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Love Them Less

Training Our Hearts To Love Christ Above All Else

There is a reason why the phrase True Love Waits is absent from our church this February. It is not because we do not value sexual purity among our youth- we most certainly do. It is the motive behind it that causes me to depart from the traditional phrase.

There are at least two mistakes that I want to avoid. First, I don’t want to spend too much time congratulating those who have held on to their virginity, for fear that those who have not may think themselves unfit to serve Christ with their lives. Secondly, there is a deeper heart issue at stake, namely a love and passion for Jesus Christ. This can be missed if we try to frighten abstinence into our teens with talk of AIDS and teen pregnancy.

Love Them Less takes a different approach. It is based on a poem by Dr. John Piper entitled "Love Her More and Love Her Less." The poem, originally written for his son’s wedding day, speaks to the fact that the spouse is to take the position of greatest love in your life, save that of Jesus Christ. I want the youth to understand that one day they will love their spouse more than their career, their friends, more than their parents, and even more than themselves. But even this great love must come second to the love that they have for Jesus Christ.

A Christ centered view of sexual purity calls everyone to repentance, both the chaste and the unchaste. It also keeps those who have remained sexually pure from thinking themselves better than those who have not. It removes pride, instills humility, and exalts the One who purifies us from our sins- The Lord Jesus Christ.

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