The Greatest Is Love

25th Dec, 2009 Christmas sermon

Written By Rev Law Hui Seng

Posted By Teresa Han

Matthew 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 13:4-13

Main Idea: To challenge the congregation to pursue love in the person of Jesus
Objectives: a. To drive to the point that what matters most in life is love in the person of Jesus. b. To teach the congregation how to love one another.

A. Introduction.
- What is the greatest in this world? It must be the most valuable thing. It must be something that everybody needs. It must be something that cannot be replaced. It must be something money cannot buy. It must be something that is lasting and you will carry it with you into eternity.
- What is the thing that qualifies for the greatest thing? Money? Status? Material Wealth? Fame? Knowledge? Scientific Discoveries?Etc.
- Non of the above qualifies for the greatest because each of them cannot satisfies mankind’s deepest need for meaningful moral relationship. Without meaningful moral relationship, life is meaningless. Look at all the relationships around us. Husband and wife; parents and children; classmates and classmates; teachers/ lecturers and students; colleagues and colleagues; boss and subordinates; government officers and the rakyat; pastors and church members; etc.
- All these relationships need to be nurtured with the special ingredient called love. Without love, you can hardly define any meaningful moral relationship.
- Without love human relationships will be so cold, impersonal, isolated, and it does not give much meaning and purpose at all.
- The bible has a great passage to inspire, challenge, teach, train and mould us on love.

B. Apostle Paul’s definition of Love
- Apostle Paul had addressed the issue of gift of tongue by saying in 1Corinthians 13:1-3, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have no love, I am only a resounding gong... If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that moves mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor, ...but have no love, I gain nothing.
- And apostle Paul went on to give the greatest definition of love which nobody beside Jesus can match. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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. Love never fails.
- Then, apostle Paul concluded with verse 13 that says, “And now these 3 remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
- And so, today, in this Christmas, I boldly say to you in this world, the greatest is love. In view of the deepest need of any human relationship for love, so the greatest is love. So, what matters the most in life for any human beings on earth is love. Not money; personal desires; material wealth; fame; knowledge, etc.
- And to my amazement, I discover that all these definitions of love, attitudes of love, actions of love, activities of love, forms of love, languages of love, and all the things in this world on love is still meaningless if it is not done in the context of human beings.
- Only human beings can produce love; only human beings with soul and spirit created by God can show love. Material things, money, plants, animals, air, water, property, science and knowledge, cars, house, and all the resources in this world, you name it, they do not show love.
- They have no life, no breathe, no personality, no soul, no spirit, of course, they cannot do it. Only human beings can do it.
- So, all the talks about love can only become realistic when it is practised by mankind. But as I reflect further and deeper in this Christmas, I see that all our human love for one another is so fallible. We can fail to love someone (our husbands, wives, children, colleagues, neighbours, relatives, very naughty children, the orphans, the poor, the rich people who are so empty in their hearts, the professionals who find life so meaningless and feel so lonely, the underprivileged, the widows, widowers, prisoners, prostitutes, gangsters, drunkards, the sick and dying, people whose characters are questionable, the hungry, etc). We cannot love so much; love everybody. We have all the prejudices.
- This leads me to desire for a perfect person who can love and who can be the best model of love. And he must love everybody. I find that only God can do it. I find this God in the person of Jesus, the owner of Christmas. The person who matters the most during Christmas. You see why the birth of Jesus is so crucial for mankind.

C. The birth of Jesus.
- Let me share with you an encounter which God has blessed me. I will remember this event for a long long time as long as I keep close to Jesus. It was probably one of the most powerful spiritual experience which God allowed it to happen in my life.
- It was this year that I was on the same plane from the way back to Miri from Kulala Lumpur, with the Air Asia boss, Fernandez. The air steward announced for anyone who would like to greet him, he was welcome. I grasped the opportunity and I thought I must ask something that is most important, most crucial in his life.
- I also got ready my own answer. Somebody that is very dear to my heart. I went forward to the front, I asked just one simple question that required an answer of one word. The golden question was, “Give me one word to explain your success in life.” To which he quickly answered, “Change.”
- Then, I give him my one word also, “love.” Then, I discover he is also a christian.
- Then, I went back to my seat and I sat down, as I was seated, an inner voice coming to me saying, “Why didn’t you say Jesus?” As I try to reason with the voice, which I believe is God speaking to me. I realize, just a word like love, it does not mean much because it is still very impersonal. Jesus, the person Jesus would make it very personal.
- Why God has to be a person? Only a person can forgive a person. Only God can forgive our sins. You see how our sins destroy all our relationships, our morality. Greed, adultery, lust, hatred, jealousy, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, idolatry, pornography, corruption, injustice, etc.
- You need the best government, the best policies, the money, etc can solve these sinfulness of mankind. Only God can solve our problem of sin.
- Angel told Joseph in his dream that Mary was to be conceived by the Holy Spirit and the baby shall be given the name called Jesus because he will save people from their sin and his name shall be called Immanuel which means God with us.
- You see how personal is this God, in the person of Jesus to us.
- For God so loved the world is now expressed in the person of Jesus.

D. Applications.
- You see why you are called by Jesus to love all the people around you and especially all who are nearest and closest to you. Those who are closest to you you need to love the most because you may tend to take them for granted.
- Those who are far from you, it requires your love also because Jesus desires you to do so.

E. Conclusion
- What do you lose when you love as Jesus loves? You have everything to gain. You gain Jesus and eternal life.