In a world where love is dwindling and human relationships have become more and more dysfunctional, the need for Christians to step up to their responsibilities has become more urgent. If it is so that Christ said “They will know you are my disciples by your love”, then the love we show towards humanity should not only be a part of our “church agenda”. It is the centre of our identity as Christians. By love we will be identified; by love we testify to our faith and who we believe in.
Now, it is important to mention, that most people when hearing talk about the need for, and the good nature of love, will rarely disagree with what is being said. Most people see love as a positive emotion or discipline. Very few, I find, would not condone the idea of its increase in our society. We talk about love all the time. We need it, we want it, we spend money to see movies about it, we read about it, we try and pursue it, define it, understand it.
Then what is the problem? If the general consensus is that love is good and we need more of it, why is there such a lack of it? When the romantic word meets “Monday morning rush hour” it seems it loses its ability to relate to reality, and love is a mirage we chase in our personal, little desert. Why is love so hard to find?
The reason is simply this…I cannot obey the call of love and the call of my ego at the same time. These two things are, by nature, opposites. The demand the opposite and call for the opposite. Love is not self-serving, but serving. Ego is nothing but self-serving. In the world of selfishness, I am King. I rule, I make the rules and I demand. In the world of Love, the service and good of others has dominion. When love rules, the dominant law behind my actions and motives becomes not my wants, desires or self-seeking inclinations. They become God’s rules. God’s law is love. Love is the core. And so the lack of love in the human heart, and in society today, may also be referred to as the lack of God.
Are we not by nature loving creatures? This is a question I often have heard and often have posed myself. Due to the scar of sin, our nature has become selfishness. Self comes naturally first, and if this is so, then love cannot come naturally. It must be infused, taught or given from an outside source. Think about it. No one loves more than children. They are those least marred by a sinful nature. Love is the golden string that binds our hearts to God; love for Him and for others. This is the core of the law of the Talmud, and this is the core of Christianity.
But what is love? What does love mean?
Love is always patient;13
love is always kind;
love is never envious
or arrogant with pride.
Nor is she conceited,
and she is never rude;
she never thinks just of herself
or ever get annoyed.
She never is resentful;
is never glad with sin,
but always glad to side with truth,
whene’er the truth should win.
She bears up under everything,
believes the best in all,
there is no limit to her hope,
and she will never fall.
Love never fails. Now if there are prophecies, they will be done away with. If there are languages, they will cease. If there is knowledge, it will be done away with. For what we know is incomplete and what we prophesy is incomplete. But when what is complete comes, then what is incomplete will be done away with.
Love means I want as much good for my enemy as I want for my dearest love. It is not appealing, and it isn’t pretty. It never has been and it never will be. It feels downright unnatural and at times directly foolish. Love forces us out of our comfort zones…but then again, remember, it is against our nature.
But if any man loves God, he is known by God. (1 Co 8:3)
Love is something we have to learn to do properly. It needs to be taught us by the Lover of our Souls. Love comes from God; God is love personified, and without Him as the centre, there is no real love.
