Following Jesus in the 21st Century -- Part 7: Learning to Love

This is Episode 86 of the Jesus Society Podcast. And with coffee firmly and lovingly embraced in my hands, we’re going to continue our series on Following Jesus in the 21st century, and in particular, our look at the importance and practice of love.

1. Last week we talked about the importance of learning to live both in, and from, the love of God.

2. We simply cannot give what we do not have, and loving others always grows out of and is fueled and energized by the experience and reality of God’s own love for us.

Today I want to talk a bit about how we actually learn to love. How we grow and cultivate the habits of heart and mind that allow us to generously and freely love others.

And what I mean by loving “generously and freely” is learning to love in a way that is not governed by a need for that love to be reciprocated. Because a lot of our love is selfish in that way; in other words, we love so that we will be loved. And of course, that's worlds apart from the New Testament’s assertion that “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

So, how do we cultivate the capacity for generous, self-giving love in our lives? That's what we're going to try and sort out today.

Join us as we discuss:

1. How temple imagery forms the backdrop for our understanding of  both God's self-giving love, and his call for us to extend that love to the rest of creation.

2. The problem with the word "love."

3. The challenge and difficulty of learning to love.

4. The place of authenticity and spontaneity in loving.

5. The concept of practicing loving.

6. Inheriting the family business of God our Father, and our apprenticeship in that business.

7. How the books of Colossians and especially Ephesians are really helpful in showing us how to develop the habits of heart and mind from which love can flow naturally.

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Thanks for listening!

And remember, you are greatly loved.

Music and audio production by Nathan Longwell Music 

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Resources for Today’s Show:

1. John H. Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate, 2009 (https://www.amazon.com/Lost-World-Genesis-One-Cosmology/dp/0830837043/ref=sr_1_1?)

2. Following Jesus in the 21st Century — Part 3: The Victory of the Cross (The Jesus Society Podcast, Episode 82, available at https://thejesussociety.com/2022/03/14/following-jesus-in-the-21st-century-part-3/)