SIX LOVES

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   When we think of love, we think of having a fondness and an affection for something.

 

B.   We can love a candy bar. 

We can love our cat or dog. 

We can love our spouse and children. 

We can love God. 

Note:  We can have a fondness and an affection for all of these things.

 

C.   In this lesson, we want to examine “Six Loves” that are possible for us to practice.

1.    Some of them are easy.  Some are difficult.

2.    Some of them are right.  At least one is wrong.

3.    Some bring delights.  Some bring difficulties.

 

I.             SELF LOVE                                   Delightful Love

 

A.   The first love is self-love.  We have styled this as a “delightful love.”  Very few individuals struggle with loving themselves.

 

B.   Perhaps we need to ask:  Is it right for us to love ourselves?

1.    In Matthew 22:39, Jesus reveals the second commandment. 

 

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

 

a.    Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

b.    If it is wrong to love ourselves, why would Jesus command such?

2.    Let’s look at Ephesians 5:28-29.

 

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.  He that loveth his wife loveth himself.  For no man ever yet hated his own body; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.

 

a.    Paul acknowledges that men love their own bodies.

b.    He uses that love to exhort husbands to love their wives in that same manner.

 

C.   Love for self can turn into a disorder called Narcissism, or, inordinate, excessive love of self. 

 

II.           LOVE FOR THE WORLD                Delectable Love

 

A.   A second love we can have is a love for the world.  This is a delectable love.  Delectable means "highly pleasing, enjoyable."

 

B.   The world presents to us things that are appealing to our desires.  “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life…” 1 John 2:16).

 

C.   Worshiping God or sleeping

Reading the Bible or watching a movie

Teaching another about Jesus or spreading gossip

Giving in to sexual desire or practicing self-disciple

Giving to a missionary or taking an expensive vacation

 

D.   This is a love that Christians should not be involved in (1 John 2:15).

 

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

 

III.         LOVE FOR FAMILY                       Delicate Love

 

A.   A third love is love for family.  We have called this a “delicate love” because it involves natural affection and a sweet tenderness.

 

B.   All family members should have love for one another.

 

C.   Example:  A husband’s love for his wife

1.    As Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25)

2.    As their own bodies (Eph. 5:28)

3.    Be not bitter against them (Col. 3:19)

4.    Provides for his own, and specially for those of his own house (1 Tim. 5:8)

5.    Dwell with them according to knowledge (1 Pet. 3:7)

6.    Giving honor to the wife, as unto the weaker vessel (1 Pet. 3:7)

 

D.   The world is at odds with the home and family.

1.    From abortion, the taking of an infants’ life, to euthanasia, the taking of the elderly’s life, and everything in between, the family is under attack.

2.    Divorce, toxic masculinity, single-parent homes, taking the woman out of the home, LGBTQ+ agenda, government childcare, government education, all have negative impacts on our homes.

 

E.   NOTE:  IF we truly have a love for our families, we will fight against these evils as hard as we possibly can.

 

IV.         LOVE FOR GOD                                      Divine Love

 

A.   A fourth love is one’s love for God.  This we have labelled as “divine love.”

 

B.   Jesus tells us that this is the First Commandment (Matt. 22:35-37).

 

Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 

1.    Mark’s gospel also contains the words:  “…and with all thy strength” (Mark 30).  Heart, soul, mind, and strength involve every aspect of man’s being, both externally and internally.

2.    The keyword is “all.”  This word can be defined as:  “the whole,” and as:  “missing absolutely nothing.”

 

C.   It is not a love in word only.  It manifests itself in practice (1 John 3:18).

 

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

 

 

 

V.           LOVE FOR GOD’S WORD               Demanding Love

 

A.   The last part of our previous discussion is tied to the fifth love of this study, love for God’s Word. 

1.    The reason it is tied to the last point is because our love for God is proclaimed through obedience to His commands (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3).

2.    Love for His Word makes obedience much simpler.

 

B.   Love for God’s Word we describe is a “demanding love.”

1.    The first demand involves reading, studying, and coming to an understanding of God’s Word first.  Solomon wrote:  “Much study is weariness of the flesh” (Eccl. 12:12).

2.    The second demand is being willing to replace our will with the will of God found in His Word. 

a.    We can be lazy toward God’s commands.

b.    The command can be hard.

c.    The command can involve harsh consequences.

d.    We might not fully understand the command.

e.    We might not agree with the command.

3.    The third demand we must meet is the continued practice of the command in our lives (Col. 1:23; See also Rom. 2:7, Gal. 6:9; Heb. 3:14).

 

If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.

 

VI.         LOVE FOR OTHERS                      Difficult Love

 

A.   The final love of the six is love for others.  We describe this love as “difficult love.”  It is difficult because not all individuals are easy to love.

 

B.   The word “others” encompasses several groups.

1.    Our enemies (Matt. 5:44)

 

But I say unto you, Love your enemies…

 

2.    Strangers (Rom. 12:13)

 

…given to hospitality.

 

3.    Brothers and sisters in Christ (1 John 3:11)

 

For this is the message that ye have heard from the beginning that we should love one another.

 

C.   This involves the manifestation of divine love toward others. 

1.    It is sacrificial.  We make certain that we always put the needs of others before our own.

2.    It is voluntary.  We are never forced to display the love we have for another.

3.    It is sometimes unemotional.  We do not have to have positive emotions for the person we love.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   We have examined six loves in this lesson.

1.    Love for self                A delightful love

2.    Love for the world        A delectable love

3.    Love for family             A delicate love

4.    Love for God                A divine love

5.    Love for God’s Word     A demanding love

6.    Love for others            A difficult love

 

B.   The Revelation was addressed to seven churches.  In each one of the letters, Jesus tells the church:  “I know thy…”  Thyatira is the only church out of the seven that is commended for her charity (Rev. 2:19).

 

I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

 

C.   May each of us stand before God in the last day and be commended for the manner we have loved:  self, family, God, God’s Word, and others.

 

D.   May we also stand approved because we refused to love this world and the things that are therein.