Love, a popular word for sure. A word that is too unreservedly uttered by those dating. A word that is used without restraint my those seeking to manipulate a situation. A word that is often used to generously without any action.
Love in our culture is connected so closely to emotions it is causes me anxiety. I am not saying emotions are bad, they are a gift of God! But I think the ancients understood the depth of Love much more fully than us 21st century folks. The idea of Love, then, was often rooted in behavior and action, even identity.
Identity: "....God is love"-- 1 John 4:8b
Ultimately we remember that Christ loved world so much that He gave His own life for it! Love rooted in action. Love, agape- love, self-sacrificial love, a total commitment, giving love to all including enemies (i.e. the world who did not love Him). Wow!
What about us though? Can we love like that? Maybe not to that extent of sacrificing for the whole world, but certainly in a most powerful way!
"If you love (agape) me,
you will keep mycommandments." (commandments = all His teaching vv 21, 23-24) Love rooted in action, not just a fleeting feeling or when it is easy or accessible. A self-sacrificial love, a total commitment. Listen to these thoughts by the Christian devotion writer Oswald Chambers, from Utmost for My Highest (Nov. 2)
"The Lord does not give me rules, He makes His standard very clear, and if my relationship to Him is that of love, i will do what He says without any hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone else in competition with him, viz., myself.... If I obey Jesus Christ the Redemption of God will rush through me to other lives, because behind the deed of obedience is the Reality of Almighty God."
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