By Tanya Thomack
With edits, additions and formatting by Stephanie Nannen and Jason Poon
INTRODUCTION
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
- John 13:34-35
The world is filled with thoughts and ideas about love. From birth, our family of origin informs what we believe about love. As we grow up, our different experiences with people shape our definition of love. And our culture bombards us with conflicting messages about love. These three sources work together to create a picture in our minds about what love is like. More often than not, that picture is only a misconstrued, shadow of the real thing.
But then we truly encounter the love of God. A love that compelled God to come after us in the midst of our sin, rebellion, and rejection. A love that drove God to send Jesus as a sacrifice to pay our debt and bring us back into relationship. A love that propelled God to embrace undeserving sinners as the father embraced his prodigal son.
When we encounter this love, our worldly definitions of love are shaken to their very core. As stated in the article, “Epic is About Love”:
Our broken images of love as pleasing, performing, tolerating, or controlling all must be redeemed and give way to God’s perfect love that calls for worship and obedience of God Himself, and a deep honoring of one another as God’s image bearers.
Do you know the meaning of the word prodigal, as in “The Parable of the Prodigal Son” from Luke 15, referenced earlier? We often use the word to describe a child who is rebellious against their parents and engaging in sinful pursuits. But that connotation is only partially correct. Prodigal means wastefully or recklessly extravagant; lavish. It refers specifically to the son’s wasteful, reckless spending of his inheritance.
With this definition, you could make a case for renaming the story “The Parable of the Prodigal Father.” For it is the father who is recklessly extravagant and lavish with his love. Some might even say foolish. But that is how our God loves: recklessly, extravagantly, lavishly, foolishly.
FOR GROUP STUDY
Read through these passages from the Gospels and answer the following questions:
Matthew 26:6-13
- Who are the people in the story?
- What does this story teach us about love?
- How does this story challenge your ideas of what love looks like?
- How does this story challenge the cultural norms of the time? How does it challenge our modern cultural norms?
Luke 15:11-32
- Who are the people in the story?
- What does this story teach us about love?
- How does this story challenge your ideas of what love looks like?
- How does this story challenge the cultural norms of the time? How does it challenge our modern cultural norms?
John 13:1-16
- Who are the people in the story?
- What does this story teach us about love?
- How does this story challenge your ideas of what love looks like?
- How does this story challenge the cultural norms of the time? How does it challenge our modern cultural norms?
WRAP-UP
Those of us that bear the name “Christian” need to be grounded in the truth of God’s love. Not only is love the basis of our relationship with God, it is the basis of our relationship with everyone in the world.
All of us fall short of God’s perfect example. Our distorted views and experiences of love impact how we love others. And as long as we continue trying to love people out of ourselves, we will only be able to offer what this world offers. We must first understand how God loved us, so we can live out the high calling we have been given to love others.
Our love needs to be transformed. As we become more grounded in the truth of God’s love for us, we are transformed. As we experience and rest in God’s extravagant love for us despite our sin, our failure, and our weakness, we are transformed. As we forgive others for the broken love they gave us, we are transformed. Our old notions of love fall away, and they are replaced with the pure love of God.
We go out in the power of the Holy Spirit, grounded in God’s love for us. We go out to love the lost, the hurting, the broken, and those that don’t realize they are lost, hurt, or broken. And as a city on a hill, our love shines out to a dying world and speaks of something greater.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- What did you learn about love from your family of origin? Who else in your life has significantly shaped your concept of love?
- How is the love you experienced similar or different from God’s love?
- Is it easy or difficult for you to embrace the truth about God’s love for you?
- How has your understanding of God’s love enhanced or hindered your ministry?
- What did love look like growing up in your home?
- Name the person who has loved you the most unconditionally in your life. What kind of impact did/do they have on you and your imagination about God?
- How does your background affect the way you interact with your team? How does it affect how you expect your team to love you?
- How is God’s love uniquely displayed through Asian American cultures?
- How is God’s love experienced and expressed in our movement? Where is our movement falling short on this?
- How would Jesus love people on the broader campus, not just those in your movement?
- How would students on your campus describe Epic? What is Epic known for on your campus?
ACTION POINT
What is one thing your movement can do to demonstrate God’s love to others on campus, or in the larger community around campus?