Unmistakable Love
How do you know when somebody really loves you? Sadly, some people go through life without ever feeling loved. This is no surprise since Jesus made it clear that in the last days, “the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). Have you seen that played out in our culture?
In the news we often hear stories that remind us of Jesus’ prophecy about love growing cold. One I heard was about a little girl was beaten to death by her stepfather, evidently for taking a cup of yogurt from the refrigerator. Another, two teens beat a homeless man to death with a baseball bat, apparently just for fun. What would lead people to do such cold, heartless things to other human beings? I don’t know, but somewhere in their twisted psyche is a lack of love. Perhaps they either didn’t feel loved or they truly weren’t loved in a way that would allow them to love others.
Love is the most potent tool God has given us for the healing and shaping of people’s hearts. His love is so powerful that the Apostle John reminds us, “God is love” (1 John 4:16). He doesn’t say, “God is logic,” or “God is speaking ability,” or “God is persuasiveness.” But many believers work much harder sharpening their skills in those areas, in hopes of winning souls to Christ, that they do honing their ability to demonstrate God’s love.
The power of God’s love is proved unequivocally in the story behind a movie that came out a few years ago called “End of the Spear.” I remember being part of an audience back in 1979 when Elisabeth Elliot shared the story of her husband, Jim Elliot, and four other young missionaries who were brutally speared to death by a band of young, primitive Waodani (formerly known as Auca) tribesmen in a remote area of the Amazon River in South America . All that the young missionaries were trying to do was share the love of Christ with them. They literally showered the tribe with gifts and supplies from their small plane in an attempt to establish contact before approaching them. Their acts of love were ignored and their young, twenty-something lives were snuffed out by the savages. Satan no doubt took momentary delight in the seeming defeat of God’s most powerful tool: His love.
As the movie evidently aptly shows, the story didn’t end there. It was only the beginning. Family members of the slain missionaries, including Elisabeth Elliot and her young daughter, actually went to live with their loved ones’ killers, translating the Scriptures into their previously unwritten language, demonstrating the love of God and leading many, including the leader of the murderous band of Waodanis, to Christ.
How do you know when somebody really loves you? Jesus gave us the answer by dying on the Cross for us. It is the unmistakable message behind the story upon which “End of the Spear” is based. When someone is willing to die for you, the power of that kind of love is undeniable. That love changes things. As for the Waodanis, it changed murderers into missionaries! It has likely changed you too.
In Luke 13, we see Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem Israel
“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” —Colossians 1:13 NKJV
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