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1. September 2009 by BruceSmith.
Loving God
I was recently asked by a young person the following question, “Why do you listen to that kind of music so much?” By “that kind of music” the little person meant Contemporary Christian music. My response, which came as something strange and entirely new to this little one apparently, was simply, “Because my favorite thing to do in life is to worship God, and that’s what this music is about”. I could see the wheels turning in that little mind in the moments following my comment. “That’s a new one!” is what appeared to be playing in that little cranium.
What is memorable about the brief exchange for me is the overarching reality behind the question and the surprise at my answer. We live in “Christian America”, and yet, so few in our culture have a deep sense of how Christ followership actually works itself out in our daily life. This is certainly not just true of little people, and is a reality for not only the secular mind, but sadly, for far too many grown ups in our churches. We seem to have missed, somewhere, somehow, that the Gospel is the good news of a changed, redeemed, and love ignited heart. Its about transformative living, and loving, on every level.
But what does it mean to love God? Is it not possible to “love” God and still determine on our own how we live, what we like, what we do, what drives us? First off, we must be aware that it is the love of God which draws us to Himself. The bible is clear that God’s love is the driving force behind any of us coming to a relationship with Him. We don’t establish, nor do we keep a vibrant relationship with Him by pursuing rules of morality which make us a “better person”, thereby earning our standing with Him. Rather, the Gospel is the news, the amazing news, that amidst our own failure, sin, and corrupt nature, God reached out to us and offered us forgiveness, change, renewal, and intimacy with Him. The love of God, the love of a holy, pure, brilliant, and perfect God is what woos us to hunger for and pursue Him. In seeing His beauty, and love, we crave more of Him. We want to know Him more, love Him more, please Him more, and reflect Him more. This is the biblical model. More of Him, less of us. Moreover, more of His ways in us, defining us, and showing up in us.
The hope of the gospel shows up in our lives like a lightning bolt striking our hearts and electrifying our souls, making us aware of a totally transformative way of living. The energizing effect of God’s truth is so strong that it has the power and the purpose of driving all our thoughts, actions, desires, hopes, and dreams. It stands above culture, social norms, individual opinion, group think, setting, political correctness, “isms” of all kind, and above all other assertions of “truth”. The biblical reality of Jesus’ teaching is not open to polling, the impulse of majority, nor the acceptance of an “educated elite”. The teaching of Jesus stands on its own and calls all other suggestions of reality to find true north in Him.
We live in a world where “love” is so undefined that it has lost any meaning. One person’s definition of love can vary so greatly from another’s that two polar opposites are touted as one reality. If we are to know the love of God, experience it, and walk in it, we must understand love as defined by Him. If our life is to be truly ablaze with the joy, meaning, direction, and purpose we crave, we must find God’s heart in this matter. If what the bible says about God is true, “God is love.”, then we must know Him, and what He desires for us. If we are to truly know Love as it exists we must seek it out in the scriptures. Quite plainly, know God, Know love. There is no other way. If we are to love Him and others, really love them, and really live loving lives, there can be no other way to do it than to search out God’s truth.
With this in mind, and toward that end, today, I offer the starting point for the Love series. It comes to us from the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, often referred to as “The Love Chapter”. No that’s not a Barry White song!
In this chapter we find a description of love so clear and so remarkable, and so rare, that its hard to really comprehend. Yet, its a picture of God’s love, its a call for us to walk in true love, and its our calling for all human interaction. It calls into question all of our motives, longings, actions, and the very nature of our love. Its also an inspirational look at just how beautiful our lives and every human interaction can be. So, let’s look at the verses, and then make an attempt to unfold a few verses from this amazing passage.
1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
The entire pasage is, of course, a call to view love as the chief end of all our motivations and actions. But its not a fuzzy, undefined, opinion centered love. Rather, if we note verses 4-7, we find that this biblical model of love has some clear characteristics. If we claim to walk in love, we must ask ourselves if our “love” looks like this description given to us by God.
Love is patient. Patience is not conditional. Its not determined, biblically speaking, by our mood, our situation, or those we are interacting with. Simply put: love is patient. Are we?
Love is kind. Kindness is operative, in the biblical model, even when those we are engaged with are less than kind. Is our response God-centered or me-centered? Is our love kind? Love is kind. If we are to refer to ourselves as loving, we must be walking in kindness. Kindness manifests itself at all times, not just when others are giving us all we want from them. Kindness has been referred to as a gentle purposeful direction and touch.
Love does not envy or boast, and it is not proud. Is our desire for others for their utmost good? Do we get jealous when others do well? Do we seek to lift others up and give them opportunity? Or are we always looking for our moment to bask in the spotlight? Do we realize, in humility, just how weak and inept we are apart from God’s love in our lives? Do we highlight this? Do we make others aware that it is God in us that is responsible for all our good?
Love is not rude. Rudeness here addresses a spectrum of activities. What is our speech like? Here and in other places the bible places a huge premium on our tongue and its activity. What do we talk about? Do we pursue the biblical model for purity in speech and behavior? Or, are our actions too often full of vulgarity, cursing, callousness, sharpness with others, and a general lack of self control? The bible is clear, “Whatever is pure, good, wholesome…think on these things”… “From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” There is no rudeness in God.
Love is not self-seeking, easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs. Here is a love principle which can transforms all of your relationships, romantic, business, family, and otherwise. If its always about you love is not in the picture. If you are a quick trigger, you have missed something about grace. If you number, catalog, and remind people of all the wrongs committed you are operating from a loveless posture. Biblical love seeks the good of others, endures patiently, and forgives continually. Thank God He is not like us! What if He were self-seeking, easily angered, and kept a record of all our wrongs!! Thanks be to God. May He give us His love in this area.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. Here is a big one we miss in our culture. In this Hollywood driven, sex crazed, fun without limits society, we are far too willing to embrace any and all things as good. Evil does have a face biblically speaking. That face has some clear characteristics. The lists are long and vivid in the scriptures. Yet, in our pursuit of entertainment, fun, and frivolity, we all too often rejoice in, find humor in, place ourselves in settings where the fun we are enjoying is the very thing God calls evil. We have called boring and mundane what God calls life, and we have replaced God’s standards with the cultural pursuit of individual entitlement. Lust, pleasure, and a craving for fun drives our actions rather than love. We find all the wrong things delightful and follow the crowds to those arenas where God’s truth is abandoned and even mocked. Where is the love in that? A Godward love hungers for much more.
Love always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres…it never fails. And here is the summary of love’s characteristics. It always protects. Always. That means love is always longing for the best in everyone. Love’s aim is to see everyone we are in contact with live in the light of God’s truth and grace. We seek to protect people from the trap of ignoring God’s calling. We seek to point people to goodness because we know it results in a fuller and more Godly life. We seek to protect people from settings, activities, and pursuits which hinder intimacy with God. Godly love aims to protect. It aims to establish trust in God’s truth, it aims to show forth the hope in God’s plan, it perseveres through rough spots in relationships. True, Godly love, wins over and over again. It does not fail in bringing people to a greater sense of passion, purpose, and joy. Love, as defined by God, does not fail in igniting a hunger for more of God, and for more of His plan to be unfolded in every area of our lives. Godly love knows, pursues, hungers for, and craves the ability to walk in the Spirit at all times. Love realizes that every breath, setting, and human interaction is pregnant with eternal realities.
May we all know that kind of love.
Bruce Smith
optimuslife.org
soulstormsite.com
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