What is love?

Hey guys!

Sorry it's been a while.....I've been busy, but I'm happy to have some time to update you all on what's been going on.

Life here is going well. I'm enjoying Ballet Magnificat, I'm really enjoying all of my friends and work is well......work.

So guess what holiday is this week? Valentine's Day. Now, most (if not all) of you know that I don't think very highly of this "Hallmark holiday".....but it has made me think a lot over the past few days.

(This is a long one, but bear with me.....it'll all make sense in the end.)

What is love?? It can't be candy hearts, balloons and little cards with baby angels....

I know what love is NOT. Love is not lust. Love is not obsession with another person. Love is not a deception to get others to do what you want.

The first scripture that came to mind when I was thinking about all of this was first John 4:7-11&18: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

and verse 18: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

Okay, so far we see that love comes from God. Not only that, but God IS love. His very nature is love. So when we love one another, that is an extension of the very nature of God! That is a HUGE responsibility. A far cry from what the world knows, isn't it? Love is the absence of fear. There is no fear in the love of God. Of course, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.....but because of HIS great love for us, we have no fear of our sins being counted against us. We stand before the throne, covered in the grace and love of our Lord Jesus, and so we are able to speak to our Father, and have fellowship with him.

The next passage that came to mind was John 15:9-13:

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

This passage shows us a little more of what love is. Jesus tells us that love=obedience. That's not easy. He also says that love=sacrifice. Also VERY difficult. As I thought about that.....I got really excited. Do you see the other pictures of this kind of love that God has put into society?!?!?! Marriage....the wife is called to obey her husband out of respect....the husband is called to sacrifice his own life out of love (that's spelled out in Ephesians 5). The other picture that I see is in parenting (Mom, Dad, can I get an amen?). Children are called to obey their parents.....and the very act of having children calls parents to sacrifice their bodies, hearts, minds and resources to their child.

AND

This is the most exciting. Love=Calvary. When Jesus died on the cross he did it out of PERFECT love! He was in perfect OBEDIENCE to the father.....and perfect SACRIFICE to us. Isn't that amazing? Jesus knew exactly what he was talking about, and he walked that out so that we might have an example to follow.

At this point in my study, I was SO excited. Do you see how much our Lord loves us? Isn't that incredible? I could lose my whole world....all of you, Ballet Magnificat, my family, my dearest friends, my mind, my health, my finances.....and I would STILL have reason to rejoice in the great, surpassing love of JESUS!

Okay, so now that we know that. Let's look at some practical application. For this one, we need to go to one of my favorite passages in scripture. If you can live out this passage, you have the christian life figured out......of course, I don't think we'll ever reach that, but I have this one memorized and quote it often.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

That is incredible. The more I dig into this passage, the more amazed I am. This is the kind of person I want to be. One that loves deeply and completely with no thought of self, or selfish ambitions. One that loves without caring if that love is returned. One that because of his/her love for others is eager to think the best of everyone in every situation. One who does not bring up past sins against those around them. One who loves regardless of flaws and shortcomings in others. One whose love comes from God, and because of that, the love never runs dry, though circumstance and situations may not always seem bright.

This is completely opposite of what the world calls love. They think that love is measured by how much another person makes you happy.....or in romantic love, if they "complete" you. I've heard my friends talking like that and it makes me so upset. Love has NOTHING to do with that. That is why SO many marriages end in divorce...because people think that if their spouse isn't making them happy, then they should move on. Who made that up!?!?! That is NOT scriptural at all. The love that we have as believers should be COMPLETELY different from the world's. Remember the kids song we all used to sing? "They will know we are Christians by our love..."(John 13:35) We have to love one another in a way that is totally counter cultural, completely foolish in the world's eyes, and perfectly grounded in the Word of God.

So, in conclusion: Love is not about money, or beauty, or feelings, or personal gain. Love is a choice and an extension of grace that is given to us, shown to us and made complete by Jesus Christ.

If that's what true love is....if that's what we're celebrating on Thursday.....then maybe Valentine's Day isn't so bad after all.
-Julie