All you need is Love?
Posted in Brett's Posts 3 comments
Since its initial release in 1967, the Beatles' "All you need is Love" has been quoted referenced, even if people don't know it's the Beatles anymore. Wikipedia's article on the song calls it inspired and says it contains a clear message that love is everything. Lennon's goal was that it become a slogan for people stand behind. It is probably safe to say that he was successful. How many would actually argue against love being the answer?
A couple weeks ago (sorry I missed last week), I asked about the Francis of Assisi quote: "Preach the Gospel to all the world, and if necessary, use words." I wondered how this looks like, because most often my life doesn't look much different than the average person. If you saw me in Walmart, you might or might not immediately peg me for a Christian. I agree that words and actions need to go together, but is there any outward mark, anything that would clue someone into the fact that we are a Christian? In John 13:34, Jesus says "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (italics mine)
So, is love all that is needed? Is Lennon and other songwriters correct? Or is there something different and something more in the Christian love?
Brett
A couple weeks ago (sorry I missed last week), I asked about the Francis of Assisi quote: "Preach the Gospel to all the world, and if necessary, use words." I wondered how this looks like, because most often my life doesn't look much different than the average person. If you saw me in Walmart, you might or might not immediately peg me for a Christian. I agree that words and actions need to go together, but is there any outward mark, anything that would clue someone into the fact that we are a Christian? In John 13:34, Jesus says "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (italics mine)
So, is love all that is needed? Is Lennon and other songwriters correct? Or is there something different and something more in the Christian love?
Brett
3 comments:
I think to answer these questions, you have to consider Haddaway's question: "What is Love?"
(I just spent about 1/2 an hour on a great response to this post, but I lost it. And I need to go to bed now so recreating the brilliance will have to wait. Except for the excellent Haddaway joke. You get that now.)
I agree with where I think Hanna was going. There is a difference between secular love and Christian love and it all boils down to definition.
In the secular community, love is worldly. Depending on the type of love, expressing it could mean giving a physical gift, hugging the other person, or being there in a time of need. There are obviously many more ways that it could be expressed, but the end result is always worldly.
In the Christian community, love should focus on eternity. Certainly, there are worldly needs that we should attempt to help others to meet, but the focus should be on eternity. We could help a person in need build a house, but that house will only stand for a certain amount of time. We should also be helping them to build a house that will last into eternity with Christ as the cornerstone.
How all of that expresses itself on an everyday basis is a question for the ages. As always, we should look to Jesus as our example.
BTW Hanna,
Would you be interested in writing a guest blog for us sometime? E-mail me at matthias(dot)ride at gmail if you'd like to contribute in that way. :)
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