Good Morning My Friends! What’s LOVE got to do with it? Everything! Absolutely everything!
Just One Word: Love!
“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14, ESV).
I did a quick search this morning to see how many times the word “love” shows up in the Bible. Depending on the version, this one word, love, shows up almost 700 times.
That’s a whole lot of love!
I think God really means it when He says He wants us to embrace love today!
Hate
But first, I need to address love’s opposite: hate.
There’s a lot I could say about hate, but I know God wants this blog post to truly focus on love, so I’m only going to address a couple of things.
First, God isn’t telling us to not hate some things today, but rather, He wants us to understand the power of hate and how it can absolutely hurt others.
God Himself hates certain things, but these are behaviors and attitudes. Proverbs 6:16-19 tells us seven things God hates, meaning He is disgusted by these things, and we should be too:
- arrogant eyes
- a lying tongue
- hands that shed innocent blood
- a heart that plots wicked schemes
- feet eager to run to evil
- a lying witness who gives false testimony
- one who stirs up trouble among brothers
Now then, we are to refrain from these things because they directly affect other people and cause them harm. God hates that. We need to refrain from hateful behaviors.
At the same time, we are not to hate people. God clearly tells us we are to love others, even our enemies, even those who hate us. Not an easy thing to live, but it’s possible with the power of God living in and through and all around us.
What is Love?
“This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15:17, NIV).
Stephen R. Covey (1989) in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, told a story of a man at one of his seminars who approached him and shared that he no longer loved his wife. Covey told him to love her. The man confused, asked, “But how do you love when you don’t love?”
Covey answered: “My friend, love is a verb. Love – the feeling – is a fruit of love, the verb.”
I really like Covey’s answer because it explains what love really is.
Love is action.
God explains in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 what love is:
- Love is patient and kind
- Love does not envy or boast
- Love is not arrogant or rude
- Love does not insist on its own way
- Love is not irritable or resentful
- Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth
- Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
- Love never ends.
Look at all those action verbs.Look at all those attitudes and behaviors. Covey was right.
Unfortunately, how the world’s definition of love focuses on just the feeling, but we can’t have that “lovin’ feeling” if we don’t experience love in action first.
I think this is what Jesus was saying in His command to us to love our neighbor. We have to love in action.
Covey provided some clear actions for that man to “love” his wife. Listen to his recommendation:
“So love her. Serve her. Sacrifice. Listen to her. Empathize. Appreciate. Affirm her.”
All action!
Then Covey asked him the toughest question:
“Are you willing to do that?”
I think Jesus is asking each of us the same thing today. Are we willing to love others? If we are not willing, we have a big problem.
God clearly tells us to love others like He loves us.
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12, NIV).
If we want to intentionally live for God, we have to love God and love others.
How You Doing?
Is it hard to love others? Sometimes yes!
Let’s be honest here, sometimes people are jerks and the last thing we want to do is empathize, appreciate, or affirm them.
But Jesus’ command is very clear we are to both love Him with everything we got and love others.
And Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27, ESV).
Here’s how we’ll know how we’re doing intentionally living for God:
“If you really fulfill the royal law, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.” (James 2:8, ESV).
Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to obey God? Are you willing to love others when they are not so easy to love?
Practical Application
Okay, so today, all we need is love. Love. Love. Love! Isn’t that a Beatles song title?
What is love in action going to look like today for you?
Who are you going to be asked to love today?
Who will you be spending time with today?
These are the “others” you are to love today.
These people need you to:
- Be Kind
- Be Patient
- Serve
- Sacrifice
- Listen
- Empathize
- Appreciate
- Affirm
The others God places in your life today need you to love them.
Just for today, let’s refrain from hate and embrace love, love in action!
Blessing for the Day
May the law of love we gladly obey.
Just for Today
Refrain from Hate. Embrace Love!
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