Love is one of those words we throw around. We say I love my dog, my car, a comedian, a restaurant, my spouse, and my God with similar emphasis. We only have one word for love, while other languages have more, but we can usually understand what people mean by the context.
We have all read 1 Cor. 13 and heard sermons on this passage. Today, I was reading, and something struck me. How much of what I do in life, serving my wife, sacrificing for Jesus, being hospitable, and cleaning up the dog-do, is in love? The first three verses say that no matter what you do, how gifted you are, or what you accomplish, if you do it without love, then you are irritating, nothing, and there is zero benefit (to you is implicit). Evaluating myself is almost fun to me, but this inner motive of mine being dissected like a lab frog wasn't comfortable. I was being laid bare.
Did I host my missionary friend in love? Did I serve him in love? Then I thought about "sacrifice" and the concept that we do it "for love." Really? Is that what we do? Love is a commitment, you say. Ya, I have heard that for half a century. It's not that I disagree, but it seems like a cop-out to me. So if you stay committed, then you love? I can think of a dozen scenarios where that doesn't work. So what do we do? If we have the courage to assess whether we do things out of love, how do we access it honestly?
I asked Holy Spirit to show me. Here is what I got for myself. Maybe this will help you. Are you remaining patient under provocation? Ouch! Are you providing something beneficial for another? Is your attitude that this person needs you and should be happy they are connected to you since you are providing, serving, or doing whatever for them? Are you looking to get something back for what you are doing? Are you counting the bad, ungrateful, discourteous, rude things the other person is doing? Those are just some of the things that identify love or faux love. Is that person you are "serving" bugging you? Are you criticizing them? Then you are not loving them. I felt pretty good about my conversation with Jesus this morning, but as I write this, I realize I need some growth. Dang, I haven't arrived!
The worst thing isn't that you need to grow; the worst thing is that you are deceived into thinking you are loving when you are not. I think our culture is very expressive and self-centered, even in the church, to some extent. I believe this helps us to become less self-aware and more self-deceived. We also make blanket statements that excuse our behaviors. Let's all cry out to Jesus! It is love that is going to separate us from the world. Let's serve out of love. Let's allow our love to bring an uncanny commitment towards one another. When you love, you will never regret it. You won't be a clanging cymbal. You will be a smooth-sounding sax with a wonderful vibrato. The person's life will be richer for your generosity, and so will you! You may have thought that if you give to get blessed, that is not love. Truth! But you cannot deny that you will be blessed when you love and sow into the Kingdom or other people's lives. When your blessing is your motivation, then you have been exposed. Just do it purely – with love and in love!
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