Love the Lord Sincerely
Mark 14:1-9
Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim
“I will give half my possessions to the one who loves me.” If a rich man declares this, will he really be sincerely loved? If someone hears this and chooses to marry him, was their decision based on sincere love?
The most important thing for Christians is their sincere love for the Lord. “If you love the Lord, you will receive glory.” “If you live by faith, you will receive power to overcome the world.” These words are correct, but they are not the essence of the truth. Should you love the Lord to gain some benefit? Should you offer yourself to gain some reward? Can we call this sincere love?
When God made mankind, He expected something from them. It was for them to love God. But mankind became corrupt, so they lost what was originally expected of them. They should have shown their love for God, even if they offered everything they owned. But mankind first considers the reward they will receive when they love God. This is how we behave.
Of course, God also talked about the rewards we will receive when we love Him. Yet this was to motivate and encourage us to love Him instead of set our affections on the world. He was not talking about the essence of the truth. The world is where the Son of God was killed. God wants to take us from this sinful place, not help us defeat the world’s competition by trusting in God.
The world is sick and this sickness is impossible to cure. All mankind became corrupt and we are the same. However, we can at least turn our hearts so that we restore our love for God. There is no person who does no evil at all. But we should root out the desire to cause trouble for the church whenever it grows. We should seize this last chance to love the Lord.
A few days before the Lord suffered, He stayed at the house of Simon. A woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She broke it and poured it on the Lord’s head. Judas Iscariot witnessed this and scolded her, yet the Lord said she did it to prepare for His funeral. This woman’s actions were a great comfort and encouragement to the Lord, since He walked on a lonely path to save mankind.
Though this woman sensed that the Lord was going to die, she did not think He would return to life. Nonetheless, she broke the jar in the Lord’s presence and showed her gratitude and love. She did not act to be rewarded by the Lord. Though the Lord’s death signified His failure – she wanted to thank the Lord for what she received and express her sincere love. This may have been the last chance for her to honor the Lord, so she poured her soul to Him together with the perfume.
The time we have is our last chance to love God. We cannot suddenly return to how God expected us when He created mankind, but our greatest joy is our ability to love God and worship Him. Like the woman who broke the jar of perfume, let’s worship the Lord without fussing about conditions. Let’s love Him sincerely without wanting something in return.
ON 3Minute Sermon
(Lord’s Day Service on January 9, 2022)