Devo 11
11/17/99
"Love"
Good Morning (good afternoon, good evening, or good night--depending on when you read this! Maybe I should just say 'good day!' (doesn't Paul Harvey have that phrase copyrighted( OK, you three who understood that can stop laughing (or groaning) now))))))) Today's CD of the week is Newsboys, 'Love, Liberty, Disco'--not too bad, check it out when you get the chance.
Today's topic is something I think all or at least most of us has thought about at some time or other: Love. But 'not love like ya know it, like ya love your girl. It's a love from above, not of this world.' (Bonus points if you can name the song, album, and artist that line is from.) In my eyes, we don't have enough words for this concept. Because the view of love I get from reading my Bible, and from watching TV and movies is totally different. In the Bible, 'love' is used to describe the very nature of God; "God is Love" (I John 4:16). But in the world, the word 'love' is used almost like a weapon. Guys and girls both fling the term in the face of the opposite sex hoping to get something for themselves. It is ironic (from an English major's point of view) that the same word can be used to refer to two opposite concepts. But maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Allow me to go a little deeper and explain what I see Biblical Love to mean.
Probably my (current) favorite book of the Bible is the book of I John. The thing that I like so much about it is that it has a very straightforward and easy to understand message. I like thinking about it as a Biblical 'Christianity for Dummies'. Several places throughout the 5 chapters of this book are statements like, 'this is how we know...", or, "this is such and such". The definition I am particularly concerned with today is found in I John 4:10, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." And later in verse 15b, "God is love, Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."
God is Love, in mathematics, this statement could be rendered God = Love, or it could be read Love is God and be just as true. And if God is Love we should be able to determine the nature of Love, by observing the actions of God. "God demonstrates His love for us in this; that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)
The picture I get from these verses of Love is that its emphasis is completely on someone else. Completely. To the point that concern for one's own life becomes secondary to the well-being of the other person. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Basically, what it comes down to is this: Love is total self-less-ness (not to be confused (as it so often is) with 'self-ish-ness').
This concept, though in other terms, is spread throughout Jesus' teachings, as well as Paul's just to name a couple. This is what Jesus was talking about when He said, "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." (Matt. 5:41,42). Or how about when Paul says, "Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone to stumble." (Rom. 14:20) But most importantly, our concern should be first and foremost for God (i.e. The Greatest Commandment Matt 22:37). And by loving God first and foremost, we will, as a result, also be showing love for other people (I John 5:2).
But there is something more to be discussed here. Love can never be a solo venture and still be effective. Look at it this way. Before you accepted Christ as your Savior, God loved you, but you weren't going to heaven. It wasn't until you accepted Christ, returned His love that your place in Heaven was secure. "Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment..." (I John 5:16b,17). Love must be reciprocated before growth can begin.
When this reciprocation occurs a wonderfully dynamic relationship emerges. Look at Gal 2:20 where Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Christ gave Himself for us so that we can live in Him; we give ourselves to Christ so that He can live in us. But neither can happen without a willful giving to the other, it has to be a conscious, constant act. Constant on God's part in that he promises to provide for us; constant on our part in that we need daily follow God's commands. This constant activity is why I refer to our relationship with Christ as 'dynamic' meaning never at rest, always moving. Only when this relationship is established can growth begin and the new creature that we have become can grow into maturity. This relationship can be seen throughout the book of I John and also these two passages from the gospels: John 3:27 says, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven." And then in Matt. 10:8 Jesus commands, "Freely you have received, freely give."
Not only does this apply to our relationship with God, but also to our relationships with others. Specifically, I want to talk about the relationship we will have (or already do for some of you) with our spouse. I used to think that it would be the ultimate act of selfishness for me to take a woman as my wife, to take her as my own and no one else's. But then it occurred to my Neanderthal mind that any woman who would agree to marry me would do so of her own free will, because she loves me like I love her. Not the 'love' of the world that says "I want everything you can give me", but the love of the Bible that says "I want to give everything to you" which is then echoed by the partner. Can you see how similar this is to the Christian's relationship to God? In fact, I'm coming to believe that one of the reasons God gave us marriage is so that we might have a tangible example of what God's love for us really is that no book or class can teach. It's one thing to know, it's another to experience.
Bottom line: our place in heaven is secure if we've given our life, our love to Christ. But that doesn't prevent it from becoming stagnant. Just like our bodies need some kind of daily activity so that they don't deteriorate, so does our relationship with Christ need daily activity, otherwise growth is impossible.