Beatles, Shakespeare, and Advent
“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in Heaven.”
What do William Shakespear, The Beatles, Elvis, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Sam Cooke, Robert Smith, The Proclaimers, The Righteous Brothers, Walt Disney, the Hallmark Channel, Jane Austin, and Casablanca all have in common? Yes, that’s right, love. All were famous for their themes of love. Each had their own way of depicting what love is. Love goes by slowly, does so much, makes us whole, it’s a prince, princess, and a happy ending. We hunger for it, walk a 1000 miles for it, can’t help falling for it, always staying together for it, and will always have Paris. It can be the sun or even a ridiculous meeting of a corporate woman and a simple farm boy who ends up having more than just a farm in the end. This is how the world perceives love.
Throughout history, love has been the theme of all literature. All humans experience love; it’s a universal theme. Regardless of how selfless we try to love though, we always seem to only love when it’s easy. Love always makes sacrifices for the ones we love. As a husband, I would give my life for my wife because of my love for her. As a parent, I can testify that there isn’t a circumstance that would cause me to stop loving my children. Even a twenty-six hour drive doesn’t separate my love for family. Yet, no one seems to quite reach the depth of love as God did the night He gave us His Son.
So what’s the difference? God didn’t send his Son to love only those whom He favored, but came to love all people. As John so famously wrote, “For this is how God loved the World. He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” Even Paul in his letter to Timothy instructs him to explain to people that through our lives of peace and godliness, others will be saved which is what God desires. Did you get that? God desires all to be saved and understand the truth. (I Timothy 2:3)
All people speak of and seek after love. How is God’s love any different? At the end of chapter five of Matthew, Jesus draws the line differentiating human love and God’s love. He says,
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven…If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.”
Matthew 5: 43-47
One of my favorite modern day examples of this love is what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. promoted as a civil rights activist. Those who joined him had to be examples of this type of love. It didn’t matter what the crowd or officials did to them, Dr. King understood what Jesus meant when He said to love those who persecute you. My favorite quote from Dr. King has always been, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” He was not talking about an earthly love that comes about because of a warm fuzzy feeling we get. He was talking about the love of Christ. Love that we have for not just those who we love or even like, but to those who would even persecute us for Christ’s sake. This is a love the world does not understand. They want their pound of flesh for the transgression against them. I use this quote in my classroom and explain to students that hate doesn’t drive out hate. When someone wrongs us, we should forgive them. Unfortunately and expectantly, that doesn’t go over well with them.
John also describes God’s love in his first letter. He says we know what real love is “because Jesus gave His life for us…God showed us how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (John 3, 4). He died for us. But not the good version of us. Paul also says the same thing, you were a sinner, and Christ still died for you. That is sacrifice. Dying for someone that hates you. Someone that still curses you and fights against you. I don’t know about you, but I can’t do that. That love seems impossible. And of course it is. Love like that comes only from God and we are only capable of loving in such a way because of God. Remember where love comes from? Paul says it's from the Spirit, and if He is in us, the first fruit of His presence will be… you guessed it, LOVE!
So this Advent season, let us remember love humbled in a manger, love humbled fellowshipping with the outcast, and love nailed to a cross. Rejoice and bear the fruit of love so freely given by the Spirit. Allow it to overflow from us in how we interact or speak to others. And while the world will sing and write about its version of love, we can be confident in the true meaning of love. Love Himself came down and gave His life for us, bringing us back into relationship with Him.
