WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR LOVE?

Base Text: John 21:15 (NIV)

"When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’"

INTRODUCTION

The hardest thing for man is to demonstrate in action what love means. Christ asks Peter if he loved Him, after a tremendous failure when Peter turned his back on Him in His most difficult moment. Peter responds 3 times with a "you know that I love you" (phileo). He was never able to tell Him that he loved Him (agape) enough to give his life for Him.

What would you do for love? Man thinks love is something given easily; some say they love, but they do not know the profound meaning of this word. For example:

• They marry for love, but at the first difficulty they want a divorce.
• Some say "I would give my life", something that requires a complicated moment to know what we are really made of.
• Parents who say they love their children, but separate and abandon them.

God gave everything for love, capable of risking His Glory and Majesty, to save man: a treacherous and sinful race.

1. GOD DOES NOT HAVE LOVE, HE IS LOVE

Ephesians 2:4-5 — "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."

1 John 4:7-9 — "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him."

God does not simply feel love or have love as a passing emotion. Love is His essence, His nature, His being. That is why Scripture declares that "God is love." Everything He does flows from that loving nature.

2. OUT OF LOVE HE GAVE HIS SON

John 3:16 — "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

The Logos was rejected

Hebrews 5:7-10 — "During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."

Jesus faced everything for us:

• He was tempted, attacked, besieged, tested by his enemies
• But his character emerged triumphant
• His only goal: to love the world

Mark 6:34 — "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things."

3. WHAT DOES LOVE MEAN?

a. The most misunderstood word

Love is possibly the most misunderstood word in the world. Part of the problem is that we use this word to describe many things:

• "I love my wife"
• "I love my country"
• "I love my dog"
• "I love this food"

By overusing it, we destroy its meaning. It is difficult to give or receive love when you do not even understand what it is.

b. Love is not just a feeling

Most people think love is a feeling: a sentimental knot in the stomach, an ocean of emotion. True, love produces feelings, but it is much more than a feeling.

c. Agape love in Greek

In Greek, there are different words for love:

• Eros — Passionate, romantic love
• Phileo — Brotherly love, between friends and family
• Agape — The love of God

God's agape love for man is unconditional, sacrificial, and undeserved, defined by His divine nature: "God is love" (1 John 4:8).

d. Essential characteristics of agape love

e. The passage that best defines love

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 — "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

4. WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR LOVE?

This is the question Jesus asked Peter, and it is the same question He asks us today:

a. Is your love unconditional?

Do you love God unconditionally? Peter's answer was "I love you (phileo)" — a love that has limits, conditions.

• Do you love your wife, husband, or family unconditionally?
• Or does your love depend on how they treat you, on how they behave?

b. Is your love sacrificial?

Your love for God requires sacrifice. When Peter said "I love you (phileo)," he was really saying: "I don't think I can go any further." However, Christ's response was prophetic:

John 21:18-19 — "Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’"

Jesus was saying: "You will love me so much that you will give your life for me."

Is our love based on sacrifice? On pure suffering? On exhaustion?

Some get tired and say: "God does not deserve my sacrifice, my effort."

John 15:13 — "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

Would you give your life for your friend? For your God?

c. Is your love voluntary?

"I offer myself for everything" — that should be our attitude.

We should say that we are debtors, but Christ paid the debt of sin. We owe nothing. But being a volunteer for God is a sign of love. Your service is voluntary, not mandatory, but for God, I submit.

CONCLUSION: HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO FOR LOVE?

Jesus asked Peter three times: "Do you love me?" This was not to humiliate him, but to restore him. Each question corresponded to each denial.

Today Jesus asks you the same question:

• Do you love Me more than your job?
• Do you love Me more than your comfort?
• Do you love Me more than your plans?

True love is demonstrated in actions, not in words.

God demonstrated His love: He gave His Son. Jesus demonstrated His love: He went to the cross.

What will you do for love?

Outline based on the preaching of Pastor Joshua Angarita - MMM Portal Campestre Church, Giron, Santander.