Scripture: “Love is patient, Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” — 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Do You Really Love God + His People? Love is a word that often gets tossed around in society without the acknowledgement of it’s true “weightiness” and “intention”. On social media, especially, this four letter word is added to the conversation of many in the comments, DM’s, form of a video, whatever—–negating the effects that using such a powerful word has on any human soul. Biblically, Love is defined as being sacrificial—–but do we truly love with sacrifice? Is our love jaded by past hurts, experiences, and fears as opposed to given freely to everyone?
Do we even understand what Love actually encompasses? Well, let’s break it down biblically.
What is Love?
By definition, Love is an intense feeling of deep affection. It’s also defined as a great interest and pleasure in something.
What Does God is Love Mean?
While we often quote 1 John 4:16 which says “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him”, do we truly understand the meaning of this verse? In essence, this verse reflects the level of commitment, sacrifice, and justness that God exudes. It’s not about “affection” as the world defines it. It’s sacrificial, which means that there’s no bare minimum effort to love——it’s constant forgiveness, constant intervention, constant correction, constant patience, and so on.
In addition, it means that Love is not just one attribute of God but is the VERY CORE of who He is and why He does all that He does/has done like:
The creation of the world
Redemption of humanity through Christ
His judgments [as protection for His children + result of His holiness]
Are We Required to Love Like God?
Unfortunately, this seems to be heavily debated in many spaces because of the mentions of other types of love in or around the Bible. However, when Jesus spoke about our loving God and our neighbor, He didn’t mention it in any range of affection——He mentioned it as one solid type of love: agape. Therefore, the answer is Yes—we should love like God loves, especially since we aren’t loving from “our level/ability”, but through the Father’s ability with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives inside the Believer.
Let’s breakdown the types of love mentioned around the Bible and further talk about it:
- Eros: This term, not directly found in the Bible, refers to romantic, passionate love often seen in the Song of Solomon.
- Storge: This word describes the natural affection and love within families, often used to describe parental love or the love between siblings.
- Philia: This term refers to deep, affectionate friendship, a love that is often seen as a bond between close friends who share common interests and values.
- Agape: This is the Greek word often translated as “love” in the Bible. It’s the selfless, unconditional love that is often associated with God’s love for humanity and is exemplified in Jesus’ love for his followers.
The origination of these four types of love came from the Greek, which was one of the original languages of the Bible. While we see that there are several ways that love expresses it’s affection for a person depending on the context of a relationship—-as I’ve stated before: our fixation is loving others like Jesus loves His followers because our striving is to be more like Him, right?
Granted, because of our humanity—we’ll always fall short of actually loving others like God can. That’s just a fact. This is why it’s important for each of us to have a relationship with God personally so that He can fulfill the deep love that we so heavily seek. However, as Believers, we are called to express God’s kind of Love to everyone as best as we can with the leading of the Holy Spirit. That’s my focus point of it all. Too often, because there are several types of Love mentioned, we tend to focus on the type(s) of Love that feels easier or more comfortable for us to give. But I want us to understand that we’re called HIGHER. We’re called to love like Jesus did. That means that we’re called to have a sacrificial love towards our neighbor [including our enemies]. This is exactly what Jesus referenced in the Parable with the Good Samaritan in Luke 10: 25-37.
And although the Parable of the Good Samaritan is mostly related to how unworthy WE ALL are as it relates to earning salvation and God’s love, it also reflects the truth of how we should aim to treat + love our neighbor.
Is Love All Good Things/Feelings?
The short answer is No. How so? Well, let’s just look at God’s nature and character throughout the entire old testament. God showed great discipline/judgement in love on various occasions, especially towards the children of Israel. He’s shown patience even in chastening so that we can be reconciled back to Him. Why? Because ultimately, God doesn’t want anyone to perish. This is why He allowed Jesus to suffer for us and take on the curses and sin that should keep us bound to “death”. Read Isaiah 30 for a great example of God’s love towards the children of Israel and His response to them + their behavior.
Breakdown of What Love is Biblically
According to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Love is described in a myriad of ways that include:
Love is Patient. This is our ability to tolerate/accept suffering, trouble, + difficulty without getting angry or giving up.
Love is Kind. This is showing goodness, generosity, + sympathy towards others. Being compassionate. This is much of what God did by sacrificing His only begotten son, Jesus to provide salvation to us through His death on the cross.
Love is not Jealous or Envious. This is where we want to see people do well, where we support those who are doing well, even in absence of our own blessing.
Love is not Proud or Boastful. Do you care about others’ feelings as it relates to their lack? Do you cause your neighbor to stumble through the highlighting of your possessions?
Love is not Rude. Are you gentle in action/speech?
Love is not Self-seeking. Is it all about you? Are you more focused on your preferences + needs? Do you listen more than you speak? Do you challenge your thoughts/habits [including our biases + being open to helping or loving others who are different from you] to accommodate others?
Love is not Provoked. This is where you aren’t overly sensitive + easily angered. Do you test people for a specific response? Do you say/do things to bring about anger?
Love does not take into Account Wrongs. Do you hold on to what’s been done to you endlessly? If so, unforgiveness may have taken root.
Love does not Rejoice at Injustice. Do you care that people know truth? How you even respond to your enemies? What’s your heart posture when God redeems you in front of “naysayers” [the presence of pride versus not]?
Love Bears all Things. This is where you reflect an ability to be long-suffering and consistent regardless of whether things are easy or hard.
Love Believes all Things. Do you look for the best in others—even when they aren’t doing the right thing?
Love Hopes all Things. This is where you’re always optimistic about the outcome of things and steadfast in standing on things from above [godly things/thoughts].
Love Endures all Things. This is where you remain strong in all things and aren’t weakened in your well-doing.
Love never Fails. It doesn’t fade or end and is long-lasting. Also, it comes obstacles and hardships. Can you still love those who you longer are in relationship with?
Overall, as we can see based on the biblical context of what Love is, it isn’t about saying “yes” to someone or something all the time. Sometimes “no” is for the good of others or yourself. Despite popular opinion, Love also includes correction, rebuke, and punishment when there’s wrong-doing—–however, the ultimate goal is to restore a thing or person back to it’s “rightful” state or place and teaches/directs them to avoid repeating the same mistakes. That’s the difference.
Do We Really Love God?
Now, we delve into what is really means to love God. Again, we do these things “out of love” not “for love”—so keep that in mind. Here are some ways that reflect our love for God:
- Through obedience
- Faith in His sovereignty + ability
- Following His commandments
- Fear of God [a type of reverence not actual fear]
- Remaining steadfast even when we don’t see His hand [i.e. blessings, interventions in a situation, etc.]
- Hating + grieving over our sin [Living a life of repentance + turning from what we used to do]
- How we treat others + walk in love [even with our enemies]
- Considering His plans + desires for our lives over our own ambitions
Verse of the Day
“The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith”. — 1 Timothy 1:5
In this verse, Paul is talking to Timothy about the true reason for instruction and guidance in the Christian life and making love, having a pure heart, a clear conscience, and real faith the ultimate goal and aim for us as Believers. In addition, it reflects Paul’s stance on false doctrines or causing controversy that didn’t advance God’s work. For example: teaching the law, which was created for “lawless” people and those who rebelled. Instead, we should be focused on cultivating the Fruits of the Spirit which will cause us to keep the 10 commandments by default.
Overall, Love is something pure and without hidden intentions or motives. It’s about being genuine, nurturing in both word/action, and considering others more highly than ourselves [meaning we don’t make things about ourselves but rather considering others].
So I ask this question directly [as I’ve asked myself], Do you really Love God + His people?
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