{"id":1128,"date":"2024-06-18T12:19:38","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T18:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pastorkelly\/?p=1128"},"modified":"2024-06-18T12:19:38","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T18:19:38","slug":"did-jesus-say-love-is-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pastorkelly\/2024\/06\/did-jesus-say-love-is-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Jesus Say, “Love is Love.”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the past decade or so, marriage and sexual identity definitions have been under attack in our world. And as each of us rub shoulders with someone we know and love, who is the in process of redefining their sexuality and marriage and maybe even gender in their lives, we are each trying to find a way to navigate these re-definements.<\/p>\n

About fifteen years ago the Christian community started saying this phrase, \u201cGod is Love\u201d but now it is \u201cLove is love.\u201d<\/p>\n

When you hear the phrase, \u201cLove is love?\u201d What do you hear?<\/p>\n

Well, here is what it means to most in our day:<\/p>\n

Love is Love is a phrase meaning that\u00a0the love expressed by an individual or couple is valid regardless of the sexual orientation or gender identity of their lover or partner.<\/p>\n

While I was in Europe not too long ago, I went to the University of Oxford, I toured the historically famous Randolph Hotel there on the grounds of Oxford University.<\/p>\n

Inside this beautiful hotel was a sign on the welcome desk that said, \u201cWe welcome all sexual orientations.\u201d No qualification, no exception, no explanation.<\/p>\n

Love is love.<\/p>\n

See, in the church, when this movement began, Christians at least were saying things like, \u201cGod is Love.\u201d<\/p>\n

The subtle movement from \u201cGod is love\u201d to \u201cLove is Love\u201d is not an accident, it is a progression that always occurs when a deception or a lie is at the base of the intent. The Devil has used \u201cGod is love\u201d to take a lot of Christians down the path of trying to be \u201cloving\u201d to people in their lives who are personally redefining love.<\/p>\n

Now, we drop \u201cGod\u201d and just add \u201cLove\u201d as the supreme rule of this rule. But love comes from God and cannot be taught or expressed by someone who is not demonstrating an extension of God\u2019s expression.<\/p>\n

You say, I don\u2019t know If I agree with that. 1 John 5:7-8 says:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. So, love is an expression or action defined by God, alone.<\/p>\n

God owns the exclusive rights to love.<\/p>\n

So, anyone who says, \u201cLove is love\u201d must go back and say, \u201cDoes God Almighty define this as love?\u201d<\/p>\n

1 John 5:9-10 says:<\/p>\n

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that\u00a0God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.\u00a010\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>In this is love,\u00a0not that we have loved God\u00a0but that he loved us and sent his Son to be\u00a0the propitiation for our sins.<\/p>\n

This tells us that love is an expression or action supremely seen through Jesus.<\/p>\n

If I want to know what love is look at Jesus life and his sacrifice for me.<\/p>\n

The Savior shows us what love is, sex doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

See, when people say, \u201cLove is love.\u201d What they are saying is, \u201cSex is sex.\u201d Which the Bible doesn\u2019t agree with either. That is why the Bible defines acceptable and unacceptable sexual actions and orientations. The point is this, you won\u2019t find love primarily through sex. You will find sex and if it is sex that unacceptable to God, you will find destruction.\u00a0 That is what the Bible teaches in Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6.<\/p>\n

1 John 5:11 says:<\/p>\n

\u201cBeloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

This means love is an expression or an action motivated by God\u2019s example through Jesus.<\/p>\n

I learn how to love you by learning how God loves me. My effectiveness of loving you is dependent upon my effective to understand and apply how God loves me. If I don\u2019t think God loves me, then that is going to impact how I treat you.<\/p>\n

John concludes his thoughts on love by saying in 1 John 5:12:<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and\u00a0his love is perfected in us.\u201d<\/p>\n

This means love is perfected by God living in us and then through us.<\/p>\n

So, then, love is Jesus living in us and through us. Paul gives us a list of actions and expressions that help us to identify when it is Christ who is living love through us. He says in 1 Corinthians 13:<\/p>\n

4\u00a0<\/sup>Love is patient and\u00a0kind; love\u00a0does not envy or boast; it\u00a0is not arrogant\u00a05\u00a0<\/sup>or rude. It\u00a0does not insist on its own way; it\u00a0is not irritable or resentful;[<\/sup>b<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a06\u00a0<\/sup>it\u00a0does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but\u00a0rejoices with the truth.<\/p>\n

Here is a list of what love is when Jesus is living through us:<\/p>\n

1. \nPatient<\/li>\nKind<\/li>\nDoes not envy or boast<\/li>\nNot arrogant<\/li>\nNot rude<\/li>\nNot insistent upon its own way<\/li>\nNot irritable.<\/li>\nNot resentful.<\/li>\nDoes not rejoice in wrongdoing<\/li>\nRejoices with the truth.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
   
   That\u2019s the top ten of what love is when Jesus lives through you to love others.<\/p>\n
   
   What words or phrases are missing in that 1 Corinthians list?<\/p>\n
   
   \nSex is love.<\/li>\nAcceptance is love.<\/li>\nLive your love.<\/li>\nLive your truth in love.<\/li>\nBe happy for them and what makes them happy.<\/li>\nChoose your orientation.<\/li>\nAll orientations are welcome and accepted.<\/li>\nDon\u2019t let someone else define love for you.<\/li>\nLove is love.<\/li>\nDo what makes you feel good.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
   
   Our world has twisted love. Love is the most sacred gift God gives us. But as Christ modeled for us. Love without selflessness and sacrifice is not love. We learn to love by learning how Christ loves us and loves others through us. Can I encourage you today to rethink your view and understanding of love and go back to the creator, designer, definer, motivator, and example of love, His name is Jesus.<\/p>\n
   
   Blessings,
   \nPastor Kelly<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
   
   \u00a0 Over the past decade or so, marriage and sexual identity definitions have been under attack in our world. And as each of us rub shoulders with someone we know and love, who is the in process of redefining their sexuality and marriage and maybe even gender in their lives, we are each trying to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4568,"featured_media":771,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[630],"tags":[268,544,378,196,708],"class_list":["post-1128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gender-and-sexuality","tag-bible","tag-gender","tag-homosexuality","tag-jesus","tag-love-is-love"],"yoast_head":"\nDid Jesus Say, "Love is Love."<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  Over the past decade or so, marriage and sexual identity definitions have been under attack in our world. 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