I love him.
Depending on who says that, it could mean entirely different things. I love him could mean; I enjoy his company, I like how he makes me feel or I want to be with him.
When we think of love, most of us think of the emotions that are triggered inside of us in response to another.
God’s view of love is very different from ours. The Almighty views love in two different categories, the love we have for him and the love we have for others, none of which involve dopamine.
God’s expectations of love is predicated entirely on our actions. From the divine perspective, love means kindness, gentleness, long suffering, forgiveness, optimism and perseverance…and that’s not the full list.(1)
These are not emotional attributes. These are attributes that are often triggered by challenging circumstances.
Love will not fail. Long suffering doesn’t exist without suffering. Perseverance doesn’t exist without persistent problems. The call to love our fellow humans is often beyond hard.
Then there is our love for God. Again not emotional (at least God doesn’t expect it to be).
Without taking away from our love for the latest worship song or how emotional we get in church, love for God is proved on one thing.
Our obedience to him
This is where it gets messy
As anyone who has ever had to be obedient to a God given instruction will tell you, it’s never easy.
When Joseph ran from Potipher’s wife knowing she could have him killed, that was Joseph loving God.(2) There was nothing romantic about that situation.
What we often miss is that God never meant for love to be dictated by emotions.
That’s hard.
It’s hard because it runs counter to our urge to demonstrate love whether that love be for other people or whether that love be for God
You probably don’t feel like a loving person right now.
You don’t have to be.
The good Samaritan didn’t do what he did based of his emotions. He gave his all to the wounded stranger and God rewarded him with the ‘believer of the year award.’
In a situation he easily could have sidestepped, He stopped to help and did above and beyond what anyone would have expected.
Today His story persists as God has promised that love will.
That’s God’s promise by the way. That which will not fail is Love.(3)
When given in it’s truest form love stands above a plethora of things and ideas that we prioritize more.
The best news is, the author of love is the one who does it best and His love will certainly not fail.
His love is why we can trust that a better future awaits us. His love is what keeps the gates of heaven open and his love is what will remain after everything else comes apart in our world.
That’s a love I intend to hold on to.
1 1st Corinthians 13
2 Genesis 39 v 1-15
3 1st Corinthians 13v13