A Community Built On Love

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are…” – 1 John 3:1

Baseball is a community activity. You need all nine people helping one another. Everyone has a role and a set of skills they must apply if the team is to be successful. One of the most exciting plays in baseball is the suicide squeeze. The manager gives the sign. The players need to get the sign. The runner on third cannot tip his hand that he is running and the batter can’t tip his hand that he is bunting. The batter gives himself up for the good of the whole. In baseball, you often find your own good in the good of the whole. You find your own individual fulfillment in the success of the community. That sounds very familiar doesn’t it?

No matter how many times I read the Bible, I still can’t fully grasp the love of Jesus. He loved those that did not expect it or deserve it. His love changed everything. The love Jesus showed on the cross restored us to who we were created to be so we could live the Home Run Life we were created to live. His love is something given to us and something He has given through us. God came as man in the person of Jesus Christ to deliver His special message of love and salvation.

This love given to us enables us to do life with and through others. Jesus said in John 13:34 that we are to love others as He has loved us. It is easy to view this verse as another rule that we are supposed to try and follow. The truth is that loving others is an overflow of receiving God’s love and a byproduct of a life committed to Him. When we receive the love God demonstrated for us, then love will come out of our life. We owe people an encounter with the love that has been given to us. We want people to know Northstar for our love.

We are looking at Second Base, how to Win With Others, this week in the daily devotional. As we discuss community and doing life with others I want you to ask the following questions: what is the quality of your love for other believers? For nonbelievers? When you leave first base and have connected with Christ you will love what He loves. The spoke of a bicycle wheel connects with the hub. Jesus is the hub and the spokes get closer together as they connect with the hub. You can’t be close to Jesus and not love others.

Discussion Questions:

1. Have I treated my love toward other believers as a commandment, or a suggestion?
2. How do I practically serve the Christians I am in relationship with?
3. Do I judge my spiritual strength by comparing myself against others, or by comparing myself to Jesus?
4. What do you take away from 1 Peter 1:22-23a: “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again…”
5. What happens when Christians carry out Christ’s commandment to love one another? What happens when they do not?