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LOVE LIKE YOU MEAN IT
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
(1 Corinthians 13: 4-7)
THE POWER OF LOVE
"But God demonstrated His own love for us
in this: While we were still sinners
Christ died for us!"
(Romans 5: 8)
I can still remember my life before I accepted Christ as my Savior more than 34 years ago. I was not only lost back then, but I was often a rebellious and angry young woman. Angry at what? Angry at everything. Sin permeated my life from every one of my decisions to every one of my actions. And then suddenly, along came this powerful love.
AND THEN ALONG CAME THIS POWERFUL LOVE...
It's hard to imagine anyone capable of loving me during those crazy, sinful years. There wasn't one lovable thing about me. I've often joked that back then, I was the original poster child for dysfunctionality. If there had actually been one, the picture of me on the poster would have looked a lot like Bonnie Parker of "Bonnie and Clyde" fame, brandishing a pistol, and smoking a cigar. You get the picture. And yet, that's exactly when God chose to shower me with His powerful love. But do you know what was the most amazing thing? The most amazing thing was that God chose to give His Son to die for my sins, not after I cleaned up my life, but while I was still living in sin. That's not only amazing - that's the power of love.
LOVE ISN'T ABOUT SACRIFICE - IT'S ABOUT OBEDIENCE
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."
What's obedience got to do with love? According to God, it has everything to do with love. Let's look at horses for an example.
As prey animals, horses aren't instinctually obedient to human predators.
In fact, their instinct tells them to run for their life. Can you train instinct out of a horse? No, but you can train a horse to use the thinking side of his brain and to be obedient.
As a partner, and not a pet, we can't expect horses to behave like our favorite dog. When our dog is motivated by feelings of love, he might jump on us with delight, wag his tail, or even run and fetch the newspaper just to win our affection. That's why when it comes to physically expressing one's love, a dog is second to none. But what about horses? Are horses capable of expressing love for their Master? You betcha cowboy boots, they are!
A horse expresses his love for us through obedience to our commands (or cues). Why is this significant? It's significant because as I said earlier, a horse is a prey animal, and he isn't "naturally" inclined to obey a human predator. But when he does, his obedience to his Master is the truest test of his love. And it's the same for you and me. We are all born into sin, and it's not our natural inclination to be obedient. And yet, God tells us in His Word that obedience to His commandments is proof of our love for Him.
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
(John 14: 15)
YOU CAN LEARN TO LOVE LIKE YOU MEAN IT
Perhaps it's something only a horse lover
could understand, but one of the deepest
loves of my life has been that of my horse, Samson. There's nothing half-hearted about our partnership, or our love. We both give it everything we've got.
Have you ever known someone who's attitude was to do everything half-heartedly? Especially when it comes to love, these folks are usually non-committal, at best. I've certainly known a few folks like that over the years. And to be honest, that kind of wimpy attitude has always irritated me like a bad rash! *Note to God's self-appointed policemen - please don't email me - I've repented already! Nevertheless, doing anything half-hearted, especially when it comes to love, is to short-change one's self of the greatest joy of all.
So, what's the problem with love? Love isn't the problem. The problem is, no one is born knowing how to love. Like everything else in life, we have to learn how to do things the right way if we're to succeed. If we were born knowing how to love others fully, completely, and perfectly with all our heart, then our friendships, families, and marriages would never fail. Why? Because God's Word has already told us that love never fails (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7). The problem isn't love - the problem is lack of knowledge about love. And where do we get knowledge about love? We get it from the source, of course. And who is the source? None other than God, the lover of our soul, and the Master of Hearts. Once we start keeping company with Him, we'll learn to love like we really mean it!
"Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly
what God does is love you. Keep
company with Him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that."
(Ephesians 5: 1-2)
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