Dear Trekker,
I’ve been wrestling with a four letter word quite a bit lately. No… I am bitten by it, bewildered by it, and buoyed by it all at the same time. I’ve read endlessly about it, yet, I haven’t captured it. More has been written about it than any other “subject” known to man, yet it is difficult to define. I’ve become convinced we actually “prefer” not to define…love!
There is an “oldies” song that bounces around in my head… “What the world needs now is love, sweet love; that’s the only thing that’s there’s just too little of.” How true! We all need love; everyone talks about it, but so often can’t produce or live it! Our country has been shocked in recent days by a Senator, a Governor, and a well-known professional athlete, all three with the word Christian somehow associated with them, failing in their marriage vows to love their wife only “till death do us part”. Failure to love or keep commitments fills waiting rooms and couches of therapists and psychologists across the country, as well as divorce courts.
Now you fellow trekkers know for sure two things about me. I believe, in the final analysis, life is (1) all about and only about relationships. And in that analysis (2) the starting point is the Holy Scriptures written by “men of old inspired by God the Holy Spirit” (II Peter 2:21). So let me commend I John 4:7-21 to you, trekker. It is the seminal passage concerning love in all Scripture. (Pull out a Bible and read it now before going on.)
As I have pondered and poured over this passage in recent days, I’ve sought to understand love by defining it. And as I seek clarity, not necessarily agreement from others, I believe love is another name for God; God is love. Love is the essence of the nature of God and is manifest always by desiring and doing good for “another”, bringing them honor and joy. Love is irrevocably embedded in the “DNA” of God and therefore in man, created in His image. Our ability to love has been damaged measurably by our refusal to follow God’s leading! (It occurred with the first man, Adam, who disobeyed a “big” commandment of God, and all men and women have been following suit ever since.) Hence, true love intended to be turned outward, becomes adulterated, turned inward on ourselves. Lust, for example, is simply love turned upside down!
For me, to see love as flowing from the nature of God into the nature of man, explains a lot of things. It explains creation; it explains man’s ability to exercise choice in life; it explains God’s redeeming mankind through Jesus Christ, the only Son co-equal with God, who was and is both Savior and Lord of all mankind, whether we choose to believe it or not. Because love expressed involves a recipient, creation occurred. Man is the object of God’s love. Hence, when we did not “choose” to love God (unless love is a chosen response, it is not love, but programmed coercion), he bought and brought us back to Himself. John 3:16 has even greater meaning in this context. Love expressed perpetuates itself into never ending relationships, i.e. eternal life. God became a man and died that we might be forever with Him. I hope and pray you believe this trekker. If you choose not to believe it, God’s love is not valid for you and you remain separated from God. God has done all He “can”!
We humans choose what we love, and reject what we “hate”. Then we are to love what we choose, and hate what we have rejected in our hearts, minds, wills and emotions. What we reject, we should not dabble with. We remain completely focused on the object of our love by following through with good deeds and encouragement to one another. (Hebrews 10:24).
If love is of God, only by knowing God can we love. And only by loving God can we know Him! Love is revealed then in obedience to such reality. For this reason, Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). I’ve heard too many say, “Love is a commandment, referring to Jesus’ words, “a new commandment I give you: love one another! As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Love, as a fruit of the Spirit, i.e. we can only love as He gives us the power to love, is expressed by our tangibly pleasing and honoring God and one another. Hence, all commandments are summed up in these two statements by Jesus… “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… and love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:34-40). True love is expressed by choosing to obey legitimate laws. A commandment reveals God’s love, but is not itself that love!
The supreme test of all time for man is “do you love Me?” If so, “feed my sheep” was the admonition to Peter. “Keep your marriage vows” is the litmus test for every husband and wife; “keep my commandments” is the exhortation to every Christ follower. Love will always be recognized by how we display will power and follow through on our commitments.
Trekker, I believe love works best when it is dealt with specifically in relationships. Love is something we do, as well as some thing we feel. We intentionally do good things for one another; we plan and carry out acts of kindness; we put substance into our feelings! Jesus set the example… “greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”. (John 15:12-17).
Yes, there is too little of love. Love is the essence of all that is good… a good person, a good citizen, a good soldier, a good husband or wife. Even “religious people” (Pharisees of every generation) sadly often miss it; non-religious people may live it; all yearn for it. I’m trying to understand it. Welcome to the quest. As Fritz Ridenour said in his little book of the same title, which describes me: “I’m not religious, I just love the Lord.”
Be a lover, trekker,
Jim Meredith