What’s Love Got To Do With It?...
John 13:34-35 (Amplified Bible)
34I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another. 35By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves].
My daughter not long ago asked me how would she know that she was in love? I told her it was not just in what she felt for a person or what they felt about her, but it was about the exhibition of love. I told her love is something that has strength that is unmatched; it is like a rose that can bloom in the desert and a flower that pushes its way through the snow to bud. I told her it will cause you to sacrifice and think of someone other than self. It is an attribute that can be seen in our actions and identified easily by others. Love will bloom even in adversity and it will not run from a challenge but it will be considerate, and caring. One of my friend’s said one of the most profound things, they say that love should not be expressed in words so easily especially if we have not grown to it, it should never be used lightly or just because someone wants to hear it, we should understand the responsibility that comes with a declaration of love.
The phrase “I love you,” is one of the most over used statements. It is one of the statement most used out of context. We throw love around to one another like we say good morning, but yet there is no substance to back it up. There is no strength to uphold it. We even say we love God and the minute things do not go our way or He does not answer us in a timely manner we do not exhibit love. Even in our day to day lives when we get bored of the obedience we chose to disobey His commandments, even though He tells us if we love Him we will keep His commandments. How do we know that we love God? Are we doing what He asked of us to do? He asked us to Love Him with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength. He asked us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and He asked us to show love to other as He has showed love to us. But how many of us can say we even consider others, let alone love them the way that God through Christ demonstrations to us? How many of us lay down our lives in service to another human being, let alone how many of us can honestly say that we are committed to laying down our lives in service to God? For many of us our inability to be obedient and serve God and man is because we have not submitted to growing in love. We have not let God deposit the seeds of love within us in order for us to begin to love Him effectively as well as others. Love is not a self-serving venture and for many of us we have made it one. We have made love a feel good moment and about feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Love is about doing the hard things that will cause our flesh to be crucified under the choices of obedience. Love will suffer long and endure, it will tarry, when it looks hopeless it will see hope, and continue on.
For many of us our lives have little to do with love and everything to do with what serves our purposes in the now. It has little to do with service and more to do with being served. It has little to do with allowing God in, but it is more about us shining out. Our life should be “Love is by association.” When we are associated with, connected to, and in covenant with God, love should be evident. It should be displayed in our very nature and disposition. It should not be an element that people are searching to find or see. Love should be the banner seen over us, and the truth that shines through us. If truly we are aspiring to have true love with people we have to know the love of the Father. God is love and by Him depositing His nature, His character and His DNA within us, then we too can be the very essence of what love is, towards God in our obedience and service to Him and to one another. What does love have to do with it, everything!
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