the perishing. People are dying without Jesus. In a crowd of thousands there is always one that is ready to receive the love that we can offer them. That love that covers a multitude of sins. That love that can reach into the soul of a sinner and save them for all of eternity. I wonder how big the crowd was on the day that Zacchaeus climbed that sycamore tree? How many people were on that road? How many people brushed against the Son of God and never realized who they were walking beside? How many people took for granted the miracles that Jesus performed and never truly loved Him in return? On that day it was a little short tax collector named Zacchaeus who became a child of the Most High God. Salvation came to his house on that day and that salvation brought great joy to Jesus. Luke 19:9-10 says, And Jesus said to him,"Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10"for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."  
 Jesus sought out and saved Zacchaeus because He loved him with a fervent love. There are millions in the world just like Zacchaeus. They are waiting for Jesus to come walking down their street. They are ready to receive His life changing love. Who will be the one who shows them Jesus?  Who will walk down their street seeking them out? It's risky. It's challenging and even heartbreaking. But it's worth it. Please Church, let's not be afraid to love!