Week 10 - The Vine
What we talked about In youth on Sunday
Sunday we discussed John 15:1-17, in which we learned that Jesus is the vine who shows us what love is, and who invites us—the branches—to partner with him in loving others. And to help us understand this better, we considered the following question: What is love?
Love is one of those words we use in many different ways, which makes it difficult to define. Sometimes we use love to describe the feeling we have for another person. Other times we use love to express how much we enjoy a certain type of food, or even to say how much we care about a local sports team.
While using love in those ways feels familiar, the Bible’s use of love feels a bit different. In John 15:12-13, Jesus says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
From this we noted two important points about love. First, Jesus shows us what love is. Second, Jesus commands us to love others as he loves us.
But what is love according to Jesus? Well, in the verses above Jesus says that love is the laying down of one’s life for another. Amazingly, Jesus did not simply say this. He displayed it by laying down his own life for the good of all.
However, as one student pointed out on Sunday, “Laying down my life for someone sounds really hard.” Indeed it does! And part of why it sounds so difficult is because laying down our lives for another is something we are commanded to do in more ways than one.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 tells us that “love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
When we are patient and kind, not envying or boastful, not arrogant or rude, do not insist on our own way, are not irritated or resentful, and do not rejoice at wrong doing, we are laying down ourselves and our preferences for the benefit of those around us and in so doing are loving others.
While there may be a time when God calls us to literally die for someone else, we can still love others in the meantime by living a 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 lifestyle of patience, kindness, humility, and so on.
And since love is not a feeling, but is a choice we make and an action we take (something Pastor Ashley has told us many times), we can participate with Jesus in loving others by choosing to act in loving ways every day.
Continuing the conversation at home
Ask your kids sometime this week what they learned love is on Sunday. Remind them that love is not a feeling, but is an action and a choice. Since it is an action and a choice, ask them to think of some ways they can choose to live as 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes.