Love
Here is a word that should express such a great depth of meaning to us that it is spoken with great reverence, but in today’s society “love” is tossed around like a cheap ball in a yard full of puppies. It is common to hear anyone say, “I love this” or “I love that.” People love this or that automobile or television program, products of some type, even types of food or clothing.
Anything, anything at all will garner an ”I love” with absolutely no true meaning. The flippant use of the word cheapens its meaning and in turn, it becomes a shallow term rather than a reverent term.
When we were children, the word “love” meant something important to us. If we loved someone, they were extremely valuable in our lives. Sadly, as we grew up, “love” became nothing more than a word. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
God has a completely different idea of Love than most people do today! If you understand the Word, you know that Love in God’s eyes is all encompassing; a total commitment that must be understood in an unwavering dedication.
One of the first things people hear of God is His Love! Many are introduced to the Word with a verse that is more widely known than probably any other: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
If we ask ourselves, “who would we sacrifice one of our children over,” or even “who would we sacrifice ourself for,” the answer would be no one for our child and very few, if any, on the question of self.
Let us be very truthful, most folks would not even modify the slightest aspect of their lifestyle for another person. Sadly, in today’s society that includes parents modifying their lives for their own offspring.
How sad is that? God’s only Son was given so that even those that spent their lives hating Him could be saved. That they, we, all, had the opportunity to receive the greatest gift of all, “Eternal Life”! Surely, Love means far more to God than people today comprehend.
So, how do we, as spiritual beings housed in a fleshly vessel, come to know Love as it is intended by God? The Word! We must know the Word, study the Word, understand the Word, and contemplate the Word, so that we may grasp how we can apply it in our lives. Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
If we do these things, then we will begin to understand Love as God means it, to the best our flesh will allow us to. As I wrote before, Love is a complete commitment, an all or nothing decision, otherwise we will be found lukewarm. (A little reading in Revelation will let you know how God feels about us being lukewarm.) If we love the Lord as we are told, then the perspective of His purpose becomes clear, or as clear as we are capable of knowing.
So, what about the “Love your neighbor as yourself” portion of Scripture? How, in my heart, can I find it in myself to love those that, by all manner, seem unloveable? How do I love someone that hates me, or that I hate? People that are openly wicked and even those that profess their hatred of God, how do I love them? In the 1960’s there was a song called The Impossible Dream.
On the surface, loving others, when they in every way appear unloveable, seems to be the impossible dream, BUT there is a way to love them and to learn to love them. The way to do that is laid out in the Scripture.
When we find it difficult to love someone, it is often because we are focusing on their sin or some wrong the person has done or is doing that we cannot seem to turn our thoughts from. Again, I am going to emphasize the importance of knowing and understanding the Holy Word of God. David said In Psalm 51:3, For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
To be able to take our focus off the sins of others, we must be able to see our own transgressions. The conviction for our own sin has to outweigh the sin we see in others. Jesus said in Matthew 7:3, And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
As a follower of Christ Jesus, if my own sin isn’t more concerning to me than my neighbor’s sin is, then I have missed the mark!!! As a follower of Christ, I must act differently than others in the world. I deeply believe every Christian should memorize several Scriptures. 1 Peter 1:16 is one of those verses, “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
I believe that one way we can understand where our hearts might be is how we begin our prayers. Do you, Christian, begin your prayer time in humbleness and thanksgiving, asking for forgiveness with a repentant heart? The second question we should all answer is how much time do we spend in the Word and in prayer? In fact, these two questions are a measure of our Love for Jesus—
if we love Christ with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul, and all our strength, then we will have as the strongest desire a want to spend as much time as we can in His presence! This is because if we truly love someone, we want to spend time with them and want to please them! Most people will not dedicate much time at all to anyone or anything they have no desire for.
These are just facts, we may have a hard time admitting it, but it is true. We must all keep in mind that there is a scale that we are weighed upon and a scale to which we are measured. Just as the writing that appeared to Belshazzar, we cannot afford to be found lacking or we will be divided from Christ Jesus.
We must continually search our own hearts as to our level of love and of our motives to see who we really are. I have heard many say they don’t feel loved or even say, “nobody loves me.” I have said for many years that if you want to feel loved, then turn your focus on being lovable! If you know Christ then you are, in fact, loved more deeply than you can even comprehend.
”What is down in the well, will come up in the bucket.”
“We must in Christ, find not a mask that conceals our face, but an entire wardrobe of clothing, which is His Righteousness.”
- R.C. Sproul
Kenneth Kellar
A Man Called by God to Teach and Disciple