Oh, what a thing is love, not to be confused with romance, sex, or desire! At some level we all want to know we matter to someone, to have formed a close bond with another, don’t we? A thrilling experience, a concert enjoyed, a book read, a movie watched, a quiet dinner - all of these are made indescribably better when shared with someone or even in a group. Why? Because humans are social creatures. We live in families, we work in teams, we discover purpose through worship and fellowship. We form churches, unions, marriages, political parties, and neighborhood associations - without thinking much about why we do those things.
As the old song says, “Love is a many-splendored thing”
but it is complicated, frequently disappointing, and always costly thing, too! Everyone has known the pain of a failed
friendship. Too many experience the dissolution of a marriage that began so
beautifully. An angry word is spoken, a
misunderstanding blows in like a summer thunderstorm, offense takes hold and soon
turns into wall that is strong and tall. A friend becomes an enemy and her
words that wound leave us bloody and confused. Love can morph, almost mysteriously, into a bitter
hatred. Even familial love fails! Sons and mothers do not speak over some
relatively insignificant slight. Lovers who once could not stand to be apart
for a moment become enemies who actively desire the destruction of each other.
After getting a broken heart, too many choose to refuse to take the risk of loving deeply again. C. S. Lewis wrote of this - “If you want to keep your heart intact, you must give it to no one — not even an animal. Wrap your heart carefully 'round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change: Your heart will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
We who follow Christ Jesus, the Lord of Love, must not
choose to lock ourselves away from love. Instead, we choose to love radically,
just as He loves us. We will choose to love those who are unlovely. We will
willingly forgive even those who are hard and cruel. We will look for ways to
build up, not to tear down. Difficult?
Yes, it is. Costly? Look no further than
Jesus who loved and got crucified for it.
Love is not easy, but oh what wealth we find both in giving and
receiving love.
One of the best books I have ever read on the complicated
subject of human relationships is titled, Bold Love, (NavPress,
1993, Dr. Dan Allender). One of his assertions is that genuine self-less 'love
is not natural.' Shocked? Me, too.
We do not like to admit that we are selfish, capable of living without genuine
love. We like to think that we are
loving, generous, and unselfish but a closer look at our lives frequently reveals
a less pleasant truth.
Left to our resources, we will love only when another
pleases us or complies with our desires or makes us happy. When someone disappoints
or fails us, we will be tempted to write them out of our lives. Who hasn’t read
those popular posts on social media that urge us to discard those who make life
complicated, to shut out those we have labled ‘toxic.’ Some will even resort to cruel and manipulative
strategies designed to force the other person to comply or feed the Self! So much for loving deeply!
Allender writes, "There is an enormous drive in the
fallen human personality that impedes the process of learning to love and an
equally powerful force outside of every person that labors to destroy every
effort to love. ... Complacency and presumption work hand-in-hand to blind even
Christians to the importance of love and inherent battle involved in learning
to love. IF we are to learn to love, we must begin with an acknowledgment that
love is not natural and that love's failure is not easy to admit."
Simply
said, sin and selfishness work inside of us and the Devil works outside of us- conspiring
against love's birth and/or survival. But, when the Spirit lives in us, through
faith, assuring of God’s love, we are changed, inside out. Then, too, there is the false belief that
love does not need daily care. Neglect allows it to cool until it dies, all the
while we live in denial of the truth!
One of the amazing things about knowing and loving Jesus, and being loved by Him, is the discovery of an ability to love boldly! “We love,” the Scripture says, “because He loved us first.” (1 John 4:19, NLT) His love for us defeats our fear of loving and being loved so that we are able to experience that kind of love that defies human description. We must not read that familiar passage about the depth of God’s love casually or quickly. It is the seed of transformation of our minds and hearts in the profound declaration of the love of our Father. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it." (John 3:16-17, NLT) Insert your name for ‘the world.’ Let that sink in!
Is love challenged in your life?
Before you form a fist and attempt to force a change,
go to your knees! Let the Lord of Love, love you!
Before you pray, "God make them change!"
give the Holy Spirit full access to your heart and mind and let Him change you,
Before you walk away, expressing hatred through cool
contempt,
ask God to help you love others - the same way that He loves you.
Love is a force for change that is more powerful than any weapon ever devised by human beings.
Here's a word from the Word. Meditate on it today. "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God—for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other." (1 John 4:7-11, NLT)
(Video of this blog at this link)
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And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior's blood
Died He for me who caused His pain
For me who Him to death pursued
Amazing love how can it be
That Thou my God shouldst die for me
Amazing love how can it be
That Thou my God shouldst die for me
He left His Father's throne above
So free so infinite His grace
Emptied Himself of all but love
And bled for Adam's helpless race
'Tis mercy all immense and free
For O my God it found out me
'Tis mercy all immense and free
For O my God it found out me
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray
I woke the dungeon flamed with light
My chains fell off my heart was free
I rose went forth and followed Thee
My chains fell off my heart was free
I rose went forth and followed Thee
No condemnation now I dread
Jesus and all in Him is mine
Alive in Him my living Head
And clothed in righteousness divine
Bold I approach th'eternal throne
And claim the crown through Christ my own
Bold I approach th'eternal throne
And claim the crown through Christ my own
Charles Wesley, Thomas Campbell
CCLI Song #25280
© Words: Public Domain; Music: Public Domain
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