Love. What is love to you? How does love affect you each and every day? Does it? Have you really ever thought about it? How many times have you heard someone say they love something? I love my iPad. I love this pizza. Oh my gosh, I love that song. I love it when that happens. I love my new car. Is this what love has become to us? An affection to things that only bring us an immediate satisfaction and fulfills a superficial need. The concept and meaning of love has become so watered down and misconstrued that we don’t even know what love means anymore. Love has become a transaction rather than a relationship. It has become a one-night stand as opposed to a marriage. Our immediate superficial needs and desires replace the intimate needs and desires our hearts so desperately long for.
We can’t expect to misuse or misinterpret love without negatively impacting our heart. Our flippant use of love not only damages our heart but also down plays what Christ demonstrated on the Cross. Some might say this is a radical position and I couldn’t agree more. If there is one thing we should be extreme about, it should be His love for us. The primary reason we aren’t more radical for God is that we don’t understand how radical His love is for us. If we could somehow more fully grasp His incredible love for us our lives would be drastically different. The sad reality is that we live our lives as if God is watching each and every move just waiting for us to screw up so He has a reason to withhold His love from us. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
I John 4:8 tells us that God is love. Notice it doesn’t say that God loves but instead it says God is love. God does not show acts of love. Why? Because He is love. God is just God and by Him being God He can’t help but be love. Every thought, every act and every decision of God is always based upon love. Why? Because God is love. God’s wrath starts with His love. God’s justice starts with His love. If God is love then love has to be the most powerful force in the world. It’s not discipline, hate, anger, disease or even the largest army. It is love. But without an understanding of love how can we expect to more fully understand God? There is only one answer to the question and that answer is Jesus.
Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus is the exact representation of God. In another words, Jesus was God walking the earth in human form. Do you see the connection? If God is love and Jesus is God then Jesus must also be love. This same love conquered the grave to cancel every past, present and future sin for everyone. Not just for the Christians but for the Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, New Agers, Agnostics, Satanic, Scientologists and every other belief and non-belief that has ever existed. This is the one true undefeated love.
Jesus did nothing apart from the Father. Did you notice the word “nothing”? I looked up the definition and sure enough it means “not one thing”. Jesus didn’t want to spend one second of His life without being in communion with His Father. Why? It is because Jesus knew the love that His Father had for for Him. If you knew, I mean truly knew the love of God for you, why would you want to spend one nano-second out of communion with Him? If you knew the uncreated God loves you more than anything in this world why would you spend any amount of time not listening to Him? You know why I don’t? I think God is holding out on me. I think I can do my life better than God can. I think I know what I need better than He does. I think my love is better than the love He can offer. At times I use His love just when I think I need it. All these point to a sad reality, “I think I can love myself and others better than He can.” I’ve learned that there is only one formula when it comes to love.
God + Nothing = Love
Apart from God, love is not possible. This uncreated God created humanity out of His great love. Not some Hollywood love where someone completes someone else. I’m talking about the kind of love that parts the Red Sea, turns water into wine, raises the dead, cancels sin. Love isn’t simply an act. Love is a force like none other. It is absolutely impossible to live the life Christ asked us to without love. Love is what unleashes the Kingdom of God. Love is what makes Earth more like heaven. Love is not God giving us everything we want. That’s not God’s mission. Can He bless us? Will He bless us? You betcha, but God is not a grandfather figure who shows up at Christmas and birthdays to spoil us.
Love is only possible when God is working “in” and “through” and us. We are called to the same standard as Jesus and we can learn from the model He exemplified. The “in” is the receiving, and Jesus who was a clean vessel was able to receive the Father’s love like none other. The “through” was evidenced by Jesus’ reverent submission to the Father. In the West we assume there are two doors to this equation. The first is the “in” and the second is the “through”. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that there are not two doors. The doors are one and the same. We cannot give what we aren’t receiving and we can’t receive what we aren’t giving. We must receive love to give it and we must give love to receive it. God is love and as we receive and give, He is present. When He is our source of love we can give it away because we know He is love.
I’m certainly not here to say there will not be times when we can’t feel His love or even see it. Just because we don’t think He loves us does not mean it is not present. It’s no different than the different phases of the moon. Just because you can’t see the moon does not make it any less real. The same applies for the love of God. The love of God is constant and exists no matter what. It is in the times when we cannot see or feel His love that we must remember what His son did for us.
Never ever forget in the present what He did in the past. It is only through greater revelation of God’s love that will enable you to be righteous, hopeful, faithful, holy and peaceful when your circumstances appear overwhelming. Realizing God’s love reveals that what’s right in His eyes is also what’s best. Have you ever really thought about that? His commandments and requests are not just what He considers to be “right” but what’s best. That truth alone will not only change your life but everyone else’s around you.
God’s love has the power to ignite hearts and restore lives. His love will free you from despair, depression, fear, anxiety and abuse. Whatever it is, it has no chance. No matter how far you think you’ve run from Him, His love will chase you down. It doesn’t matter if you have no desire to follow Him. His love for you will never change. God loves us more in a moment than we could love anyone in a lifetime. Love is not about us or the person or object we think we love. Love is always about Him and when we receive His love it is the match that ignites our hearts with love. Let His love be your fuel and your life will become the flame. As your life burns with His love you cannot help but ignite other’s hearts. When hearts burn with His love things change. The blind see, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, those who mourn become joyous, the fearful become courageous and the broken become restored.
God’s love tells us that what He asks to do is not just right but it’s what’s best. You are a dream of God and His love created you and His love will see you through. Your life begins and ends with the love of the One True God.
Aaron R. Stephens is passionate in helping college students and young adults navigate life's challenges while growing spiritually and living for Jesus.
