Amazon Music
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/cc37ca77-9049-4a9b-bd84-e2697b06db4e
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
What are the necessities of life? Some people would quickly blurt out without even thinking, “Money!” Of course, money is essential in life. If we have no money, we can’t buy food, we can’t pay for the water bills.
Yes, without money, we can’t have the cash for life necessities, consequently we will be dead.
Many years ago, a famous artist chose to commit suicide. I overheard the conversation of a group of Christians. One said, “He had money and the good looks, I really don’t understand why he did this?” I was quite shocked and sad to hear that because I simply couldn’t believe even Christians thought that money was king in life.
Although the Beatles is an old-timer rock band, there are still young people who know their songs today. They have a song called “All you need is love”. Dear friends and Christians, we really need love. We need to be loved and we need to love the people around us.
1) No Love
Dreadful History
In fact, we have read many loveless stories in human history, which is sad and distressed. For the sake of power, status and racial discrimination, many ethnic groups slaughtered their countrymen. At the time of World War II, at least six million Jews were killed by the Nazis. In Cambodia, more than two hundred mass graves were found. Some people call these mass graves “killing battlefields.” Between 1975 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge communist regime conducted genocides in Cambodia. According to conservative estimation, about 25% of Cambodia’s population was wiped out, that is, between 1.5 to 3 million people. In recent years, the Myanmar government has secretly dealt with the Rohingya people. Most likely, the persecution is caused by their Islam faith and ethnicity. When I learned how the Myanmar soldiers abused the Rohingya people, it brought tears to my eyes. As the Rohingya people regard chastity as extremely sacred, the soldiers maliciously raped their women and girls, and because of that, many young women have become pregnant. Because of these unwanted babies, the Rohingya people regarded these young mothers as a disgrace to their families, that they were rejected by their own family members. Dear friends and believers, human beings can be completely loveless!
Sad News
In the news, we heard that a father smothered his two charming daughters to death. Not only that, he strangled and killed his pregnant wife. How can someone do such a thing? When people love only themselves, they can do terrible things to the people around them.
Real Life Stories
In real life, we also experience the dark side of people. When you are useful to some people around you, they will act lovingly toward you. But, when you had turned to be an “underdog”, all of a sudden, they would become hostile to you. People could be very cold-blooded. As I was writing this message, I recalled a song by Carole King. The lyrics goes like this:
When people can be so cold
They’ll hurt you, yes, and desert you
And take your soul if you let them
Oh, but don’t you let them
2) Not Enough Love
Husbands and Wives
When your toothpaste is about to run out, no matter how hard you try to squeeze it, it’s difficult to squeeze any out of it. People are not completely without love, but the problem is that, we don’t have enough love. Husbands and wives know very well that they should love their better half, but instead, they often offend their loved ones with an ugly speech and unkind look.
Parents and Children
Normally, parents love their children. Fathers and mothers usually regard their children as their precious jewels, but sometimes, intentionally or unintentionally, their words and works let their children down, causing these poor kids to feel like trash. Some parents try very hard to love their children, but oftentimes, they simply run out of love.
Human weakness
Some people are born with a lot of love but they also have moments of weakness too. If you think you are being ignored by somebody, you may feel he or she is loveless and cold. Don’t pay too much attention to it because all of us are human beings, and we are all lack of love at times. Definitely, there is love in the world, but occasionally we are lacking of it.
3) The Origin of Love
God Is Love
Bible scholars call the Apostle John the Apostle of love because he had deeply experienced the love of the Lord Jesus. How did he introduce God to the recipients in the letter he wrote? He sincerely declared that “God is love”. (1 John 4:8)
God’s Love
Before Paul became a Christian, not only he hated the followers of Christ, but he also tried his best to persecute them. However, after knowing Jesus Christ as the Messiah Saviour, he chose to love Him, and preached the Gospel, even disregarding his life. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul prayed for the believers that they could understand the width, the length, the height and the breadth of Christ’s love (Eph. 3:18).
Source of Love
If people love only themselves and don’t have any relationship with the true God, they won’t have the divine love to care for others. If we depend on our own strength to care for our family and friends, our strength will be limited. Therefore, we need to connect with God as He is the source of endless love. My computer is very important to me. If my house was on fire, I would risk my life to save my family, but I would definitely rescue my computer as well. My desktop computer is the library and storage of my sermons and audio-visual recordings that I produced for almost thirty years. However, without power supply, the computer is no use to me at all. Similarly, if we have the knowledge about love and really want to love someone, but we aren’t connected to the source of divine love, we wouldn’t have enough strength to love. God is the source of love and Jesus Christ demonstrated God’s love on the cross. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. In layman’s language, He is in fact God. All of us aren’t perfect, and we have the tendency to sin and have indeed sinned in many ways. For the sins of all human beings, the Lord Jesus died on the cross for them. If we are willing to confess our sins, repent and believe in Him, we would be forgiven and would be connected to the source of love. Although Christians have already known God, they are not always consciously linked with the source of divine love. By praying, reading the Bible, and meditating on the truths of the Lord, we can connect with His love. Most importantly, when we are willing to humble before God, praying, “Lord, I really want to love others, but my strength is not enough. I need your help.” I truly believe God would help us if we prayed like that!
Kenneth Thumb Ministry 譚約珥事工 