L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one i see
V is very very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore
And love is all that i can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don’t break it
Love was made for me and you
This catchy song by Nat King Cole is probably stuck in your head now, you’re welcome. It is a nice tune, actually, and there are some simple truths in it for sure. Love is not in our wheelhouse, pure love that is. Our human nature does not allow for us to love, purely, from a selfless place but rather love void of God is selfish. It constantly asks the question, what can i get out of this? Oh, we can talk about love, learn about love, desire “true” love but we don’t truly understand love until we understand Christ.
To understand we must study. There is only one place to look really, and that is at the one who perfected love, and the only one to actually pull off perfect, pure love was Jesus. He was not jealous, although we do read in Exodus 34:14 – “For you must not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about His relationship with you.” So, how do we reconcile this idea of a jealous God and pure love, not being jealous?
The idea is simple really. Love was made for me and you. For God so loved the world. God is love. You see, pure love is about God in the first place, the last place and right here where we are in the middle. Perfect love casts out fear. When we have communion with Christ we can rest assured that His perfect love will cast out fear. It will allow us to love unconditionally, others, even those who would hurt us. Perfect love said, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Our human efforts at love are full of weakness, that is precisely why we must, absolutely must, commune with God regularly. In fact, it should be as often as we possibly can!
So let’s take Jesus and define pure love. In 1 Corinthians 13 we read;
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails
Where our human nature may fail, God’s love is perfected. We forgive others because God through Christ forgives us. When we love God we are doing what we were made to do . . . when we love others, we show the heart of God within us. When we love others, even when they have spit in our face, undermine us, provoke us, curse us, cheat on us, lie to us, steal from us, when we love our enemies, blessing them and not cursing them, then we will know what it is to love perfectly in pure love. Let us love like that . . .
You are Loved,
cj
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