The Beatles said “All you need is love,” and then they broke up. (Larry Norman, Reader’s Digest on the 1972 album Only Visiting This Planet).We just spent time discussing “speaking the truth in love” and the difficulty that presents. One commenter noted it didn’t mean “always speaking in meek and soft ways.” Another called it “complex.” Whatever it is, it is a command and, therefore, important.
As it turns out, love itself is important. All the law and prophets depend on love (Matt 22:37-40). Love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom 13:8-10; Gal 5:14). The two commands, love the Lord you God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself, are the two highest commands (Matt 22:37-40). It’s important.
Paul wrote that if we are gifted in all the best possible gifts and don’t have love we’re worse than “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal”—we are nothing (1 Cor 13:1-3). It’s important.
Jesus commanded His disciples to “love one another: just as I have loved you” and then said it was the hallmark of being His disciple (John 13:34-35). It’s important.
John warned, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8). It’s important.
But we don’t seem to grasp biblical love. I know I’ve written about it before, but it seems as if we’re constantly nodding our heads and saying, “Yes, that’s what it is,” and then walking away and forgetting. We know it’s not the world’s definition—a feeling of warm affection—if it’s a command because you can’t command a feeling. It’s a choice. Only a choice can be commanded.
Paul explains exactly what he means in that 1 Corinthians 13 reference. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends” (1 Cor 13:4-8). That is not a warm feeling. It is not predicated on the loved one. We don’t love because they deserve it. Jesus said we were to love our enemies (Matt 5:44; Luke 6:26, 35). And He practiced it by dying for sinners (Rom 5:8-10).
In the end, biblical love is neither sentiment nor softness but the steady, self-giving resolve to seek another’s good in obedience to God. It is the shape of Christ’s own life, the fruit of the Spirit’s work in us, and the fulfillment of everything God has ever commanded. When we speak truth in love, act in love, endure in love, and sacrifice in love, we are not merely performing a virtue — we are reflecting the very heart of God. And without that love, all our gifts, insights, and efforts collapse into noise. With it, we walk in the life for which we were redeemed.
6 comments:
The Beatles said “All you need is love,” and then they broke up.
Offhand, I’m thinking that it’s because the bandmates didn’t know biblical love but only the self-serving, “how does this benefit me?” kind of love. (It’s OK for musical groups to disband [no pun intended], of course, but they each had a bad track record with their marriages.)
In a comment at a past post, I shared this passage from the book Growing Your Faith: How To Mature In Christ by Jerry Bridges:
First Corinthians 13 is the classic description of love. If we rephrased the virtues of love in 1 Corinthians 13 in terms of motivational statements, they might sound something like this:
I am patient with you because I love you and want to forgive you.
I am kind to you because I love you and want to help you.
I do not envy your possessions or your gifts because I love you and want you to have the best.
I do not boast about my attainments because I love you and want to hear about yours.
I am not proud because I love you and want to esteem you before myself.
I am not rude because I love you and care about your feelings.
I am not self-seeking because I love you and want to meet your needs.
I am not easily angered by you because I love you and want to overlook your offenses.
I do not keep a record of your wrongs because I love you, and “love covers a multitude of sins.”
Of course, each of his points could be fleshed out quite a bit; indeed, we could spend the rest of our lives seeking to apply these heart attitudes as we interact with those around us--and that, of course, is our commission!
Love is only so complicated because of our sin-twisted minds. In our natural state, we want nothing to do with God, and if God is love, then clearly we'd want nothing to do with His type of love. But the fact that so many people, believer and non-believer alike, do have that type of God love is a testament to the grace and mercy of God. He could just leave us in our selfish state, but even the atheist demonstrates the glory of God by loving his/her spouse in the way God commands.
And you wondered why I assumed you were well-read in an earlier post? You are often quoting or referring to books on your shelf in your comments.
Well, that is nice of you to say, David. (I thought that practice of mine here might be a bit annoying to others, to be honest.) I definitely don’t read as much as I did in years past, but I am blessed with excellent memory and recall abilities, so almost everything I have read (or heard or watched, as in sermons, lectures, documentaries, etc.) is in my mental “file cabinet.” It’s nice to have an outlet for it, and when it ties in with something I am led to say at Winging It, I am happy for the confirmation that my reading wasn’t a waste of time and effort. Now, if I could just stay awake when I sit down to read ….!
P.S. It’s kind of you to read my comments!
I will return the compliment and say that your News Weakly commentaries reveal a better-than-average awareness of issues in the political, national, and global arenas. (You resemble Stan in that regard, it appears, and he seems to cater well to your interests on Saturdays.) There was a time, decades ago, when I perused two daily newspapers and two weekly ones in addition, plus numerous magazines and journals, but not anymore. Perhaps these days it’s easier via the Internet to keep up on everything going on; perhaps too there is simply too much to sort through, so I don’t try!
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