Today, I would like to share a message titled: Love Celebrates Godliness.
Today’s popular culture tells us that you have the right to choose who you love; you should just follow your feelings and not care about what others think.
So, some men marry men, and some women marry women.
A few days ago, there was even a news story about a woman in Japan who married her AI robot boyfriend.
AI is entering our daily lives. Sometimes it’s good, but sometimes it’s not.
I was even tempted to do the same thing.
One day, when I was watching videos on Facebook, an advertisement appeared.
The woman in the video said to me, “I am your AI girlfriend.” She told me I just needed to move my finger and install an app, and I could have a robot girlfriend right away.
But the Bible clearly tells us that marriage is between one man and one woman—not two men, not two women, not a man and an animal, and not a woman and a robot.
In today’s world, there are many temptations that try to lead our love away from the teaching of the Bible.
The Bible tells us that love has values and boundaries.
1 Corinthians 13:6 says, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
This means you cannot love everything or everyone. You can only love what is allowed within the truth.
After the Israelites left Egypt, they stayed at Mount Sinai. Moses went up the mountain alone to receive God’s commandments. The people of Israel stayed below. When Moses did not come back for forty days, they became afraid. They thought Moses might have died. So they asked Aaron to make a golden calf for them. This made God very angry.
So Moses came back and said to them, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him. Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you put a sword on your side. Go back and forth through the camp from one gate to another, and each of you kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”
This is a very cruel command, isn’t it?
Yesterday they ate and played together, but today one must obey God’s command and kill the other.
But on that day, no one asked, “God, didn’t you tell us to love our brothers, friends, and neighbors? Why do you tell us to kill them today?” Because they all knew that these people had led Israel to worship idols and rebel against God. They could no longer love them, because to love them would be to love sin. And that would go beyond the boundary of truth.
In 2001, a tragedy happened in China.
An elderly couple was killed in their own home. The killer was their own son, named Yu.
When Yu was four years old, his biological father died. Later, his mother married another man. She always felt sorry for Yu and tried to make it up to him. She did not let him do any work, and she never corrected him when he did something wrong. His stepfather was also very kind to him and never got angry with him.
When Yu grew up, he began to smoke, drink, and gamble. His parents knew this, but they still did nothing because they were afraid he would get angry. When villagers told his parents that Yu had done bad things, they did not correct their son. Instead, they blamed the villagers. They loved him in the way they thought was right, but in the end, it only turned him into a worse person.
On the day of the crime, Yu asked his parents for money. He wanted to buy a mobile phone for a prostitute, but his parents had no money left. His mother complained softly a few times. Yu could not accept this and lost control. He killed both of them.
After he was arrested, the police asked him why he did it. He said, “My parents were also responsible—they spoiled me too much and never disciplined me.” Even he himself knew clearly what the real reason was.
Proverbs 13:24 says: “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.”
If love is a train, truth is the track. A train can only move safely on the track, and love must always move within the truth.
The Bible also gives us many negative examples in this area.
Saul loved his own honor more than he loved God,
so the LORD rejected him as king.
Solomon loved foreign women and turned away from the God
who had appeared to him twice,
and this led to the division of the kingdom.
Judas the betrayer loved money more than he loved Jesus.
In the end, he ended his life by hanging himself.
Their love was like a train out of control—
leaving the tracks and plunging into destruction.
But there are so many truths in this world.
One plus one equals two is a truth.
That Eapen is Chinese is also a truth.
Which truth should our love focus on most?
Let us look for the answer in the Bible.
The Bible tells us about three times when there is great celebration in heaven.
The first time was when Jesus was born: Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:13-14)
The second time is when someone believes in Jesus; Jesus said: “there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:7)
The third time is when Jesus comes back again, according to Revelation 19:1-2: “After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God”
This shows that these events are truly important and deeply worth celebrating.
Behind these three situations lie three important truths:
First, Jesus’ birth brought hope to all people.
Second, those who believe in Him receive forgiveness.
Third, He will return as the King of kings to judge the world and to take His people home.
When do you usually celebrate?
You might celebrate when your husband gets a promotion, or your wife gets a new car, or when your child is admitted to a good university. There is nothing wrong. You love them, so when they grow and succeed, you are sometimes even happier than they are.
But in heaven, no celebration is held for these kinds of things.
Will the angels say, “Look, Eapen has just bought a new car—a Toyota, 2020 model, four-wheel drive. Let’s blow the trumpets and celebrate!”
No! That will never happen. From the perspective of eternity, these things are really not important. You cannot take that car with you into heaven.
If we look at life by heaven’s standard of celebration, we should celebrate godliness.
If one day your husband comes home with his head down and says, “I lost my job, and we don’t have money to pay next month’s rent.”
Don’t panic. Ask him one question:“Do you still love God?”
If he says yes, then say to him,“Let’s celebrate, because your name is written in the Book of Life.”
If one day your wife tells you, “I put diesel fuel into the gasoline car, and the engine is already ruined.”
Don’t get angry. Ask her,“Do you still believe that God’s plan for us is good?”
If she says yes, then you should say,“Let’s celebrate, because God will work all things for our good.”
If one day your child comes to you and says, “My teacher decided that I have to repeat a grade.”
Don’t be disappointed. Ask your child, “Are you still willing to follow Jesus?”
If the answer is yes, then take your child to Burger King and celebrate, because your child is truly blessed.
I am not just talking big. I know a real story.
One of my teachers is also a pastor who lives in the United States. One evening, his daughter was driving him to take care of some things. She was a new driver, and because it was night, she made a small mistake and crashed into another car.
At that moment, my teacher said to his daughter, “Don’t be nervous. Let’s praise God together.”
Can you believe that? They praised God and celebrated right there at the scene of the accident. Why not? Neither of them was hurt. The car was damaged, but their faith was still strong, God’s plan is still good.
As they praised God, their hearts became calm very quickly.
Since they were responsible for the accident, they had to pay for the repair, and the repair shop gave them a bill for 501 dollars.
The next day, my teacher received a 500-dollar offering check that had been sent months earlier but arrived exactly when he needed it most.
He was very thankful and knew he only needed to pay one more dollar himself.
When he went to pick up the car, he paid the repair shop owner 501 dollars, just as the bill said. The owner then said, “I’ve decided to charge you only 500 dollars.”
God did not even want him to pay that one extra dollar—His grace was sufficient.
I believe that their praise at the accident scene pleased God, and God stepped in to help them.
If you were in the same situation,
would you make the same choice? Many times, this is very hard for us,
because the damaged car is something we can see, but God’s plan is something we cannot see. Our emotions are often influenced more by what we can see.
But 2 Corinthians 4:18 tells us:“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
You may ask, “If I cannot see it, how can I fix my eyes on it?”
The answer is: through faith.
Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
As Christians, we have one more pair of eyes than others — the eyes of faith.
These eyes help us see things that our physical eyes cannot see.
Through these eyes, I see Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father—not the left, but the right—watching over us, praying for us, and preparing a new heaven and a new earth.
Through these eyes,I also see the Book of Life in heaven, with my name written in it. I don’t know on which page, but I know my name is there.
Faith turns the words of the Bible into a picture written on our hearts. This picture has no color and no lines, yet it is rea l— more real than what our eyes can see.
Sometimes,our eyes can deceive us.
We may see someone who looks kind and gentle, but in reality, that person may be cruel.
But when we fix our eyes of faith on the Bible, the picture we receive is the truest picture of all.
The testimony I’m about to share is very well known.
Some of you may have heard it before.
George Mueller was one of the founders of the Brethren movement. Throughout his life, he cared for 10,024 orphans. He was well known for praying with strong faith.
One time, Mueller was on a ship to Quebec for an important meeting.
On the way, a thick fog came, and the ship might arrive late.
Mueller approached the captain and said calmly:
“Captain, I must be in Quebec by Saturday afternoon.”
The captain replied honestly,
“That is impossible. With this fog, we cannot reach Quebec on time.”
Mueller answered quietly,
“If this ship cannot take me there, God will find another way. I have not missed a single engagement in fifty-seven years.”
The captain said,
“I would gladly help you, but I can do nothing.”
Then Mueller said:
“Let us go down to the chart room and pray.”
The captain said to Mueller,
“Do you realize how dense this fog is?”
Mueller replied:
“My eye is not on the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life.”
Mueller knelt down and prayed a very simple prayer, like this:
“O Lord, if it is consistent with Your will, please remove this fog in five minutes. You know the engagement You have given me in Quebec on Saturday. I believe it is Your will.”
When Mueller finished praying, the captain was about to pray, but Mueller gently put his hand on his shoulder and said:
“You need not pray. First, you do not believe He will do it. Second, I believe He has already done it. Captain, I have known my Lord for forty-seven years, and there has never been a single day when I failed to gain an audience with the King. Get up, open the door, and you will find that the fog is gone.”
The captain stood up, opened the door—and the fog was gone.
May God open the eyes of faith in each of us, help us focus on eternal life and the Lord Himself, and make us more willing to rejoice in the godliness of ourselves and our families.