Essential THREE

SEVEN essentials
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Essential SIX

Essential SEVEN

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ESSENTIAL THREE

3. We will CARE FOR/LOVE OTHERS – we will be there for others in their needs – we will love each other as Christ commanded us to love – we will love others just as He loved us.

“Love is what you’ve been through with somebody.” James Thurber

“Think lovingly, speak lovingly, act lovingly and every need shall be supplied.” James Allen

“I would rather have eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear, lips that cannot speak, than a heart that cannot love.” Robert Tizon

“Love works in ways that are wondrous and strange, and there’s nothing in life that love cannot change.” Helen Steiner Rice

In this section we want to investigate being connected at a deeper level – friendships forged through deep love. Our model for CARING for others and LOVING them is our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s look at His life first and reflect on the depth of His love and care for us. Following each Scripture, summarize in your own words the depths of His love and care. How did He care? How did He love?

Core Verses

Consider Jesus

It should come as no surprise to us then that Jesus actually commands us to love each other just as He loved us.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13.34-35).

To start, let’s think together about how Jesus loved us. How did he love us? To what degree did He love us?

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Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12.1-2).

How did He show His love for us?

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He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5.21).

What does it mean that “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf?” To what extent did He love us? What did it mean for Jesus, who was sinless, to become sin for us?

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Let’s also consider the love of God Himself for both His Son and for us in perhaps the most well-known verse in the Bible.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3.16).

What does this verse teach us about the love God Himself has for both His Son and also for us?

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According to the prophet Isaiah, how might you describe the depths of what Jesus did for us? How did He love us? Reflect on each phrase. Describe each phrase through Jesus’ experience.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him (Isaiah 53.4-6).

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As we reflect on these great eternal truths, let’s remember that we are called (and commanded) to love each other as Christ loved us. This is a much deeper trait than simply being “connected” in friendships, the truth we emphasized in our second essential. This love and care goes beyond that truth.

Consider Paul

The apostle Paul exhorts us to live just as our Savior lived. Read these verses and then summarize the way he lived.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2.5-8).

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Stunning is all I can say. This is how God calls us to live with and love each other. Jesus was not just casually connected to us. He LOVED us in deep and profound ways. Explain.

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Having considered Christ’s new commandment for all who follow Him, let’s think of a few general biblical guidelines for our relationships with each other and how these verses apply in our aging years? These marks of our relationships with each other grow out of His example in the way He loved us in.

Consider Each Other

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6.1-2).

What does it mean to restore another person or to bear one another’s burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ?

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But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us (1 Thessalonians 2.7-8).

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My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you (Galatians 4.19).

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What is the relationship between loving someone as Christ loved us and wanting to “labor” on behalf of friends to see Christ formed in them? What might it mean for us to “labor” on behalf of others?

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We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose, also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me (Colossians 1.28-29).

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Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality (Romans 12.9-13).

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As a group, discuss the impact of caring – what does it mean, what does it look like, and what are the barriers that keep us from being a caring person or a caring community in our aging years?

Love Barriers

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Now Consider Satan

How does Satan work through the above barriers to keep us from loving and caring for others as Christ loved us?

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Applying the Truth – The Importance of This 3rd Essential (loving each other as Christ loved us) in Our Aging Years

As we age, the process of aging physically inevitably begins to catch up with us, and those aging challenges may present a whole new set of challenges for us. The apostle Paul noted this fact.

“Therefore we do not lose heart; though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4.16).

Can you make a list of the changes that often happen to the body as we age?

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Even though we used Jim Stump’s quote in the 2nd Essential, I cannot help but apply it again as we drill down in our network of relationships to love one another as Christ loved us, developing life-giving friendships.

“You and I are hardwired for relationships. We were created by God to love and to be loved by others. We were created for much more than casual friendships or acquaintances. We need deep and meaningful relationships with those God has put into our lives. We need people who will walk with us through the ups and downs of life, who will be there for us when times get tough, and who will look to us for help and support in their own struggles.

We need people who will intentionally invest in our lives. People who will pray for us when we are sick, counsel us when we’re confused, laugh with us when we are happy, defend us when we’re under fire, and offer a shoulder to cry on when life gets hard and cumbersome. People who will always be there for us, no matter what. People who need us as much as much as we need them” (Jim Stump, The Power of One-On-One: Discovering the Joy and Satisfaction of Mentoring Others, p.141).

It is in light of these aging challenges that we remind ourselves and the church that our responsibility as followers of Christ is to keep on loving each other as Christ loved us. How can we help each other in our aging years to love and to care for each other well? What are some action steps that can be taken to deepen the network of our friendships in this season of life?

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Here are some other questions to consider.

In what ways does our church have a responsibility to help care for and love our older members?
How can we encourage others and keep loving them as we all age?
What needs do others have that we could meet?
How might the church develop a strategy for caring for the needs of its aging members?
How might this strategy include younger folks from across the congregation?

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What might be your take-a-ways from this 3rd Essential?

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Consider taking advantage of the following resource – Age Ready Now is a way of evaluating the needs of the seniors in your congregation that might give some suggestions of how to love each other in stronger ways as we age together.

A Prayer for Continued Love for Others Just as Christ Loved Me

Lord, please help me to see the value of loving others just as You loved me. Please forgive me being either too casual about others or not wanting to go out of my way to extend Your love to others just as you gave Yourself for me. Teach me how to keep going out of my way to love others sacrificially just as You loved and gave yourself for me. In Jesus name, Amen.

SEVEN essentials STUDY GUIDE

SEVEN essentials
STUDY GUIDE