Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Generation of Mark 13:30

At the beginning of Mark chapter thirteen Jesus is leaving the temple area and one of his disciples points out the grandure of the temple buildings. Jesus' remark to that disciple concerns the fact that these buildings will one day be torn down. The disciples question Him further as to the times of these events, and so begins an extended teaching from Jesus on the end times.As Jesus' remarks are drawing to a close, He makes this comment in Mark 13:30: "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (NASB) So the reader is left to wonder the meaning of this statement. Either our understanding of generation is wrong, or we are understanding what Jesus meant by "these things" wrong. I think there are at least two solutions. The word for generation (genea: Greek) could mean, as some side column reference Bibles note, "the human race". This is possible, since the events have not all happened and the human race...
15 comments
Read more

Children, Forgive Your Parents

Originally written on August 7, 2005 I remember the first time my father spoke to me as an adult. I was thirty. I had always looked up to my dad because he has many characteristics that are larger than life. Our relationship had always been that of a father and child. It did not change as I became a teenager and as I entered adulthood this unchanging relationship was the cause of much strain. So I was caught off guard as my dad began to speak to me over lunch one day at Chik-fil-a. As he spoke to me he began to confess the things that he had done wrong in raising my brother and me. It was a remarkable moment. Mainly because I noticed very few of his mistakes. He always worked to provide for us, loved my mother with all his heart, gave us plenty of hugs and kisses, and told us that he loved us everyday. So why would he admit to making mistakes in raising his children? After all, he had done a pretty exceptional job. The truth of the matter is that no matter how good we do as parents and...
1 comment
Read more

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Originally written on 12-18-2005 On December 9th Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media released The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This movie, based on a series of children’s books by the late C.S. Lewis, has already proven to be a financial success with a weekend worldwide income of over $107 million. How the movie will set with both Christians and non-Christians is still yet to be seen. The Christian imagery in this movie is readily apparent to any believer, especially to those well-versed in Scripture. However, these images may not be as visible to those who do not come from a church background. We would do well to ask- was this Lewis’ intent? Though many people call the Chronicles of Narnia a Christian allegory, Lewis himself described them in a different fashion. Lewis refers to this tale as a "supposal." In his own words he states, "Supposing there was a world like Narnia, and supposing, like ours, it needed redemption, let us imagine ...
Post a Comment
Read more