3. The Power of Love
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:3 (NIV)
Abraham was a man of great faith. But as we have seen from the above Scripture, faith is meaningless in the absence of love. Abraham was a man of love. Love, not as the world describes it, but as the Word defines it in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 (NIV):
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Let us take a peek into Abraham’s love.
1. Love for God
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,
1 John 5:3 (NIV)
We saw last week that Abraham obeyed God. His relationship with God went beyond obedience, it was one of worship ( he is recorded as having built the Lord 8 altars) and into friendship. No other man has been recorded as being considered a friend of God.
And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ” Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
James 2:23 (NIV)
His friendship with God was not based out of what he could get out of Him, but on his knowledge of the character of God.
By faith Abraham, even though he was past age – and Sarah herself was barren – was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.
Hebrews 11:11 (NIV)
2. Love for Lot
If we are real, many of us would not have been able to stomach Lot. His appears to be a frustrating relationship that only love could overcome.
We know from Genesis 12:4-6 that Lot accompanied his uncle Abraham to Canaan. After some time, Abraham ( then Abram) became very wealthy in livestock and in silver and in gold ( Genesis 13:2) and the two separated.
Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot… So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me,…Let’s part company…Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD…So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out towards the east. The two men parted company:
Genesis 13:5-11( NIV)
Selflessly, Abraham gave Lot the privilege of choosing his own land. Lot chose what he assumed was the best and left Abraham with what was deemed as the lesser land.
The prime land soon proved to be the lesser portion. Twice, Lot’s life and livelihood were at risk. Twice, Abraham stepped in and saved his life:
When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
Genesis 14: 14-16 (NIV)
Then the LORD said, ” Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?…Then he said, ” May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home…So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
Genesis 18:17, 32-33; 19:29)
In the first instance, Abraham risked his own life to rescue Lot. In the second instance, he used his friendship with God to deliver Lot. Not once is it mentioned that Abraham complained about Lot. It is not recorded that he used these instances as bargaining chips. Nowhere is it recorded that he made Lot feel guilty about needing to be rescued, or for choosing land unwisely. He simply loved Lot!
Your Turn
Love is not a feeling. You don’t love because you feel like it. Love is a decision. You decide to live out 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 even when everything is telling you not to. You decide to love even when the entire fiber of your being is telling you to do the exact opposite.
Love is not easy. It was not easy for the Father to sacrifice His only Son. But His love for the world made Him do it (John 3:16).
Will you make the decision to walk and live in love?
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8 (NIV)