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Only God’s love is so strong that it is absurd to our natural minds, only God’s love sends a Son to die for the unworthy.  Only God’s love remains faithful in the midst of a nation’s adultery.  Only God’s love can be considered Fireproof and ours can only be when we have his love as our own.

As Caleb’s dad said in the movie, “You cannot give what you do not have.”  So, true!

A fireproof love comes from God. (1 John 4:7-12)

1. Notice the intimate language describing loves relationship with God.  Love is “born” of God and “knows” God.  Our practice of love makes God tangible according to verse 12.
2. Love is such a defining characteristic of God, that if you don’t know love – you can’t know God!
3. His son is the fullest expression of his love.  How do our expressions of love compare?
   1. We are so quick to quit, when someone is unworthy.
   2. We are so quick to quit, when someone is undesirable.
   3. But as scripture says and the song celebrates we have never been unloved!
4. You might tire of hearing this about love but the Apostle John seemed to have the same redundancy problem. (Read quotation from Jerome’s commentary on Galatians by clicking here.)

A fireproof love is sustained by God. (1 John 4:13-16)

1. What does it take to sustain this love?  John makes it clear in verse 15 that God abides, along with his love in those who confess Jesus.  We must have a relationship with Christ in order for a Fireproof love to be sustained.  Too often we try to love people of our own strength.  It just doesn’t work.
2. As I searched and searched this week for a good story that would fit as a fireproof love sustained by God.  I found lots of great love stories.  Stories about people giving kidneys to their spouses, stories about wives waiting for their husbands to return from WWII, stories about marriages that survived an affair.
   1. The problem was that fireproof love isn’t dramatic.  Sure dramatic things can happen with fireproof love, romantic things often happen with fireproof love.
   2. The truth is that often fireproof love lacks scandal and drama.  There’s nothing dramatic about turning off the TV and saying, “Honey I want to hear what you’re saying without being distracted.”
   3. There’s nothing dramatic about doing the dishes for the 1,000 time and only getting a thanks – or nothing at all.  But that’s what a Fireproof love is!
3. You see fighting over an affair –that’s dramatic.  Fighting over money – not so much.  Redemption from prison – dramatic.  Redemption for the stupid things we say everyday – not so much.
4. If we allow our love to be sustained by God so many of the truly painful problems our sin brings into a marriage we can avoid!  I’d rather see God sustain my marriage than save it from the brink of destruction.
5. I believe that the true test of a great lover or romancer is not how many times you can save your marriage from the brink or how many partners you can attract but it’s keeping the same partner interested for a lifetime.  That’s the test of a truly great lover.

A fireproof love has no fear. (1 John 4:17-18)

1. If you’re serving your spouse because you’re afraid of their judgment – it’s not love.  If you’re loving your spouse because you’re afraid of their choice for the future – it’s not love.
2. Love serves courageously for the other person – no other reason.
3. We are afraid of what we don’t know.  Love drives out that fear.  Sometimes we have these communication break downs that leave us wondering, “What are they thinking?” or “Why did they do that?”  If we don’t communicate then we can’t know.
4. Eventually we’ll start inserting our own motives, just like in the movie where Catherine assumes that the reason Caleb is changing is to get more money in a divorce.
5. This intense fear of uncertainty and failure is powerful.  It leads us to places that are more imagined than real.  Love cuts through that, brings us back to reality.
6. Love braves the dangerous because it knows it to be worth it.  A beautiful quote I came across the other day said, “Christ didn’t die to save us from suffering, he died to teach us how to suffer.”  In other words, he taught us how to love fearlessly.

A fireproof love testifies of our love for God. (1 John 4:19-21)

1. On the flip side of all of this is the Christian who comes to church saying they love God, but hates their spouse.  If we truly are believers and love God then we will love our spouse!
2. Perhaps you have not done this, perhaps you’ve played church, your spouse knows you’re a fraud – no one here does.  How do you rectify this?  You start loving now.  Notice verse 19 it says, “We love.”  That’s present tense active – meaning it’s going on right now!
3. There is no better time to start than now.  We love our spouses for them, for us, and for God!  You were never better suited for it than you are right now.

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