Love With His Love

Last Sunday, my husband preached a message about love.  We as Christians are familiar with the fact that we serve a God of love, and that He expects us to love.  The message inspired me to search my heart and review my own actions in light of what the Word of God says on the subject.

During his sermon, my husband told the story of a minister who stood in his pulpit one Sunday, looked very slowly and deliberately over the congregation, and delivered a powerful, one-word sermon: "Love!"  So much is contained in that one word.  If we do what it says—if we love—then our actions will prove to others that they are loved.  The Word of God tells us "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son . . ." (John 3:16).  God showed His love to us by His action: He gave His Son; then Jesus showed His love by His action: He gave His life on the cross. 

The Word not only says that God loves us; it says that He is Love (1 John 4:8). And that we are to imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1). As we follow Him and imitate Him, love is to flow from us.  Our human love is imperfect and could never live up to what God wants from us.  So how do we love the way He commanded?  We love with His love.  The love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts (Romans 5:5).  If you are a child of God, then you have His love.  The Word says so.  It's just a matter of getting the love to others. 

Our own love is imperfect.  It is selfish and self-serving.  Our human love is often an "arms-length" love.  We say we love, but we don't want to get too close.  We don't want to get our hands "dirty."  It is easy to look at someone and say, "I love you."  Harder to get down in the grime of their lives and really love them.  In I Corinthians Chapter 13, the love chapter of the Bible, the King James Version uses the word "charity."  Charity is really love in action.  If you say you love, but there is no action, have you really loved?  The love I'm writing about today is a verb.  A verb is an action word.  Many of us have an impersonal kind of love that really isn't love at all.  It looks good on the surface, but it doesn't go very deep and doesn't cause us to do anything.

As I contemplated this, I came up with my own definition of love: Compassion that causes action.  Jesus looked upon the people to whom He ministered and had compassion on them, and out of His compassion, miracles occurred.  Only God can give that kind of love.  It is shed abroad or poured out in our hearts. He has given us plenty of it, but often the flow of that love is impeded by our bitterness over past experiences, our fear of rejection, our fear of being hurt.  More than anything, it is selfishness that keeps us from giving away love.  We want to protect ourselves.  Jesus gave away His love and died in the process.  It wasn't easy.  He poured His whole life into loving humanity.  And He wants us to be like Him.  He wants us to tap into that love that has been poured into our hearts and then pour it out to others.

Father, help us to love with Your love!

Scriptures for Reflection

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (1 John 4:8)

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children. (Ephesians 5:1, NIV)

. . . the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:5)

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV)

And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. (Matthew 14:14)

So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him. (Matthew 20:34)