The Sermon Love Part 2: Love One Another by David McGee
Feb 21, 2016
Love Part 2: Love One Another (24:45)
Referenced Scriptures: John 13:34; 1 John 4:11-12; Romans 8:35-39
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The scriptures below are from the WEB Bible.
John 13:34
34) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another.
1 John 4:11-12
11) Beloved, if God loved us so, we also ought to love one another.
12) No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.
Romans 8:35-39
35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36) Even as it is written, "For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
37) No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Time period in which Jesus. Writes to us or. His life was about. And he didn't write to us but the disciples wrote about that affair a season sad you see as they were very little estate they had all of their rules and the regulations and they set them up and if you didn't obey them. You know. They would punish you they would push you out of the Senate dog. They would keep you. You know. Out of the congregation so people had this. You're either in or you're out mentality and that's kind of what happened in the in the eight hundred zero in one thousand hundreds and then now. We're in this. Grace and Mercy type thing where it doesn't matter what you do you can live a life you want you're still going to go to heaven and. You know that those. Those both extremes kind of leave us in the in the dark. So Jesus than ever see me John down in chapter thirteen verse thirty four says A new commandment. I give to you love one another and. It's important that we see that what what this love really takes on. Sometimes we feel. It would be pretty good to live back in the time when Jesus was here. You know if Jesus were here I'd listen to him. Well if we don't listen to the scripture today we would listen to Jesus then. Because the Holy Spirit is this the Spirit of is here. And the Spirit of knows our hearts and knows our intentions and knows what's going on inside. And so the spirit then brings the work to us The brings the. There's got to be something more to life than just. Living. We have to learn how to live to live within the light of Jesus Christ in his. And the word. But there's more to life than just existing in finishing in. You know. Correct. Collecting our. Trophies in having them in the pile and this is me and this is what I've gotten. And when you look at it at the end of life. What does it mean. The. The only thing they really last is what we've done for others. And. The value of our life is seeing the value of who we are as a person. That . Clings to us. He wants to. You know he wants these E's got a hold of us and we say OK you know enough enough of this love stuff you know. This. This being good stuff you know you know. Take it easy I don't want to be shoved aside by everybody else. But you see the love that has for us is one that doesn't end doesn't quit. It doesn't give up on us. I like this is what Jesus elsewhere teaches that his disciples must love all people. Even their enemies here. He tells his followers. They must love each other. And that's the second part of our. Love Part two that. We've heard that if how many times are we supposed to forgive somebody seven times. Seventy seven times seventy. Basically that saying indefinite. You know. Peter says Well I think maybe for three four maybe seven somewhere in there. They all of them are really going overboard. Well. We understand that concept that we are to forgive. Because if. If somebody hurts us. All right. If someone hurts us. And we don't let it go. That hurt. Continues to affect us for the rest of our life. So. That person not only hurt us at that point in time. They continue to exert that. Pain upon our life forever. Until we let it go and. We let it go by allowing to help us to forgive them and turn them over to their own. To their own life and to their own hurt and to their own pain. You know taking the high road that. We forgiven. You know. Don't get even then we. We ask to help us see. We can't make this up we can't. Do it on our own. You know. Like I've decided to love my enemies. I've decided to forgive. I've decided to make a million dollars I have decided to. Well who's here it's just the big guy. But whenever we see how is working and then. is helping me to forgive. You know. I use the il ration that. When I did a lot of counseling. People have Wazza pain in their past. And I always use the two the two scales. OK. This is the scale of pain. And this is the scale of remembering. OK. So I remember and I have great pain. So it's at the top of the scale. So the bible says I'm supposed to forgive. Seven times. Seventy. So that's a whole bunch of times OK. So every time I remember and every time I feel the pain. I am to forgive. What I'm doing is. It doesn't wipe them out and you never remember it. It means that the pain scale goes down. How long does it take until the pain goes away. We forgive until the pain goes away. That maybe a year. Then maybe a day. Maybe ten years. But it. How long does it take and it's like we have to remind ourselves of that situation there was a. There was. The minister who. He hurt us. Very badly hurt me very badly. And you know I was you know and it was intentional. And you know I would. I would be OK I'm going to help me to forgive him. OK. We would go to these. You know like youth meetings at the Hershey Arena. And there's seven thousand people and this guy sits in front of us. You know. I would go to. Clergy meetings there's five hundred clergy in words he said. The same pew three down. It's like gobbler saying OK David do you forgive. Have you forgiven yet. And. you want you to take care of him and get rid of him. You know get him out of my life. So I don't have to deal with this and see. The idea is that brings those things up in order for us you know I haven't seen. I you know after I really dealt with that in a way. You know I continue to deal with until the pain goes away. After I had done with that and really feel like I've gotten that out of my life I haven't run into him. And I just haven't run into him. And so. What is saying then is that we not only have to love our enemies but we have to love. The people in the pew. On the other side of the church. Yeah yeah. The people of the few that we have to learn to love each other and learning to love each other is learning to allow our own failures. Not to take center stage. OK. Our own failures. We can be so preoccupied with what has forgotten. We don't see what is doing. You see. has forgotten your sins that you keep remembering. And you know when you ask Christ to forgive you. He lets that sin go. It's gone. He'll never use it against us again. And so here we are remembering what has forgotten. And in that remembering. Dictating what we're doing with our life and. Holding ourselves back. And holding ourselves captive. With something that has forgiven. I know an individual. They have refused to make applications. Because of an incident that happened in their life twenty five years ago. Because being a Christian they have to put that down on the. On the application and. They feel that if they push that down on the application they're not going to be hired and they're drain they're dragging the past up. And they have for twenty five years or longer. Been using that incident. To prevent them from making applications to better jobs. You see. When forgives us. That sin that problem that difficulty is forgiven. And we have to let it go. We've paid him. Christ has paid the price for it. Christ has paid the penalty for it. So you see with the il ration of. Tabby in Charlotte. Tabby as I was would say. Chuck. And Kara and. I always call him you know. But with the il rations with. Tabby and Charlotte. That we would often. You know. First glance we would think well we're the child and. You know the adult is the. Is but in reality. is the one who is clinging to us he doesn't want to let us go. That he doesn't want us to fail. In our sin. In our mistakes. See the. The importance of forgiveness. Is that loves us enough to forgive us. And that love that Christ has. Is the reason he died on the cross. His death on the cross. He died. So that we would not have to pay for our sins. He paid for them. So we deserved. The punishment. But . Paid for the punishment. So that we could have forgiveness. And that. All of the good things that wants to bless us with Will in our lives. Are kind of waiting there are waiting there for us and. We have to let go of the failures long enough to see the good that is in front of us and that's why I say that when we start our day we should be thankful. Just begin by saying Thank You for the day. Thank you for my life. Well what about the bad things. What about on. Their their well what about the good things. They are they are also. So what if we start thinking about the good and being thankful for the good. We're becoming dependent. Not on failing but upon surviving. Upon getting better at. Growing maturing. You know. When you go to school. You know. You take tests. Jackson had is her grandson and. He's in kindergarden. Hand. He's reading. You know. You get out the book and. He's going through his pages and just reading it's like. This is a great new experience for him. You know. Being able to get a book and read it and. Look at things and. Decipher some of the things in the newspaper you know. Well. Whenever we're beginning to decipher and understand. The scripture. To understanding that and His love is never going to leave us there's a scripture that says. In Romans chapter eight verse. Begins in verse thirty five but I want to move down to verse thirty eight. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ love for us. So as you think of. Charlotte and. Tabby. Think of it in the context. Jesus is saying this is Jesus having a hold of you. OK. And this is Paul writing to the Church at Rome but he says Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ love for us. So as you see that connection between and between the daughter and mother. Do you see the connection between and you. And he is telling us that. Do you think. There is anything that can drive a wedge between us. You see if you think there is. Then you're pounding that wage in. You know say. Don't don't hang onto tight. You know I can't breathe here. We are looking at things that we've done in fallow years that have been in our life for mistakes that we've willfully intentionally done. In our past. And we're trying to tear 's arms off by saying. Yes there is something that can drive a wedge between us and is saying. No there isn't. has a hold of us and he's saying there's nothing. Living or dead. And we go on here. There's no way there's no trouble there's no hard times there's no hatred. There's no hunger and there's no. Not even homelessness or the bowling threats. Not back stepping not back. Back stabbing. Not even the worst sins live. Sted in Scripture. OK. Not even the worst. Sins. Listed in Scripture. OK. That includes. That takes in all of us. Hill. And you know them beyond us. Not even the worst. Sins. Listed in Scripture. Are what they're able to drive a wedge between 's love and us. Yeah. Can we grasp that one. You know. Can we can we grasp. That idea that. 's forgiveness is so complete that. Nothing is going to be able to come between us. And that's hanging on to was. There's this guy. Rock climbing a mountain climbing and. He falls over the cliff and he's hanging on you know and he's by himself and he's hanging on to this tree and. He's screaming for help and. He hollers. Is there anybody up there. Anybody help me. And there's this voices. Yes. I'm here. Here's Oh thank you throw me a rope police is no. I this is . The legs for your feet is only six inches away. Let go. He's in the dark you now hang on to this tree. Andy's thing. Will it go in the can. If you his foot there you can't reach it. Again it's only it's only six inches let go. And the guy says. So anybody else up there. So. Sometimes that's us you know anybody else up there he is even you also have something better. You know there better option. How about Door number two. OK. How about Door number two door number one. I don't know. Door number two Anybody you know. Let's create another door will doesn't have another door. You know his door is Jesus Christ and. And his forgiveness is complete. And that it is total and that it's begins a new life and it begins. A whole new relationship. So that our relationship with . Is meant to be. As if there were never a sin in our life. That. In Creation. 's intent. Was that everyone would walk with him and be friends with him and. You know that we would do this friend with friends take a closer than a brother and. All of that and we fell. And but 's intent was in forgiveness. To do away with all of that failure sin. Those things that we consider. Defects in our soul that and are and are and he wants to eat those so that he can that reestablish that friendship. And if I am friends with . Then I am. Then I am loving as he loves me and loving is. He loves others that. You know what I am his favorite child. Used to tell that to my mother. My brothers all told me that your mom's favorite. My sister in laws always told me that. You know your mother loves you more than anybody else. And I said you're right but. No but. The idea is that in our relationship with . He loves each of us the same and we are all his favorite child. That's not a cop out that's the truth. That he we are his favorite child. And when he looks at us. He sees what we can become He sees what he created us to be. And that is where we are. That's where we come alive on the inside. That's where we come alive on the inside and. It's kind of stirs us inside that. This isn't it you know. I never reached the end yet. And there's still good there's still things that has for me to do. And loving then is. Is a way to loving him lighting go forgiving loving our enemies. Say those who have purposely and willfully intentionally hurt us. For giving them and letting them go. We are allowing ourselves to be free from. I'm hatred and bitterness and anger and resentful and getting even and we're letting go of those things because they don't occupy our time. And they will occupy our efforts. So we forgive ourselves loving is loving me as loves me is allowing myself to be human with my mistakes and my failures in the shortcomings of my personality and. I don't have to many and. Just ask Rhonda I don't have any meaning at all. Should give you a list. Because I have many shortcomings. But anyhow. The idea is that in all of those short and still loves us. It's still part of us now. First John four eleven says dear friend since so loved us. We also ought to love one another. OK. We got that down part of that down pat. That we not only are to love our enemies but that we are to love other Christians who. Who have different beliefs and. Different theologies and. Different concepts you know we're to love others. And then he says. Then that then. John here says in this verse verse eleven and twelve he says. No one is ever seeing . But if we love one another. lives in us. And his love is make complete and us. The closest we have to a picture of . Is each other. The closest we have to a picture of is the believer the individual who loves enough to let forgive them. That we love enough to receive of his love into our life and forgive others. That we love enough that it will receive His love into our life. To forgive ourselves. And that acceptance. Is an image of what Christ is. So when we look at one another we know. We got that he is not that deformed him though we look at each other but. But we begin to see the characteristics. We be seeing as we see in the character of in different ones we each have different strengths of forgiveness and joy and patience and gentleness and kindness and. You know serving and leading. We all have different aspects of it but if we put the whole body together. As we put everyone together we begin to see what the image of Christ is and. No one has the complete picture. You know. Look at me you have the complete picture of . No he's not bald and fat and wears gl es. You know. So he you know he. That's not but there are characteristics that I have that are that are. Resemble what has put the same thing is for you. You have characteristics that resemble . And if we allow to work in our life. And to take those dreams and those abilities in those skills that we have and develop them in touch them annoying. Them. We find ourselves. Becoming that person that wanted us to be. And we have trials and. We have tribulations we have problems and I always like. You know I think of David and Goliath. And how that. You know. Goliath was this m ive giant and David there's this. Shepherd kid. You know. He's a thirteen year old fourteen year old kid maybe and. He is moved internally by this giant who insults his and. And David just this can't happen. So something inside of David says we have to take care of this. And so David you know everybody else tries to change him. Put on the king's armor. That doesn't work. You know. Giving him battle plans you know. Dan Snyder got the. It's just the slaying in the stone and. give me directions I go into this. And of course. He gets the stone flings it hits. Goliath right now. Probably right in the center for it somewhere knocks him cold. Then he uses Goliath's own sword to cut off his head. Point is this the lion took David from being a shepherd boy. Forgotten about. Watching sheep. To being a national hero. Our difficulties. Always take us somewhere. Every time we deal with our difficulties correctly. They're taking us somewhere else. So that is why. We want the light of Christ to shine upon our character. To For shine upon our life. To show us the good things in the good qualities of our life. And in their not perfected they're just beginning and the Holy Spirit will help us. To take those qualities that are loving and forgiving in kindness and. Moved with generosity whatever they are and will be able to use them. And whenever we use them there will be difficulties to come to us. But those difficulties. Are not there to destroy us. They are there to promote us. So you see. That's why we got to forgive. Because those things were. To promote us and they've just been changing us down. But whenever I deal with them. They take me to another level. And that's our life. is that work. He's hanging onto us. He wants us to see his character and we will he wants to develop. That quality of him. Of his character his love of his spirit he wants that to be developed in us. And in so doing. We reflect the image of Jesus. So as we look at each other we see different qualities in different characters. Of . And that's why he says. Yes you got to love your enemies. But he also tells us. You must love each other and in loving each other we allow ourselves to be loved him in the stands so it. So do we believe it or do we receive it. Do we think about it. So we may in this moment of time we say. forgive me of my sins. Help me to forgive those who send against me. How me oh god. To see your qualities that are already in me. And that your Holy Spirit can take those qualities. And develop them even further. Amen. bless you. Thank you.Time period in which Jesus. Writes to us or. His life was about. And he didn't write to us but the disciples wrote about that affair a season sad you see as they were very little estate they had all of their rules and the regulations and they set them up and if you didn't obey them. You know. They would punish you they would push you out of the Senate dog. They would keep you. You know. Out of the congregation so people had this. You're either in or you're out mentality and that's kind of what happened in the in the eight hundred zero in one thousand hundreds and then now. We're in this. Grace and Mercy type thing where it doesn't matter what you do you can live a life you want you're still going to go to heaven and. You know that those. Those both extremes kind of leave us in the in the dark. So Jesus than ever see me John down in chapter thirteen verse thirty four says A new commandment. I give to you love one another and. It's important that we see that what what this love really takes on. Sometimes we feel. It would be pretty good to live back in the time when Jesus was here. You know if Jesus were here I'd listen to him. Well if we don't listen to the scripture today we would listen to Jesus then. Because the Holy Spirit is this the Spirit of is here. And the Spirit of knows our hearts and knows our intentions and knows what's going on inside. And so the spirit then brings the work to us The brings the. There's got to be something more to life than just. Living. We have to learn how to live to live within the light of Jesus Christ in his. And the word. But there's more to life than just existing in finishing in. You know. Correct. Collecting our. Trophies in having them in the pile and this is me and this is what I've gotten. And when you look at it at the end of life. What does it mean. The. The only thing they really last is what we've done for others. And. The value of our life is seeing the value of who we are as a person. That . Clings to us. He wants to. You know he wants these E's got a hold of us and we say OK you know enough enough of this love stuff you know. This. This being good stuff you know you know. Take it easy I don't want to be shoved aside by everybody else. But you see the love that has for us is one that doesn't end doesn't quit. It doesn't give up on us. I like this is what Jesus elsewhere teaches that his disciples must love all people. Even their enemies here. He tells his followers. They must love each other. And that's the second part of our. Love Part two that. We've heard that if how many times are we supposed to forgive somebody seven times. Seventy seven times seventy. Basically that saying indefinite. You know. Peter says Well I think maybe for three four maybe seven somewhere in there. They all of them are really going overboard. Well. We understand that concept that we are to forgive. Because if. If somebody hurts us. All right. If someone hurts us. And we don't let it go. That hurt. Continues to affect us for the rest of our life. So. That person not only hurt us at that point in time. They continue to exert that. Pain upon our life forever. Until we let it go and. We let it go by allowing to help us to forgive them and turn them over to their own. To their own life and to their own hurt and to their own pain. You know taking the high road that. We forgiven. You know. Don't get even then we. We ask to help us see. We can't make this up we can't. Do it on our own. You know. Like I've decided to love my enemies. I've decided to forgive. I've decided to make a million dollars I have decided to. Well who's here it's just the big guy. But whenever we see how is working and then. is helping me to forgive. You know. I use the il ration that. When I did a lot of counseling. People have Wazza pain in their past. And I always use the two the two scales. OK. This is the scale of pain. And this is the scale of remembering. OK. So I remember and I have great pain. So it's at the top of the scale. So the bible says I'm supposed to forgive. Seven times. Seventy. So that's a whole bunch of times OK. So every time I remember and every time I feel the pain. I am to forgive. What I'm doing is. It doesn't wipe them out and you never remember it. It means that the pain scale goes down. How long does it take until the pain goes away. We forgive until the pain goes away. That maybe a year. Then maybe a day. Maybe ten years. But it. How long does it take and it's like we have to remind ourselves of that situation there was a. There was. The minister who. He hurt us. Very badly hurt me very badly. And you know I was you know and it was intentional. And you know I would. I would be OK I'm going to help me to forgive him. OK. We would go to these. You know like youth meetings at the Hershey Arena. And there's seven thousand people and this guy sits in front of us. You know. I would go to. Clergy meetings there's five hundred clergy in words he said. The same pew three down. It's like gobbler saying OK David do you forgive. Have you forgiven yet. And. you want you to take care of him and get rid of him. You know get him out of my life. So I don't have to deal with this and see. The idea is that brings those things up in order for us you know I haven't seen. I you know after I really dealt with that in a way. You know I continue to deal with until the pain goes away. After I had done with that and really feel like I've gotten that out of my life I haven't run into him. And I just haven't run into him. And so. What is saying then is that we not only have to love our enemies but we have to love. The people in the pew. On the other side of the church. Yeah yeah. The people of the few that we have to learn to love each other and learning to love each other is learning to allow our own failures. Not to take center stage. OK. Our own failures. We can be so preoccupied with what has forgotten. We don't see what is doing. You see. has forgotten your sins that you keep remembering. And you know when you ask Christ to forgive you. He lets that sin go. It's gone. He'll never use it against us again. And so here we are remembering what has forgotten. And in that remembering. Dictating what we're doing with our life and. Holding ourselves back. And holding ourselves captive. With something that has forgiven. I know an individual. They have refused to make applications. Because of an incident that happened in their life twenty five years ago. Because being a Christian they have to put that down on the. On the application and. They feel that if they push that down on the application they're not going to be hired and they're drain they're dragging the past up. And they have for twenty five years or longer. Been using that incident. To prevent them from making applications to better jobs. You see. When forgives us. That sin that problem that difficulty is forgiven. And we have to let it go. We've paid him. Christ has paid the price for it. Christ has paid the penalty for it. So you see with the il ration of. Tabby in Charlotte. Tabby as I was would say. Chuck. And Kara and. I always call him you know. But with the il rations with. Tabby and Charlotte. That we would often. You know. First glance we would think well we're the child and. You know the adult is the. Is but in reality. is the one who is clinging to us he doesn't want to let us go. That he doesn't want us to fail. In our sin. In our mistakes. See the. The importance of forgiveness. Is that loves us enough to forgive us. And that love that Christ has. Is the reason he died on the cross. His death on the cross. He died. So that we would not have to pay for our sins. He paid for them. So we deserved. The punishment. But . Paid for the punishment. So that we could have forgiveness. And that. All of the good things that wants to bless us with Will in our lives. Are kind of waiting there are waiting there for us and. We have to let go of the failures long enough to see the good that is in front of us and that's why I say that when we start our day we should be thankful. Just begin by saying Thank You for the day. Thank you for my life. Well what about the bad things. What about on. Their their well what about the good things. They are they are also. So what if we start thinking about the good and being thankful for the good. We're becoming dependent. Not on failing but upon surviving. Upon getting better at. Growing maturing. You know. When you go to school. You know. You take tests. Jackson had is her grandson and. He's in kindergarden. Hand. He's reading. You know. You get out the book and. He's going through his pages and just reading it's like. This is a great new experience for him. You know. Being able to get a book and read it and. Look at things and. Decipher some of the things in the newspaper you know. Well. Whenever we're beginning to decipher and understand. The scripture. To understanding that and His love is never going to leave us there's a scripture that says. In Romans chapter eight verse. Begins in verse thirty five but I want to move down to verse thirty eight. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ love for us. So as you think of. Charlotte and. Tabby. Think of it in the context. Jesus is saying this is Jesus having a hold of you. OK. And this is Paul writing to the Church at Rome but he says Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ love for us. So as you see that connection between and between the daughter and mother. Do you see the connection between and you. And he is telling us that. Do you think. There is anything that can drive a wedge between us. You see if you think there is. Then you're pounding that wage in. You know say. Don't don't hang onto tight. You know I can't breathe here. We are looking at things that we've done in fallow years that have been in our life for mistakes that we've willfully intentionally done. In our past. And we're trying to tear 's arms off by saying. Yes there is something that can drive a wedge between us and is saying. No there isn't. has a hold of us and he's saying there's nothing. Living or dead. And we go on here. There's no way there's no trouble there's no hard times there's no hatred. There's no hunger and there's no. Not even homelessness or the bowling threats. Not back stepping not back. Back stabbing. Not even the worst sins live. Sted in Scripture. OK. Not even the worst. Sins. Listed in Scripture. OK. That includes. That takes in all of us. Hill. And you know them beyond us. Not even the worst. Sins. Listed in Scripture. Are what they're able to drive a wedge between 's love and us. Yeah. Can we grasp that one. You know. Can we can we grasp. That idea that. 's forgiveness is so complete that. Nothing is going to be able to come between us. And that's hanging on to was. There's this guy. Rock climbing a mountain climbing and. He falls over the cliff and he's hanging on you know and he's by himself and he's hanging on to this tree and. He's screaming for help and. He hollers. Is there anybody up there. Anybody help me. And there's this voices. Yes. I'm here. Here's Oh thank you throw me a rope police is no. I this is . The legs for your feet is only six inches away. Let go. He's in the dark you now hang on to this tree. Andy's thing. Will it go in the can. If you his foot there you can't reach it. Again it's only it's only six inches let go. And the guy says. So anybody else up there. So. Sometimes that's us you know anybody else up there he is even you also have something better. You know there better option. How about Door number two. OK. How about Door number two door number one. I don't know. Door number two Anybody you know. Let's create another door will doesn't have another door. You know his door is Jesus Christ and. And his forgiveness is complete. And that it is total and that it's begins a new life and it begins. A whole new relationship. So that our relationship with . Is meant to be. As if there were never a sin in our life. That. In Creation. 's intent. Was that everyone would walk with him and be friends with him and. You know that we would do this friend with friends take a closer than a brother and. All of that and we fell. And but 's intent was in forgiveness. To do away with all of that failure sin. Those things that we consider. Defects in our soul that and are and are and he wants to eat those so that he can that reestablish that friendship. And if I am friends with . Then I am. Then I am loving as he loves me and loving is. He loves others that. You know what I am his favorite child. Used to tell that to my mother. My brothers all told me that your mom's favorite. My sister in laws always told me that. You know your mother loves you more than anybody else. And I said you're right but. No but. The idea is that in our relationship with . He loves each of us the same and we are all his favorite child. That's not a cop out that's the truth. That he we are his favorite child. And when he looks at us. He sees what we can become He sees what he created us to be. And that is where we are. That's where we come alive on the inside. That's where we come alive on the inside and. It's kind of stirs us inside that. This isn't it you know. I never reached the end yet. And there's still good there's still things that has for me to do. And loving then is. Is a way to loving him lighting go forgiving loving our enemies. Say those who have purposely and willfully intentionally hurt us. For giving them and letting them go. We are allowing ourselves to be free from. I'm hatred and bitterness and anger and resentful and getting even and we're letting go of those things because they don't occupy our time. And they will occupy our efforts. So we forgive ourselves loving is loving me as loves me is allowing myself to be human with my mistakes and my failures in the shortcomings of my personality and. I don't have to many and. Just ask Rhonda I don't have any meaning at all. Should give you a list. Because I have many shortcomings. But anyhow. The idea is that in all of those short and still loves us. It's still part of us now. First John four eleven says dear friend since so loved us. We also ought to love one another. OK. We got that down part of that down pat. That we not only are to love our enemies but that we are to love other Christians who. Who have different beliefs and. Different theologies and. Different concepts you know we're to love others. And then he says. Then that then. John here says in this verse verse eleven and twelve he says. No one is ever seeing . But if we love one another. lives in us. And his love is make complete and us. The closest we have to a picture of . Is each other. The closest we have to a picture of is the believer the individual who loves enough to let forgive them. That we love enough to receive of his love into our life and forgive others. That we love enough that it will receive His love into our life. To forgive ourselves. And that acceptance. Is an image of what Christ is. So when we look at one another we know. We got that he is not that deformed him though we look at each other but. But we begin to see the characteristics. We be seeing as we see in the character of in different ones we each have different strengths of forgiveness and joy and patience and gentleness and kindness and. You know serving and leading. We all have different aspects of it but if we put the whole body together. As we put everyone together we begin to see what the image of Christ is and. No one has the complete picture. You know. Look at me you have the complete picture of . No he's not bald and fat and wears gl es. You know. So he you know he. That's not but there are characteristics that I have that are that are. Resemble what has put the same thing is for you. You have characteristics that resemble . And if we allow to work in our life. And to take those dreams and those abilities in those skills that we have and develop them in touch them annoying. Them. We find ourselves. Becoming that person that wanted us to be. And we have trials and. We have tribulations we have problems and I always like. You know I think of David and Goliath. And how that. You know. Goliath was this m ive giant and David there's this. Shepherd kid. You know. He's a thirteen year old fourteen year old kid maybe and. He is moved internally by this giant who insults his and. And David just this can't happen. So something inside of David says we have to take care of this. And so David you know everybody else tries to change him. Put on the king's armor. That doesn't work. You know. Giving him battle plans you know. Dan Snyder got the. It's just the slaying in the stone and. give me directions I go into this. And of course. He gets the stone flings it hits. Goliath right now. Probably right in the center for it somewhere knocks him cold. Then he uses Goliath's own sword to cut off his head. Point is this the lion took David from being a shepherd boy. Forgotten about. Watching sheep. To being a national hero. Our difficulties. Always take us somewhere. Every time we deal with our difficulties correctly. They're taking us somewhere else. So that is why. We want the light of Christ to shine upon our character. To For shine upon our life. To show us the good things in the good qualities of our life. And in their not perfected they're just beginning and the Holy Spirit will help us. To take those qualities that are loving and forgiving in kindness and. Moved with generosity whatever they are and will be able to use them. And whenever we use them there will be difficulties to come to us. But those difficulties. Are not there to destroy us. They are there to promote us. So you see. That's why we got to forgive. Because those things were. To promote us and they've just been changing us down. But whenever I deal with them. They take me to another level. And that's our life. is that work. He's hanging onto us. He wants us to see his character and we will he wants to develop. That quality of him. Of his character his love of his spirit he wants that to be developed in us. And in so doing. We reflect the image of Jesus. So as we look at each other we see different qualities in different characters. Of . And that's why he says. Yes you got to love your enemies. But he also tells us. You must love each other and in loving each other we allow ourselves to be loved him in the stands so it. So do we believe it or do we receive it. Do we think about it. So we may in this moment of time we say. forgive me of my sins. Help me to forgive those who send against me. How me oh god. To see your qualities that are already in me. And that your Holy Spirit can take those qualities. And develop them even further. Amen. bless you. Thank you.