What True Life and True Love Really Are…

Jon Thurlow – Mighty Hand

The other day (4/14/13) I preached a message called “Stop Listening to Your Heart” at New Philadelphia Church, Itaewon. I consider it one of my stronger messages and highly recommend it (links are below).

While researching for the message I learned a lot about the soul (our mind, will, and emotions). The soul in Greek is “psuche” and is found throughout the New Testament. “Psuche” can be interpreted as: “breath of life, life, a living soul, the soul.” Here are some examples of the word “psuche” in Scripture…

1Peter 1:9 – For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls (“psuche”).

Matthew 10:39 – Whoever finds his life (“psuche”) will lose it, and whoever loses his life (“psuche”) for my sake will find it.

1John 3:16 – This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life (“psuche”) for us. And we ought to lay down our lives (“psuche”) for our brothers.

John 15:13 – Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life (“psuche”) for his friends.

When I read the previous three verses before, I always thought true love was literally dying for someone just as Jesus literally died for us on the Cross. But love is so much bigger than a brief sacrifice. I could ignore my wife for most of our lives together and then die for her years later, but that wouldn’t make the little love I had given her previously into true love. True love isn’t laying down your life (body) for another, but rather laying down your soul (mind, will, and emotions) for them. It’s a continual sacrifice. How else could we lay down our life (body) and then take up our cross and follow Jesus? The truth is that we are called to lay down our soul (mind, will, and emotions) and then take up our cross and follow Jesus.

If I want to give my wife true love, then I need to sacrifice my own selfish will, desires, and emotions on behalf of her needs. This is what it means to “die daily” to myself and walk in true love. For those who want to get married, check yourselves! If your life revolves around the desires of your soul, then you aren’t going to have much true love to give. But if you are already making sacrifices of some of the things you want in order to serve God and others, then you are becoming more and more of a true, loving person.

John 13:35 says that the world will know we are Christians by our love. That is because true love is completely against what the world and what Satan preaches. The world screams “Do what you want,” “Be who you want to be,” and “Listen to your own heart” (listen to my sermon for more details). Whereas the Holy Spirit gently whispers, “Lay down your will,” “Be like Christ,” and “Listen to the cries of the hurting and the lost.”

1Peter 4:8 – Above all else, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Direct link to the sermon: http://www.newphiladelphiachurch.com/podcast/2013/Itaewon/2013.04.14.sun%20-%20Stop%20Listening%20To%20Your%20Heart%20-%20jmb.mp3

Link to the iTunes podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/stop-listening-to-your-heart/id349467485?i=148238686