The Best Sermon Ever

I have attended a few churches through the years. When I worked in television on Sunday mornings, I had to endure about seven sermons. I have heard about every slant on Christianity going on out there and in many different styles. Of all the sermons I have heard, there is one that stands out as the best.

Norm Anderson delivered it when I lived in Edmonton. His style was often to pick a passage from the Bible and explain how it could be applied to everyday life. On that particular day he didn’t pick a passage. He didn’t even pick a whole verse. The whole message was comprised of only eight words.

“For God so loved the world, he gave …”

Until that moment I had a Hollywood idea of love. It was all warm, fuzzy and gushy. It involved a lot of words. Saying “I love you!” was so meaningful, especially if you said it with passion, exhaling as you delivered the line.

I learned that day that too many people look for love, the noun, instead of practising love, the verb. A precious love is not something you have. It is not something you make. It is something you give.

I can say, “I love you!” millions of times, and there is nothing wrong with doing that, but if I give nothing to show it, then my words are meaningless.

Norm talked about how really giving meant that you didn’t expect anything in return. If you expected something, then you were bartering. It also is not giving what you have in abundance, either. There are too many men out there with trophy wives. They can be lavish in their giving, because they have lots to give. No, true giving is giving something precious. The ultimate giving, thus, the ultimate love, is giving your life to somebody. Loving is not about me. It is about somebody else.

We all need to receive love, but if we want to be the best lovers out there, it is all in the delivery, not the receiving, of this precious commodity.

I think circumstances sometime make it difficult to practise love. I think of Goksel, a friend in Turkey. Regardless of a few years of not hearing from her, I have recently made contact and found that her lack of correspondence has been due to the fact that she has been grieving the death of her husband. My love for her certainly has been dormant through this period of time, but I never gave up. I will be the best friend I can be, but the distance will make it difficult. Also, my ability to give love will be influenced by her willingness to be in contact with me and to communicate. Before you get the wrong idea, I am not talking about romantic love. I am describing a love that thinks of the other person first.

Regardless, loving all comes down to giving, according to Norm Anderson. You know what? I think he was right.

Do you know somebody who needs encouragement right now? Is there a friend who is on your mind? Reach out and touch them. Give them your love. Don’t just tell them. Make your love an action verb, not a noun.