What is love? Do you do it well, or even at all? How are we to love? Who are we to love?
Those questions have been constantly in my thoughts for the past month since I have read the book Altered. I have asked myself those questions everyday and yet I still find myself consumed on the concept. After much thinking, I have become fully aware of the fact that I do not understand the full concept of love. And all that I do know about love is that it is crucial in life, not some mundane feeling or passing emotion. Love is challenging and difficult, something we cannot do on our own.
What is love?
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Now that we see that the definition of love is given from the authority of scripture, we know that it is our truth. After reading the verses above, I find myself thinking about how difficult it is to live a life that loves in that way. Quite frankly love is something impossible to do or live out in our own strength. We read in 1 John 4:8 that God is love. God is completely faithful and able to love relentlessly and divinely, it is His character and it is His being. We are humans who consistently and constantly fail. In order to love divinely we need the gospel, we need the Spirit to work within us. The gospel should affect how we love and if it does not, then something is terribly wrong.
Do you do it well, or even at all?
When I asked myself that question I found myself coming up short on answers. When I look at my life, I realize that I do not love like God has called me to. People in my everyday life should see that I am a believer by the way I joyfully and passionately love and interact with them. This is something that the Lord has continually convicted me of, something the Lord is still working in me.
How are we to love?
We are to love like the Lord loves us. This is a commandment (John 15:17), not something Jesus says in passing. Love is everywhere in scripture, it is crucial to our faith, in the New International Version the word 'love' is mentioned 697. We are to love and are able to love because God first loved us. The way that we love should be evidence that the gospel consumes our lives. Christian love is grace anchored, if we love like Christ our own notion of love is replaced with Christ's love.
Who are we to love?
We are to love God and to love our neighbor. We are to love those who strike us down, resent us and ignore us. We are to love those who do not love us in return. If by grace we seek to love in a Christ like manner, those around us will radically see the difference in our lives. Of course, this is something that the Spirit must empower in us. But what I have come to realize is that the more I love God, the more I tend to love people. This is something God commands and therefore something we should want to be passionate about. So I urge you to pray and ask God to give us the desire to love Him and our neighbors. We need to place our affections in Christ, and let Him direct the way we love.
We are to abide in God's love and through that love others.
" If by grace we seek to live out a love for God and our neighbor, our natural love will gradually move closer towards Christ's design, and the confusion of our own affections will be replaced by the clarity of His. His love will radically change both whom we choose to love, and how we choose to love them." - Altered
Those questions have been constantly in my thoughts for the past month since I have read the book Altered. I have asked myself those questions everyday and yet I still find myself consumed on the concept. After much thinking, I have become fully aware of the fact that I do not understand the full concept of love. And all that I do know about love is that it is crucial in life, not some mundane feeling or passing emotion. Love is challenging and difficult, something we cannot do on our own.
What is love?
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Now that we see that the definition of love is given from the authority of scripture, we know that it is our truth. After reading the verses above, I find myself thinking about how difficult it is to live a life that loves in that way. Quite frankly love is something impossible to do or live out in our own strength. We read in 1 John 4:8 that God is love. God is completely faithful and able to love relentlessly and divinely, it is His character and it is His being. We are humans who consistently and constantly fail. In order to love divinely we need the gospel, we need the Spirit to work within us. The gospel should affect how we love and if it does not, then something is terribly wrong.
Do you do it well, or even at all?
When I asked myself that question I found myself coming up short on answers. When I look at my life, I realize that I do not love like God has called me to. People in my everyday life should see that I am a believer by the way I joyfully and passionately love and interact with them. This is something that the Lord has continually convicted me of, something the Lord is still working in me.
How are we to love?
We are to love like the Lord loves us. This is a commandment (John 15:17), not something Jesus says in passing. Love is everywhere in scripture, it is crucial to our faith, in the New International Version the word 'love' is mentioned 697. We are to love and are able to love because God first loved us. The way that we love should be evidence that the gospel consumes our lives. Christian love is grace anchored, if we love like Christ our own notion of love is replaced with Christ's love.
Who are we to love?
We are to love God and to love our neighbor. We are to love those who strike us down, resent us and ignore us. We are to love those who do not love us in return. If by grace we seek to love in a Christ like manner, those around us will radically see the difference in our lives. Of course, this is something that the Spirit must empower in us. But what I have come to realize is that the more I love God, the more I tend to love people. This is something God commands and therefore something we should want to be passionate about. So I urge you to pray and ask God to give us the desire to love Him and our neighbors. We need to place our affections in Christ, and let Him direct the way we love.
We are to abide in God's love and through that love others.
" If by grace we seek to live out a love for God and our neighbor, our natural love will gradually move closer towards Christ's design, and the confusion of our own affections will be replaced by the clarity of His. His love will radically change both whom we choose to love, and how we choose to love them." - Altered
