I. SERMON NOTES​

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Introduction

The preacher shared that being a grandfather of four grandchildren has been a continuing education—whether it is running around the house, throwing cushions, sharing hugs, or having serious conversations about God when their parents tell them, "Why don't you go and ask Gong Gong?" We may sometimes be skeptical about a child's understanding of love, but loving back is precisely where they begin to grow.

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This dynamic is not just present within families; it defines our relationship with God. The Scriptures remind us that we love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). The urge to love is a natural human passion because the One who created us is love.

 

Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love (Ephesian 1:4 MSG). Even knowing beforehand that humanity would rebel (Isaiah 48:8), He created us out of love and established a plan of redemption through His Son, Jesus Christ. We were made from love, with love, and for love—not merely to be recipients of love, but to be givers as well.

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1. Love as (C)Hesed and Agape

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To understand the depth of Christian love, we must look to the rich biblical words that describe God's heart:

• (C)Hesed (Hebrew): Used about 250 times in the Hebrew Bible, translators historically struggled to find a single English word that captured all its subtleties, often rendering it as mercy, faithfulness, grace, kindness, or loyalty. In the early 17th century, Bible translator Myles Coverdale coined the term "lovingkindness". Hesed refers to God's unfailing love, steadfast love and covenantal faithfulness. ‘We love because He first loved us’ 1 John 4:19. It is God declaring to us:

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"I love you. I will always love you, so that when you know My love for you, you will want to love Me back. I will keep loving you even when you don't love Me and fail to keep loving Me. I will never stop loving you."

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• Agape (Greek): In the New Testament, agape continues this rich understanding of hesed as God's selfless, self-giving love, but adds a radical, costly dimension of sacrifice. Normal obligations no longer apply; agape is fully formed and embodied in Jesus Christ, who gave His life to redeem us from sin.

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Together, hesed and agape demonstrate that God's love is not just an idea, emotion, or abstract ideal—it is faithful, sacrificial, and rooted entirely in His unchanging character. Hesed-agape fully formed in Jesus Christ.

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2. Faithfulness and Love are Character Foundations

 

When thinking about our theme of a faithful school rooted in God's love, we see that faithfulness and love are intrinsically bound together smack in the middle of God's character. We were made from love, and with love, to love.

 

When we truly love someone, we will be faithful. When we make wedding vows to love until death parts us, declaring ourselves faithful is how we express our love.

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As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:4–8, faithfulness expresses itself through the characteristics of love:

"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 wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

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When we are faithful to someone, we are patient and willing to wait—and crucial to love, we are kind while waiting. Love is not simply about being patient; it is about being kind while patient, rather than letting selfish concerns or negative emotions take over.

 

While our Methodist schools have done well academically and seek to nurture students to be faithful to values, this faithfulness is ultimately not just loyalty to an institution.

 

In light of hesed and agape, it is being faithful to the Lord, who continues to shape, nurture, and transform students to be salt and light in the world.

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3. Experiencing and Reflecting God's Love

 

God's love is not transactional; He does not love us conditionally on the proviso that we love Him back or behave well. Consider the sacred connection between a mother and her newborn baby. Before the baby can speak, return affection, or say thank you, the mother pours out relentless care—feeding, holding, and soothing through exhaustion. Science shows that the hormone oxytocin creates a powerful emotional bond during childbirth and breastfeeding, motivating the mother to stay even when drained.

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Yet, as scripture reveals in Isaiah 49:15, God's love is even stronger than a mother's bond:

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"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you."

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Human mothers may occasionally fail or abandon a child due to circumstances, but God never forgets. His love is not triggered by hormones or performance; He loves us simply because He chose to love us, and it is His very nature to do so. In a world where love is often transactional, God's love is one-sided, initiating, and sustaining.  He loved us before we loved Him, and His love does not begin with our worthiness or performance.

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This level of divine love cannot be plotted or prepared in a curriculum, nor can it be taught merely in a classroom—it must be lived and experienced. Having known who this love is, we are called to draw near to the Father, receive His love, and love Him back.

 

Conclusion

 

Receiving God's love is never meant to end with us merely loving Him back in isolation. His love compels us to go out and love others, because the very nature of God's love is that it cannot be kept to oneself—it must be given away.

 

As Jesus prayed to the Father:

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"I have made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

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May that prayer of Jesus be true for all of us today. May we know the profound love with which the Father has loved the Son, hungering and thirsting to draw near to Him, so that we may be transformed into people who love others just as He has loved us.