Super Bowl Sunday
This past we witnessed yet another Super Bowl Sunday!
It’s the game where the two best teams, or at least the last two teams standing, face off to be crowned as World Champions.
It’s our hope that the best team will win! In other words, that the team with the most power, the team with the ability to overpower the other team, will win!
We live in a world obsessed with power. And Super Bowl Sunday, as much as I like to watch the game, is yet another reminder of our preoccupation with power.
Read More about Power and Love Here.
But power isn’t the problem. It never has been. It’s the way we use the power we’ve been given that’s the problem.
When we exert our power OVER others instead of FOR others, that’s a problem.
When we use our power for our own GAIN and our own GLORY, that’s a problem.
BUT…
When you use the power you’ve been given to make a difference in the life of another person because of love, you will make an eternal impact!
[Tweet “When you use the power you’ve been given to make a difference in the life of another person because of love, you will make an eternal impact!”]That’s the power of love. That’s power + love.
It’s often quiet. It doesn’t make the news or grab the headlines. It probably won’t make you famous. But it will make an eternal impact in the life of another person.
It’s my belief that this is Paul’s entire intention in 1 Corinthians 13. He wants love to change the origin of everything we do.
The Power of Love
One of my favorite stories happened many years ago. There’s nothing really special about the story. It’s ordinary in so many ways. But it’s a story of great love.
This is the way it works for world changers. So many times they don’t know they’re world changers. They just live the way of love, they use the power they’ve been given to love others and God takes that gift and multiplies it.
The story is about a little boy in elementary school who had come down with the Chickenpox. As you probably know chickenpox is highly contagious. Because it’s so contagious the boy couldn’t go to school until the virus had run its course. The only problem was that the boy’s parents both worked. The dad couldn’t take off from work. The mom couldn’t take off from work. And the boy was too young to stay home by himself.
If the grandparents or any other family members had lived closer they might could have helped out. But they all lived hours away.
A lady at their church found out about the situation. She called the mom and told her she would be more than happy to watch their son during the day even though he was sick, even though he was highly contagious.
I didn’t realize how significant that story was until a few years ago when my wife and I moved to Texas. Moving here meant leaving family behind for us. And we were willing to do that.
One of the difficulties, if I’m just being honest, is that when one of our kids is sick we have to take turns taking off work to stay home because no one really wants to take care of your sick kids. That’s a lot to ask!
For the most part, we’ve been able to manage that. But a few weeks ago one of our kids got sick and it was one of those weeks where my wife and I both had work commitments and we weren’t sure how we were going to navigate keeping our child home during the day. We needed help.
That’s when a lady from our church texted my wife and offered to keep our sick child if we needed help. As soon as my wife read that text, her eyes filled with tears.
Why?
Because someone was putting their power up under us with great love.
I’ll never forget when I was the boy with chickenpox and I got to stay at Mrs. Nancy’s house until I was better and able to return to school.
And we’ll never forget the person who offered to keep our child when she was sick and we needed help.
Neither one of these people is famous. Neither one of these people is looking for accolades. But they were willing to use their power with love to make a difference for others.
World Changers
Paul said, “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13.3
Jesus did “give everything… and even sacrificed his body, because he DID love others.”
Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” – John 13.35
[Tweet “”Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” – Jesus”]And because of his love for you and me, we are here today. This is the way of love. It’s placing the power you’ve been given up under others because of your love for them. When we do that it makes an eternal impact.
I don’t remember who won the Super Bowl 30 years ago, but I’ll never forget Mrs. Nancy. Because Love + Power makes an eternal difference.
May everything we do come from love, and not just any love, the love of Jesus. It’s a different kind of love. It’s a selfless love. A self-sacrificing love.
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