by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. 2 John 6
Love is not a mere emotion.
Love is a conscious decision.
Love chooses to obey.
Love is not a mere emotion.
Love is not the warm fuzzies of affection. Love is not the giddy butterflies of attraction. Love is not the heady appeal of flattery, and Love is not the cozy feeling of friendship.
Affection, attraction, appeal, feeling we call these things love but they are not love they are merely affection, attraction, appeal, and feelings. Feelings are fickle. Emotions come and go. Few emotions can be sustained for any length of time. You can choose to nurse a grudge, but actually remaining angry takes a lot more effort.
Your neighbor lets his dog do its business on your lawn – again – and you are angry. But then your friend comes over and you gripe about the neighbor and he gripes about his boss and then you turn on the TV and the anger fades into the excitement of the game you friend came over to watch.
Puppy love is overwhelming in the angst of your teenage years, but that first love is rarely the lasting love. Divorce is epidemic because too many couples mistake the blush of attraction or the comfort of familiarity for love. Romantic love fades always. Unless there is something more substantial than mere attraction holding a couple together that couple will come apart at the seams.
Love is not a mere emotion.
Love is a conscious decision.
Fortunately there is a definition of love in the Bible.
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
Love never fails
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love, patience and kindness are not emotions that you either have or don’t have they are actions that you practice until you perfect them.
In this age of immediate gratification we are currently being asked to wait – for 30 days or more. This is something entirely new to the younger generations. We are being asked to think of others, those at risk, when we are not necessarily at risk. The ‘Me First’ generations are not equipped to handle this, they’ve never had to and they don’t know how.
The impatient among us must now practice patience. In 30 days they will have learned a new skill. This is a skill that Christians must cultivate and keep nourished. God is love. If you want a definition of God look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. If God were not patient with us we would be without hope. If He were not kind we would be without solace. If he did not love us then we would be unsalvageable. If he did not show mercy and save us no one would survive.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10
Next there are a few what love is not's. one of which is love is not envious. Envy carries with it a touch of malice. It is not a simple matter of not wanting what someone else has. There is nothing wrong with wanting a house like someone else has. But envy goes a step further. It not only wants what it doesn’t have it wants those that have to not have. “If I don’t have it then no one else should either.” That is envy and it is one of the big 10 no-nos. Don’t covet what someone else has. This element of malice is the sin – outside the will of God.
Fortunately there is a definition of love in the Bible.
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
Love never fails
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love, patience and kindness are not emotions that you either have or don’t have they are actions that you practice until you perfect them.
In this age of immediate gratification we are currently being asked to wait – for 30 days or more. This is something entirely new to the younger generations. We are being asked to think of others, those at risk, when we are not necessarily at risk. The ‘Me First’ generations are not equipped to handle this, they’ve never had to and they don’t know how.
The impatient among us must now practice patience. In 30 days they will have learned a new skill. This is a skill that Christians must cultivate and keep nourished. God is love. If you want a definition of God look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. If God were not patient with us we would be without hope. If He were not kind we would be without solace. If he did not love us then we would be unsalvageable. If he did not show mercy and save us no one would survive.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10
Next there are a few what love is not's. one of which is love is not envious. Envy carries with it a touch of malice. It is not a simple matter of not wanting what someone else has. There is nothing wrong with wanting a house like someone else has. But envy goes a step further. It not only wants what it doesn’t have it wants those that have to not have. “If I don’t have it then no one else should either.” That is envy and it is one of the big 10 no-nos. Don’t covet what someone else has. This element of malice is the sin – outside the will of God.
Every good thing that we have comes from God. God knows what we need and He provides from His bounty. Count your blessings, focus on what you do have and not on what you don’t have. Focus on God. God can see the future clearly, if He doesn’t give you that race car then He might be protecting you from wrapping yourself around a tree. I’m just saying…
Love is a conscious decision.
Love takes practice. The skills of love take practice. Which brings us to the third element of Love
Love chooses to obey.
Jesus gave us a new commandment, one which fulfilled all of the other commandments for if we love God and love each other then we will, by the very nature of love, be obeying all of the other commandments.
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:43
Love your neighbor as yourself . Matthew 22:39
But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:27-31
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Romans 12:9
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
We are compelled, by the love Christ showed us, to live for Christ and not for ourselves. The closer we walk with God the more the Holy Spirit infuses every fiber of our being and our joy in salvation overflows. We can’t sit still, we can’t be silent, and we have to share what we have found with everyone that we meet. We are more concerned with the eternal salvation of others than we are with the petty, temporary, slings and arrows of this world. Man is not our enemy – Satan is our enemy – and it is with Satan that we are at war. So don the armor of God (Ephesians 6:13) and fight the good fight. (1 Timothy 6:12).
“How?” you ask. It's simple, really.
Love chooses to obey.
Jesus gave us a new commandment, one which fulfilled all of the other commandments for if we love God and love each other then we will, by the very nature of love, be obeying all of the other commandments.
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:43
Love your neighbor as yourself . Matthew 22:39
But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:27-31
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Romans 12:9
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
We are compelled, by the love Christ showed us, to live for Christ and not for ourselves. The closer we walk with God the more the Holy Spirit infuses every fiber of our being and our joy in salvation overflows. We can’t sit still, we can’t be silent, and we have to share what we have found with everyone that we meet. We are more concerned with the eternal salvation of others than we are with the petty, temporary, slings and arrows of this world. Man is not our enemy – Satan is our enemy – and it is with Satan that we are at war. So don the armor of God (Ephesians 6:13) and fight the good fight. (1 Timothy 6:12).
“How?” you ask. It's simple, really.
Love God, Love Others and Remember:
Love is not a mere emotion.
Love is a conscious decision.
Love chooses to obey.
The laws of God are really simple, and rarely easy.
Simple – Ain’t – Easy
Love is hard work sometimes
Wendy
Love is a conscious decision.
Love chooses to obey.
The laws of God are really simple, and rarely easy.
Simple – Ain’t – Easy
Love is hard work sometimes
Wendy
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