There's Love and Then There's Love

It is easy to say "I love you", but what does that mean? You could ask a variety of people and it might get a lot of different answers. There are all sorts of theories about love. Human love has a variety of colors and shades.

You could also ask God since he is the author of love.  God's love is talked about in detail in the Word of God. There is no mistaking the love of God when one experiences it first-hand. It is very different from the world's conception of love:

13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. I Corinthians 13:1-3

Wow, there are some statements in the verses above that sound very loving! This whole section is talking about the love of God as it permeates people's hearts. The love of God has a recognizable set of tools:

4 Charity suffereth long (King Jimmy language meaning ''having a long fuse') and is kind (not a gossip, nor mean, snarky or a busybody); charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself (lifting oneself above others), is not puffed up,

Each of us have our own individual qualities, we are not to compare our lives with others. To do so  denies the very essence of what God is all about. When we size ourselves up by others, all hell abounds!

5 Doth not behave itself unseemly (stay in one's lane), seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil (does not lay guilt and shame at people's feet); 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity ('aha I gotcha', but rejoiceth in the truth (truth is an integral part of love); 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Everything else is false love. The worldly kind of love ultimately brings people down. It may carry expectations that might herald guilt and condemnation and the pointing of fingers down the road. God's love brings people up and empowers them.  It lifts us up and out of the mud and darkness. Worldly love has potholes and traps, that trip people up. God's love is freedom and peace. It never disappoints:

8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

We are constantly growing in our lives and we mature as we take on values that are sure and unfailing. If we continue to look to God for our answers, he is ready, willing and able to provide them.

11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. 

When you see it you will know it.

Love

God is an 'equal opportunity' giver. God loves everybody, it is backed up in his word:

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

God has made so much available to us and yet he has never, never forced anything upon us. It is important to understand this point. God established the Lordship of Jesus Christ as head of his church. 'Church' does not refer to a pile of bricks on the corner, but the spiritual DNA building blocks in each of our hearts. The body of Christ refers to all those people who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and believe he took on the totality of the forces of evil only to be raised victoriously from the dead. That is huge. In doing so we have been translated into the kingdom of God's dear son (Colossians 1:13).

We have a concrete example of love in Jesus Christ. His leadership, the things he said, the things he did and everything associated with him show us so much about God. Combined with simply reading God's word and the 'nudgings' of the gift of holy spirit in our innermost being, we are fully equipped to enjoy all the benefits of God.

If someone wants to thumb their nose at God and do their own thing, have at it. It is a choice. It is sad, but loving God is a choice.  God's love never fails (I Corinthians 13).  However, some people define 'love' in such a way that it blows up on a moments notice because it is founded on the popular world view of things. The world is full of evil and pseudo philosophies and ideologies. The profound so-called wisdom of man is often tied into that evil.

God's hands are tied when people walk away from him.  He still loves them but really can't do much for them since they have turned away from him and are not listening. There are boundaries. God is not the author or promulgator of evil, he is good always and wants the best for every single person on this earth who ever was and ever will be.

Each of us can love in the same way. The world seems to be full of opines and worldly definitions of what it is to love these days. Love doesn't turn on and off like a light switch. Love is always on the "on"position. There is no darkness when someone truly loves God. If people don't want to be loved, that is their choice, the love is still there but they don't get the benefits because they don't want them.

Love is a Big Word!

Last night I read II and III John and was amazed at how many times the word 'truth' is used. John refers to 'truth' in one way or another 28 times in I, II, III John (all three contain 7 chapters in total). Another word quite frequently used by John is 'love'. In all of John's writings love and truth are interwoven throughout like a beautiful vibrant tapestry.

Recently I heard about someone reciting the pledge of allegiance and substituting the word 'love' for 'God'. Are we 'one nation under God'?  The answer to that is: 'probably not'. When someone says 'one nation under love', I have to ask: "How do you define love?" Where do we learn what love is? Where do we learn how to love one another?

I John 5:1-3 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Love and truth are intimately intertwined for someone who believes in God. We don't define love; God does. As I have been working through Genesis, I have realized even more emphatically, that God's love permeates the whole Bible. Genesis is a foundational book for understanding the love of God. It has added a richness to reading things in the New Testament. The epistles of John are some of the last writings recorded in the Word of God. God is faithful to His Word throughout.

In I John 3:12, there is a reference to 'the way of Cain' from Genesis 4.  Cain reinvented God's word to suit his own thinking and lashed back at God in disagreement when confronted by God Himself. Cain's brother Abel was annihilated in the process. This is not the way of love and truth.

In our modern times, this 'reinventing' of God happens more often than not. At present, there is a growing trend to see love as synonymous with 'tolerance'. Tolerance may be involved as a part of loving someone, but 'love' is a much bigger word. We cannot redefine love outside of truth. In order to really love, we need to understand how God loves and believe that He can work in us. We get that understanding by delving into God's Word. It is the truth that manifests love and sets us free and then we can truly help others.

the Love of God continued ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

The love of God is deep; it often moves behind the scenes. The most beautiful thing about it is that it knows exactly where to make its mark whether it is appreciated or not. When the love of God is active, it gets the task at hand done. It lifts people out of the mundane rut track and sets them above the fray. Love energizes believing. It helps people to do wonderful things when it is the motivation behind the utilization of God's spiritual tools, the nine manifestations.

Starting in verse 4 of I Corinthians 13, God lists the characteristics of His love. Because of its location between chapters 12 and 14, chapter 13 is very significant. It stands right between the scriptures that describe our spiritual abilities and the scriptures that describe those abilities in operation when people are gathered together. The love of God is central to all we do.

4Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Think about why the love of God is patient and kind? The effects produced sometimes take time, but they are are enduring. There are times when God is working with us step by step and maybe we can't see the forest for the trees, but in the end it is plainly visible how he loves us and has been cheering for us. It the same when we love others with His love. God may show us how to bless someone with the right word or action and their immediate reaction might not be what we expected. They may never see the depth of that kind of love. It doesn't matter. Our action may be part of a long string of events that eventually produces the fruit. It is God who notices what you do and lifts you up. His promotion involves providing more unimaginable opportunities for you to take care of things for Him. The more you spiritually mature, the bigger the job.

In Acts 9, there is a great example of a man walking in love and believing for God. Ananias was called upon to minister to Saul/Paul. The scripture calls Ananias a 'certain disciple'. Was he a minister? Yes! Did he have a gift ministry(Ephesians 4:11-12)?  It doesn't say. That was between him and God. What is evident in his life is the love that craves to see God's intent come to pass. That love is not human love. The intent is the ultimate motive behind it all.

Things don't happen over night, that is why patience is an attribute of God's love. The proper use of the nine manifestations to genuinely help requires that settled enduring strength on the inside. God doesn't push and shove, he is deliberate and right on. It is worth waiting for and it yields magnificent fruit. The church epistles are evidence of that.

The Love of God

¹Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 

2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1-2)

Interestingly these verses are set between two chapters devoted to the operation of the gift of holy spirit in the church. We have wonderful spiritual abilities, but without the love of God we are  nothing.

Now let's throw in a little sacrifice and charity work.

 ³And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

What good is that! Nothing! It all sounds loving in today's world. None of these avenues come close, not even one little micrometer, to the unfathomable love God is able to pour into our  hearts  to every nook and cranny of our being. It is real, authentic, unfeigned and powerful.


There are some great books on the market on how to have  better  relationships with people, but even if a person memorizes and quotes them verbatim, the old adage applies that 'you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear'. The love of God is an inside job.  It is resident in any man or woman when he or she makes Jesus Christ Lord.  It is God's love and it FAR EXCEEDS human love! It has perception, insight, vision, righteousness, justness and so many attributes that it is hard to list them all. God lists a few in the rest of the chapter.


The love of God is something you cannot practice, rehearse or robotically manifest. No one can tell you how to do it. There is no mistaking it because it is just so right, reassuring and is perfect justice, a complete truth.


So how do we share the love of God with others? First and foremost we need to really see how much He loves us. We need to have the contentment of knowing we are loved by Him before we can ever really help others. It doesn't matter where you've been, what baggage you are trying to lug around, you can let go and let God have free reign in your hearts by reading and digesting the church epistles.
We have to remember that we don't push God around, we don't bend Him, and we don't twist Him to suit our luggage. He is what He says He is in His word and we are what He says we are. Just read the first chapter in Ephesians, it's all there.

The Wind in Your Sail

Last week as I wiggled my toes in the sand and looked out over the Sound, I envisioned the sailboats that soon would come out of their storage and take up residence among the hollows and crests of lapping waves of this inlet.  The ocean is amazing to me, its beauty, its color reflecting the sky and its wonderful sounds.  The waves are ruffled at the surface, but deep below there is quiet and it is somewhat motionless.

Last summer for my birthday, one of my kids rented a large sailboat to sail over this area around sunset.  We were there vacationing for a week  and everyday the weather had been beautiful. The night before the sail, however, a big storm had blown in and was threatening the next day. It was supposed to last all day. Miraculously 45 minutes before our voyage, we got a call from a member of the crew of the ship that the storm  had blown by and the sail would be even better in the aftermath of the storm and it was!

Watching big sails unfurl and catch the wind reminded me of what life is like when God is the wind in your sail. It is in reading and quiet times with God that we unfurl the canvas and we are energized. As we then act in whatever situation we are involved in we start to notice fruit in our heart, love (not grouchiness), joy (not misery), peace (not anxiety), longsuffering (not impatience), gentleness (not hardness), goodness (not cruelty), faith (not fear), meekness (not arrogance), temperance (not greed) despite what is going on around us. (Galatians 5:22-23)

With God's strength we are able to tackle even the most difficult tasks and projects. When the waves get rough we also have the courage to make those decisions that are necessary to move in the direction of still waters.

In Acts 12 it is recorded that Herod had killed James (one of the apostles) and Peter had been thrown in jail.  There was great pressure all around and yet Peter was able to sleep (verse 6) in this ordeal and God was able to deliver him.  This had all happened right after his meeting with the Cornelius household in one of the most significant events in God's timetable. Waves of life come with crests and hollows.

I think of things that Peter must have remembered like walking on water, the transfiguration, standing up with the eleven on Pentecost, and healing the man at the temple gate.  Unlike the walking on water incident, he did not hesitate to stand in the wake of the spiritual tsunamis that was pounding on Jerusalem. He did not question himself and his standing with God. He set his sail.

We also have access to God through Jesus Christ. God is faithful to His promises. He listens to our heart and His strength becomes our strength as he directs and guides us to safe harbors.

Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.