What does that mean?? The search for love continues…

I can remember it plain as day.  Close to ten years ago, I was doing my quiet time.  I had enjoyed a season of intimacy with Christ years prior, then years of wandering, then years of leaning into the discipline of faith.  I wanted to get back to the season of intimacy with Christ but was still struggling with many lackluster days of disciplined quiet-time.

But this day was different.  I read Matthew 22:35-37.  One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:  Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  

What does that mean???

I got stuck on that one verse…Love the Lord your God…  I had no idea what that looked like or how to live that out.  Married with three kids younger than 3 years, I wasn’t even sure what I knew what love was.  But, I realized if there was only one thing I should do–one thing God wanted me to do, it was to love Him.  

I knew it was a commandment He meant for me to live-out.  It was not to be elusive or vague, rather practical.  And I didn’t buy the rationalization that we would/could never actually live-out the verse.  Instead, His conviction for the verse pressed into my spirit.  Forget everything else and learn how to live-out this one verse.

Learn how to love God.

Utterly perplexed by the concept of love, I dug into His Word.  How do you live love if you don’t even know what He means by the word??

That drove me to discovering God is love. The names of God actually describe the attributes of love.  Each name, a noun, is also a verb.  He is our Sustainer, Shepherd, Provider, Protector, Counselor, Lover of our souls.  The ultimate attribute–the ultimate verb–the ultimate action of His love is Christ dying for us.

I searched every verse listed in the back of my Bible Concordance for love.  I took notes.  I googled bible verses on love.  I desperately wanted to know how to love God.

Funny things is God says…You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you.  Jeremiah 29:13-14  And He is right.  I found the answer. Plain as day.

John 14 tells you the answer.  John 14:15, 21, 23; 1 John 5:2,-3 all plainly state the same answer.  Jesus says…“If you love me, keep my commands.”  John 14:15

That’s it…obey His commands.  Obedience=love.

Once again love is described as an action.

That may sound legalistic or cold.  And we know, if we are not careful Satan can move in and twist love into legalism.  After all, look at the Pharisees.

Think of the freedom Christ gives us in this definition.  We are not held in bondage to our emotions.  We are not a slave to our feelings.  Our love for Christ is not dependent on our ever-changing, non-reliant emotions. Our love for Christ is dependent upon our choices.

Several years ago I sat in a Bible Study class.  One of the ladies was visibly upset because she did not feel loving to someone she was called to love.  She continued to serve this person and display kindness towards them but her heart did not feel kind.  She was upset because she believed if she were more like Jesus she would feel kind or loving towards this person.  Maybe she’s right, but I’m not convinced.

Jesus never said we had to feel kind or feel loving.  He just said we had to BE kind and BE loving.

The truth is I don’t believe Jesus wanted or felt like going to the cross.  The thought of going to the cross made Him sweat blood.  He even asked God for another way.  Was there any other way other than going to the cross–let this cup pass.  But God said, No…there is no other way but the cross.  So Jesus chose the cross.  He chose to love God and us even-though I don’t believe He felt like going to the cross. (Luke 22:39-46)

Believing the subtle lie that how I feel determines if I love is dangerous. Dangerous because it leads us to chasing an elusive emotion.  Dangerous because it sets our hearts on an uncontrollable emotion instead of determined course of action. Dangerous because it robs us of the joy and confidence in loving God by obeying His commands.

I have personally found the more I pray for my enemies, the more loving I feel towards them.  The more I obey God, the more I feel like obeying God.

The more I choose God, the more I experience the reality of God’s love in my life.  The more I choose God, the greater manifestation of Him I experience.  And the more I experience God’s character, God’s love demonstrated in my life, the more I am radically consecrated to the One who loves me.

Lord, teach us to choose to love you with all hearts, souls, mind and strength.