The Love of God

“Defining love is easier than doing love,” said Pastor.  Yes.  Giving an academic answer to something is usually easier than getting your hands dirty. 

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines love secondly as, “An affection of the mind excited by beauty and worth of any kind, or by the qualities of an object which communicate pleasure, sensual or intellectual.”  I love that this is the second definition.  This is a noun.  A thing.  Something you can possess. 

However, love is first defined as a transitive verb meaning, “to be pleased with; to regard with affection, on account of some qualities which excite pleasing sensations or desire of gratification. . . . The Christian loves his Bible . . . and if our hearts are right, we love God above all things, as the sum of all excellence and all the attributes which can communicate happiness to intelligent beings. In other words, the Christian loves God with the love of complacency in his attributes, the love of benevolence towards the interest of his kingdom, and the love of gratitude for favors received.”  Webster’s 1828 goes on to give the example of Matthew 22:37 which says, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”  Additionally, the dictionary references John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son.”

Shakespeare had 150 sonnets about love.  Some of them are very famous, but I would never look to him for examples of love.  Romeo and Juliet died.  And the love sonnets written by Shakespeare were not all for his wife, Anne Hathaway, who stayed at home most of the year while he was in the cities trying to make a living as a playwright.  Sadly, some of those sonnets may have been written to a lover, the Earl of South Hampton, who financially supported Shakespeare’s plays. 

How do we know what love is?  John 13:34 tells us to love one another as Christ loved us.  How exactly did Christ love us?  John 15:13 tells us, “There is no greater love than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.”  Christ did this for us as the ultimate act of love.  Praise God that He is not asking all of us to that same thing. 

Christ also showed living examples of His love. 

John 15:9 recorded Jesus declaring that He loves us.  He spoke words of love to us.

Matthew 9 is the story of Jesus doing acts of service by walking around from place to place healing people.  He showed God’s love by taking care of their illness. 

In John 2, Jesus turned water into wine for a family wedding.  He gave the gift of wine at His mother's request.  In Matthew 14, Jesus fed the 5,000.  He gave everyone lunch.  Jesus gave gifts of love to meet physical needs.  In Romans 6:23, Paul tells us that Jesus also gave us the gift of eternal life if we will accept it. 

John 1 tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  Jesus gave us 33 years on earth of quality time so that we could get to know God with skin on. He spent 3 concentrated years showing God's love to us on earth. 

In Luke 5:12-13, Jesus touches a leper to heal him.  Dr. Luke shares this story with us which is significant because of his profession. Jesus did not have to touch the leper to heal him, yet the leper needed a physical touch of affirmation because no one would dare to touch a leper.  Jesus knew his needs were deeper than healing.  He showed the man God's love with a healing touch. 

Do these strategies sound familiar?  They are the 5 Love Languages that Chapman talks about in his book by the same name.  Jesus did all of them so that He could demonstrate them to us as He was reaching people with different needs. 

So how then do we respond to the command? How do we love as Christ loved and make ourselves a fragrant sacrifice offering to the Lord as commanded in Ephesians 5?  “What measure of love are we willing to show to one another?” Pastor asked.  We have the examples of Christ.  How can we use words or affirmation, acts of service, gifts, time, and touch to show others the love of Christ?

Speak by Anderson

Several years ago, I started a new job at a discipline campus.  This is a concentration of a select group of students who have done something to warrant removal from the main campus for a period of time.  I've honestly never been in the kind of trouble that these kids are facing.  I know how to listen.  I'm learning how to watch for signs.

When I started, a friend gave me the book Speak by Anderson because she thought it would be a book to which my new students could relate. She was right.  It is.  It has also been a good book for me to read as a teacher and a parent.

Many times, the point of books is more than the theme.  The point of many of these books in general is to help students learn to empathize with others.  There are several specific themes for this particular book:

• Speak up and don't be silent.  
• You don't have to be perfect, and that's ok.  
• Sometimes you have to get rid of the bad things in life so you can keep living.  

I love all of these themes and that the book really dives into the mind of the main character.  As the reader, I can really experience how Melinda feels as she goes through an intense withdrawal from society before she begins to find strength to deal with the tragedy.  As an English teacher, I love the symbolism of the tree that builds throughout the book.  As a parent, I would put a warning on this book.  It isn't for everyone.  I won't let my daughter read it.  At least not yet.  Maybe later.  She is close to the same age as Melinda is in the book.  However, my daughter's life experience is different than that of Melinda.

My friend's daughter read Speak after going through a tragedy of her own.  The book helped her to find a way to deal with her own unique situation.  That's the point.  That's the biggest point.  The student doesn't have to experience the exact same thing to be able to learn that there is hope in this world.

7 Mindsets: Attitude of Gratitude toward God

During the months of November and December, my kids were learning about an attitude of gratitude as set forth in the Seven Mindsets curriculum at their public schools.  This is a very good subject to address especially in today's entitled culture.  And as Christians, we need to go one more step to refocus our attitude and gratitude in the right direction.

The first point is to "Treasure Yourself." The students are told to, "Create the fantastic life you want by cultivating the great things within yourself."  On the other hand, Scripture  tells us to "delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart."  Students are also told to recognize that they are a treasure.  This is true because of Psalm 119 where the psalmist explains how wonderfully we are made by God.  Letting this amazing treasure shine should not be about living an extraordinary life but about glorifying God in Heaven when others see your life according to Mathew 5:16.

Second, it is better to be more grateful than giving our attention to the negatives in life.  Whichever you select as your focus will multiply.  Philippians 4:8 gives an excellent list of suggestions for our focus: whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy.

Third, saying, "Thank you," is powerful.  Seven Mindsets says that using those two words makes you and the other person feel good.  Even more happens when we tell God, "Thank you."  In Luke 17, all ten lepers were physically healed.  Only one had a spiritual healing when he returned to Jesus and praised Him and thanked Him.

Finally, elevating your perspective will transform your attitude when you face any situation whether positive or negative.  The Apostle Paul lists his struggles in 2 Corinthians 11, and yet he was also able to write an entire letter of joy to the Philippians from his jail cell.  The Apostle James tells us to consider us to consider it joy to have trials because of the positive things it produces.

Being grateful is extremely important, and when we keep our focus clearly set on God above and in our hearts, then our perspective of circumstances changes to allow us to be joyful and even thankful for many circumstances.