THE TRUE NATURE OF LOVE
Love is one of the most frequently used words in the human vocabulary. It is also one of the most misunderstood. Men speak of loving when they mean desiring. They speak of love when they mean tolerance. They speak of love when they mean emotion, affection or personal attachment. The Bible presents love in a much higher and holier sense. True love did not originate with man. “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Therefore, love must be understood in the light of God and His revealed will rather than by the changing standards of human society.
There is sentimental love. Sentimental love is governed largely by feelings. It loves when it is convenient and withdraws when circumstances become difficult. It is often strong when emotions are high and weak when sacrifice is required. Such love may have sincerity in it, but sincerity alone does not make it Biblical love. The love commanded by Christ reaches beyond feelings. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you” (Matthew 5:44). Sentiment may cause a man to love those who love him. Christian love teaches him to love even those who mistreat him.
There is also permissive love. This is the concept that says love never corrects, never rebukes and never says that anything is wrong. According to this view, to disagree with someone is unloving and to warn someone about sin is hateful. Such a concept cannot be reconciled with Scripture.
Jesus loved people perfectly, yet He also called men to repentance. Paul commanded Christians to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). Biblical love does not rejoice when someone continues in error. “Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). Love cares too much to remain silent when souls are in danger.
There is selfish love. This kind of love is based upon what another person can provide. It loves when love is returned, when appreciation is received, when friendship is beneficial or when personal desires are satisfied. But the love of Christ is sacrificial. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus did not wait until humanity became worthy of His love. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The cross is the greatest demonstration that Biblical love gives rather than merely takes.
There is conditional love. Men often say, “I will love you if you love me,” or, “I will forgive you if you deserve it.” God’s love teaches us something higher. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Christian love is not determined entirely by how others treat us. It is determined by how God has commanded us to treat others. This is why Christians are commanded to forgive, to bear with one another, to pray for their enemies and to overcome evil with good (Matthew 6:14; Colossians 3:13; Romans 12:20-21).
There is also genuine Christian love. This love is patient and kind. It does not envy. It does not parade itself. It is not puffed up. It does not behave rudely or seek its own. It is not easily provoked and does not keep a record of wrongs. It rejoices in truth and endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). This is not weak love. It is strong enough to forgive, humble enough to serve, courageous enough to correct and faithful enough to remain when remaining is difficult.
The greatest expression of love is found in Jesus Christ. He loved the unlovely, touched the rejected, received sinners, served His disciples and willingly went to the cross. He did not merely speak about love. He demonstrated it. “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). If we want to know what love looks like, we must look to Christ.
Therefore, the question is not simply whether we love. The question is whether our love resembles the love of Christ. Love must be more than a word on our lips. It must become a character within us and a conduct before others. “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). A world filled with hatred, bitterness and division needs to see Christians who love as Christ loved. Such love does not compromise truth, but it never uses truth as an excuse to withhold love.
True love begins with God, is revealed in Christ, is governed by truth and is demonstrated by our lives. It does not merely ask, “What do I feel?” It asks, “What is good for the soul of another?” It does not merely seek to be loved. It seeks to love. And when the love of Christ truly fills the heart, it becomes impossible to hate our brother while claiming to love God (1 John 4:20-21).
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PRAYER
Father, teach me to love as Christ loved. Deliver me from selfish, sentimental and conditional love. Give me a love that is governed by truth, demonstrated by sacrifice and expressed through kindness, patience and forgiveness. May the love of Christ fill my heart until others can see Him through the way I live. Amen.
BDD
