No More Chasing Love, Just Abiding
Text: John 15:9-12
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Andrew and Sami, it seems that many people are chasing after
love these days or losing love. When we listen to country music, it always
seems as if a poor cowboy has lost his pickup, dog, and the love of his life.
And let us not get started on popular pop songs. Turn on the radio, and we hear
lyrics about people reaching out and pursuing love – love that seems to be so
close but is always escaping people's grasp. And movies? How many movies
have we watched where people fight to obtain love throughout the whole movie,
only to die in the last scene?
Sigh. It seems as if this is a theme of our lives – always
chasing love or always losing love. Poor Romeo and Juliet die before
obtaining love from poison. And who can forget Tony Stark and Pepper Potts in
the movie Avengers? Right when Tony Stark gets Pepper Potts as his girl, he
loses his love – love vanishes when Tony Stark – Iron Man – dies in the movie "End
Games."
Indeed, love seems fickle these days. Love seems flighty, dodgy,
and evasive. The thought of chasing down love or losing love is, in fact, the
reason for much of our anxieties in life right now. We have this characteristic
built into us to love and to certainly be loved. But love? Love is kind of
like an ADHD kid squirming through a pastor's long sermon. Love seems to be
squirrely. It doesn't want to stay put. It wants to get out of the pew, crawl
under the pew, or run out of the sanctuary. Love just can't seem to stay
put.
Today, though, Andrew and Sami, we are not chasing love in this
sanctuary. You are not chasing love. But today, you are publicly taking a seat
in love that already exists.
Think of it this way; we are here today because both of you have realized that there is love between you. And this love between the both of you is not squirrely - moving all over the place. But it is a love that has been tested by time, friendship, and trials. And so, today is the day where you publicly are abiding in this love. Think of it this way; you are publicly dwelling together in this love that you have for each other. No more chasing love, just abiding in love. Think of it this way: what the musicians sing about and what the movies dramatize about; you actually have this day.
Now, perhaps, I could say to everyone today, "Sami and Andrew will live happily
ever after." And the congregation could tilt their heads
and say, "Ahhhhh." I could wave a magic wand today and say, "Shazam, you are in love and a
couple. All is good." But as you know, even though you
have settled into love, this love can grow thin. The world, the devil, and your
own sinful natures have a way of eroding love.
Sami and Andrew, there will be times where your love will be
attacked. Sami, I guarantee you that there will be times where you sigh, shake
your head, and say, "What is up with
this guy – does he try to make me upset?" And Andrew, there will be
times where you shrug your shoulders and say,
"I don't know. I don't get it. Whatever." And then, right there,
your love will shift ever so slightly. This love will melt ever so slightly.
You will feel this happening, but you won't know what to do about
it.
Let's be honest; it is tough to love when others hurt us. Love
grows thin very quickly in the heat of a fight. Frankly speaking, once we find
and obtain love, this love still has a way of slipping out of our fingers. It has
a way of falling apart and crumbling. And so, that is why the reading of the
Gospel of John is so important for each and every one of us to this
day.
Sami and Andrew, hear me loud and clear! As important as your
love is for each other, this love cannot be the foundation for your marriage,
for it is a love that is susceptible to becoming flighty, dodgy, and evasive.
That is why you must abide in love that is bigger than your love for each
other. And that love is the love of Christ for you each.
Now, when I talk about the love of Christ, I am not speaking
about a Hallmark Gift Card kind of love. Speaking of the love of Christ is not
a fluffy religious sentiment rooted in sappy Christian coffee mug slogans. No,
the love of Christ is a love that sustains you, Sami, when your love for Andrew
and Andrew's love for you grows thin. The love of Christ is a love that cements
you in assurance, Andrew, when your love for Sami and Sami's love for you
shakes. The love of Christ is the kind of love that says to you,
"Sami, as good or as bad as it gets in life and marriage,
you are forgiven. You are not forsaken. You belong to Christ."
"Andrew, as good or as bad as it gets in life and marriage,
you are forgiven. You are not forsaken. You belong to Christ."
Sami, it is right here, abiding in Christ's love, that you are
able to muddle through this life, knowing that you are always loved. It is
right here, abiding in Christ's tender love that never fades or withers, so
that you can unconditionally love and respect your husband - Andrew.
Andrew, it is right here, abiding in Christ's love, that you are
able to muddle through this life, knowing that you are always loved. It is
right here, abiding in Christ's sacrificial love that never fails or wimps out,
so that you can unconditionally love and sacrifice for your wife – Sami.
And Andrew and Sami, as you abide in a love greater, bigger,
deeper, and wider than your love for each other, hear this,
"Nothing in this life will be able to drive a wedge between
you and Christ's love? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not
hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing,
not even the worst sins listed in Scripture. Come what may in your life and
marriage, none of it will faze you because Jesus loves you."
Sami and Andrew, it is my prayer for you, as you abide in the
love of Christ, that you may be absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing
living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable
or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can
get between you and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has
embraced you.
Sami and Andrew love each other deeply today. Rest in that fact
that there is no need to chase love – you have it. But, when this love becomes squirrely, rest in
the love of Christ that does not change and does not move. Rest in Christ’s
greater love that holds you and this marriage.
God bless you both.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
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