I cannot escape thinking about Agape love. It sounds stupid, but the totality of all my life's experiences and thoughts of love are but a fraction of what I see love to be today. It as if God has hung this proverbial carrot out in front of me and said, come and get it. I see something out there I have never fully experienced, nor fully observed in this lifetime. Oh sure, my definition of love has been met and seen thousands of times. But God's definition of love... frankly I have mainly read about it in the life of Christ. Oh there are times when I taste it, but that taste is the little baby spoon for the sample at the ice cream counter. I can see that there is a four scoop banana split of love out there. That's what I want to take a bite of.
What is this love? Oswald Chambers says that it has a degree of spontaneity. That true, pure love is not something that is planned. 1 Corinthians says it is patient, kind, not jealous, does not brag, not arrogant, doesn't act unbecomingly, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and never fails. 1 John tells us God is love and if we don't love then we don't know God. Jesus said there was no greater love than to lay down one's life for another.
What fascinates me more at the moment is not what love is, but what love is not. For example, no where does it say love is never angry, or love is compassionate. Both feelings the bible is clear that Christ had. Love is not necessarily giving advice. Love is not even giving a hand out. Though advice and a hand out could be considered kindness, they could equally be unkind if the advice is misguided, or the handout is enabling. There is not an absolute that love is doing what someone wants. It does not say that love teaches... though this could be an act of love. It does not say love is feeding the hungry. It does not say love is giving to the poor. Though Christ clearly gave to the poor, He also did not give when it was suggested by Judas that perfume used on Him should be sold for that purpose. On the contrary Jesus replied, "you will always have the poor with you." So in the reality of life there are a lot of acts, and omissions for that matter, that may or may not be love. What makes them love or not is if God (who is love) is behind them. So love, the love of God, also has an element of obedience to it.
Can we conclude that if we know God through salvation then we will experience His love? Can we also conclude that if we have experienced His love then we will also be able to express that love? Can we also conclude if we are to express love correctly then God will have to communicate what the correct act is?
Now throw into the mix that loving God, and loving our neighbor as ourselves are the only two commandments. And Jesus says that in exercising these commandments His burden is easy and His load is light. Therefore should the acts of love that God commands not be horrifically burdensome? Oh you can be certain that pure love will absolutely confront our egos, and never allow us to be seeking our own. But beyond that beautiful experience of dying to self, of ego being defeated, shouldn't love be easy? Answer... love is only easy for a dead man, an ego-less man.
No comments:
Post a Comment