Faith Instills Love
aka
Faith Requires Mutual Love
Hebrews 13:1-3, 6; 1 Corinthians 13
or
Hebrews 13:1-3; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
International Sunday School Lesson
September 30, 2012
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough
With all of our many divisions out there we quite often cannot settle on a main title for the weekly Sunday School Lesson. This week is no exception but when we do have two there is usually one that speaks to me more than the others after I have read the scripture for the week. This week it is the one that considers that Faith Requires Mutual Love.
Although what is in sight here is not romantic love that is what usually is what we first think of when we see the word. And going with this idea of mutual or reciprocal love, I give you one word: Romeo. I’d be really interested to know how many people there are who could read Romeo and in almost the same instant not think Juliet. Because of what we know about them the two are one. There would have been no story with just one of them it took two.
But that was a reciprocal successful love, have you ever known the pangs of unrequited love? Spending months or years head over heels for someone and have it not returned to the same extent is about as painful as it can get especially when you are still young. It takes two.
I recently wrote about the scripture where we read in Hebrews without faith it is impossible for someone to please God. I tied in how for a parent how painful it can be when for seemingly no reason that child who you have always been there for accuses you of having not been. This type of pain for a parent is as terrible as any. The parent never stops loving. They love the child while carrying them for nine months and from infancy to adulthood. But occasionally the child turns from the parent and takes with them their love. It takes two.
The love of a parent is about as close as we can come to understand the love of the Bible in my opinion. The love we have for friends and romantic interests often changes as we grow or mature but the love of a parent is most often as steady as we flawed beings will get to understanding God’s love.
God loved us so much that He gave His Son for us. Jesus loved us so much that He gave His life for us. Like parents they knew what had to be done for us and like parents desire their child to love them in return so does God. It takes two.
We all know that God is perfect and since God is love (1 John 4:8) than love too is perfect. I can study God’s word until I can’t think of anything else but if I don’t live what I have been studying I have done nothing. I must have love.
If I read the scripture for today and I read of brothers, strangers, prisoners and the suffering I know that it takes two. Without someone giving love to one, no one is being helped nor being loved and neither is God. This is why in being asked in Matthew 22 what the greatest commandment in the Law was that Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” It really does take two, me and you!
Now I hope you will forgive me for going secular but ever since I landed on this week’s lesson I haven’t been able to get this Marvin Gaye song out of my head:
One can have a dream, baby
Two can make that dream so real
One can talk about being in love
Two can say how it really feels
One can wish upon a star
Two can make that wish come true
One can stand alone in the dark
Two can make the light shine through
It takes two, baby, it takes two, baby
Me and you, just take two
One can have a broken heart, living in misery
Two can really ease the pain like a perfect remedy, now
One can be alone in the far, like an island he's all alone
Two can make just a any place seem just like a being home
It takes two, baby, it takes two, baby
Me and you, it takes two
It takes two, baby, it takes two, baby
Me and you, it takes two
One can go out to a movie, looking for a special treat
Two can make that single movie, something really kinda sweet
One can take a walk in the moonlight, thinking that it's really nice
Ah but two walking a hand in hand is like adding just a pinch of spice
Oh, it takes two, baby, it takes two, baby
Me and you, it takes two
It takes two, baby, it takes two, baby
Me and you, oh, it takes two
It takes two, baby, yeah, it takes two, baby, yeah
It takes two, baby, yeah, it takes two, baby, yeah
It takes two, baby, yeah, oh, me and you, baby, yeah
Me and you, baby, yeah
It takes two, baby, yeah...
For Discussion:
1. Care to discuss whether you have been or are a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal?
2. Discuss whether love is something learned, added, developed and so on.
3. Discuss how people are doing in the area of being hospitable.
4. Find and discuss examples of love demonstrated from the scriptures.
5. Ask if anyone is troubled by today’s scripture.
6. Give examples of people who have demonstrated Christian love.
7. Read and discuss 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and Christ’s own words in Matthew 24:12.
Upcoming Adult Sunday School Class Commentaries
10-7-12: Stephen Defends His Faith aka Stephen’s Arrest and Speech Acts 6:8-7:2a, 22, 44a, 45b-49 or Acts 6:8-7:2a
10-14-12: Stephen is Faithful to Death aka Stephen’s Martyrdom Acts 7:51-8:1
10-21-12: Simon Wants to Buy Power Acts 8:9-25 or Acts 8:9-24
10-28-12: Philip Baptizes a Man from Ethiopia aka Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch Acts 8:26-39
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved
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