TRUE LOVE & THE BELIEVER
On Valentine’s Day, it is difficult to escape the prominent role that “love” or ‘true love” has in our culture. Our culture has a fascination with “true love”—from romance novels to Hallmark movies, from dating apps to advice columnists. Even advertising draws on romance to market its wares. But can we really find “true love” in this life? As a follower of Jesus, are we subtlety accepting culture’s definition and influence on our thinking when we encounter Scripture’s “true love” rather than how Scripture itself portrays “true love”?
This isn’t a trivial matter—it goes to the core of a believer’s faith. It’s foundational to the nature of God and it’s the basis to our relationship with God. Biblically, we can’t define either truth or love apart from God. They are at the root of God’s revelation of Himself, of His nature and character, in His name. Ex 34:6, “Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth.” Whatever aspect of God’s revelation we encounter—whether His words or His works—at the center, we find love and truth, in keeping with His nature and character.
And in turn, His desire for us is that we become like Him. To that end, God is always after our heart—hearts that are in alignment with His ways and His nature, including our underlying motives and intentions. The promise of this transformation is based on the truth of His love. Rom 5:8, “But God proves His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” 1 Jn 4:10, “Love consists in this—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Just as we love getting a Valentine and receiving someone’s affirmation of their love for us—we enjoy being recipients of God’s love—His grace and salvation to and for us. But there also is our response—which is to love the same way, in truth, without pretense, without selfish motives or trying to benefit ourselves through the relationship. We generally love those who love us—a certain worldly level that Jesus acknowledged in how the world loves its own (Mt 5:46). But God’s love is completely different—it extends to the world, to His enemies, to those who don’t love Him, and is fully consistent with His nature.
The Gospel of His love encompasses the nature of God that was revealed through His Son—the grace and truth that came through Jesus (Jn 1:14,17). Jesus said as much in His two purpose statements—One, His grace, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life (Mk 10:45, Mt 20:28), and Two, His truth. In Jn 18:37, “I was born for this and I have come into the world for this—to testify to the truth.” We are called to do the same.
David prays in Ps 25:5, “Make Your ways known to me, Lord; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation.” In verses 7-10, David appeals to the Lord in keeping with His faithful love and because of His goodness, that “He shows sinners the way, He leads the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth to those who keep His covenant and decrees.”
So what is our response to such a great love? 1 Jn 4:7, 11, 19, “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God… Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another… We love because He first loved us.” Paul adds his emphasis to this thought in 2 Cor 5:14-15, “For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised. From now on, then, we do not know anyone in a purely human way.”
The love, that loves God first of all, with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength, and then also loves others as ourselves is a love that can’t be done in a “purely human way”. It can only be done in the same manner as His love for us. It can’t have self-interest as its motivation. We can’t do either of these commandments with culture’s understanding of love or by our own desires because by definition, they are selfish and reciprocal. What God is after is a selfless love that desires what is best for the “other”. If we ever love because of a derivative benefit or if our motive is to receive something from the relationship, we aren’t loving with the love God desires.
Love fulfills the Law in that it does no harm to its recipient but only the highest benefit or good for the other person—that’s the love that God rewards. In Ps 119:2-3, it says that “blessed are those who keep His decrees and seek Him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong, they follow His ways.” If we show God’s love through kindness and mercy, Pr 11:17-19, states that “A kind man benefits himself (The merciful man does himself good). We ultimately benefit, even if our motive isn’t to seek our own benefit but only the other’s.
How is this? How can doing good be its own reward? The highest reward for a person’s work isn’t what they get for it but what they become by it. As we walk the road that Jesus walked, to love and to serve others, we become more like Him. Becoming like Him is the reward which will ultimately culminate with our new bodies at the resurrection, exchanging the mortal for the immortal and the corrupt for the incorruptible. Jesus prayed in Jn 17:23,26, “… so that the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me...I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.” This is truly mind-blowing!
If you’re after “true love”, this statement is the ultimate—to be loved by the Father with the same love He has for Jesus and to have this same love reside in us. Ps 4:2-3, presents the question in stark relief, “How long will you love what is worthless?” We need to reorder our loves and find the godly love that truth embraces in all of our relationships—loving and expressing the fruit of the Spirit, the good works that bring glory to Him! And His life to us!
This isn’t a trivial matter—it goes to the core of a believer’s faith. It’s foundational to the nature of God and it’s the basis to our relationship with God. Biblically, we can’t define either truth or love apart from God. They are at the root of God’s revelation of Himself, of His nature and character, in His name. Ex 34:6, “Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth.” Whatever aspect of God’s revelation we encounter—whether His words or His works—at the center, we find love and truth, in keeping with His nature and character.
And in turn, His desire for us is that we become like Him. To that end, God is always after our heart—hearts that are in alignment with His ways and His nature, including our underlying motives and intentions. The promise of this transformation is based on the truth of His love. Rom 5:8, “But God proves His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” 1 Jn 4:10, “Love consists in this—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Just as we love getting a Valentine and receiving someone’s affirmation of their love for us—we enjoy being recipients of God’s love—His grace and salvation to and for us. But there also is our response—which is to love the same way, in truth, without pretense, without selfish motives or trying to benefit ourselves through the relationship. We generally love those who love us—a certain worldly level that Jesus acknowledged in how the world loves its own (Mt 5:46). But God’s love is completely different—it extends to the world, to His enemies, to those who don’t love Him, and is fully consistent with His nature.
The Gospel of His love encompasses the nature of God that was revealed through His Son—the grace and truth that came through Jesus (Jn 1:14,17). Jesus said as much in His two purpose statements—One, His grace, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life (Mk 10:45, Mt 20:28), and Two, His truth. In Jn 18:37, “I was born for this and I have come into the world for this—to testify to the truth.” We are called to do the same.
David prays in Ps 25:5, “Make Your ways known to me, Lord; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation.” In verses 7-10, David appeals to the Lord in keeping with His faithful love and because of His goodness, that “He shows sinners the way, He leads the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth to those who keep His covenant and decrees.”
So what is our response to such a great love? 1 Jn 4:7, 11, 19, “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God… Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another… We love because He first loved us.” Paul adds his emphasis to this thought in 2 Cor 5:14-15, “For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised. From now on, then, we do not know anyone in a purely human way.”
The love, that loves God first of all, with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength, and then also loves others as ourselves is a love that can’t be done in a “purely human way”. It can only be done in the same manner as His love for us. It can’t have self-interest as its motivation. We can’t do either of these commandments with culture’s understanding of love or by our own desires because by definition, they are selfish and reciprocal. What God is after is a selfless love that desires what is best for the “other”. If we ever love because of a derivative benefit or if our motive is to receive something from the relationship, we aren’t loving with the love God desires.
Love fulfills the Law in that it does no harm to its recipient but only the highest benefit or good for the other person—that’s the love that God rewards. In Ps 119:2-3, it says that “blessed are those who keep His decrees and seek Him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong, they follow His ways.” If we show God’s love through kindness and mercy, Pr 11:17-19, states that “A kind man benefits himself (The merciful man does himself good). We ultimately benefit, even if our motive isn’t to seek our own benefit but only the other’s.
How is this? How can doing good be its own reward? The highest reward for a person’s work isn’t what they get for it but what they become by it. As we walk the road that Jesus walked, to love and to serve others, we become more like Him. Becoming like Him is the reward which will ultimately culminate with our new bodies at the resurrection, exchanging the mortal for the immortal and the corrupt for the incorruptible. Jesus prayed in Jn 17:23,26, “… so that the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me...I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.” This is truly mind-blowing!
If you’re after “true love”, this statement is the ultimate—to be loved by the Father with the same love He has for Jesus and to have this same love reside in us. Ps 4:2-3, presents the question in stark relief, “How long will you love what is worthless?” We need to reorder our loves and find the godly love that truth embraces in all of our relationships—loving and expressing the fruit of the Spirit, the good works that bring glory to Him! And His life to us!
by Mark Ott, Elder
Posted in Faith Blogs
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