What is Love To You?
Even before I start, I know I will not express this clearly enough, or be able to tell everything that means love to me.
But perhaps, the main point of this post is more of the subject line. What is love - to you? Think about it.
God, becoming Man. Laying aside the majesty, power and glory, all of the advantages of His being God, to take on the dust form of His creation. To become the lowliest of men, out of sheer love. To save those from the despised walks of life.
A man who puts aside comforts, advantages for himself, to honour another. To stoop to someone from the darker side of life, when he could choose someone better.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God, Himself hurting for our pain, causing momentary, though strong (and maybe in earthly time, lasting for a long time) pain for our future good. Staying with us through it, holding us, sticking with us even though we lash out at Him for the pain. Even when we bring it on ourselves.
A man who, although hurt by hurting, causes necessary pain for a time for future good - sensitive but firm. Staying with you through the pain, even though you lash out and try to kick them away.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God, spending time with us in His Word, hearing our every thought, our every cry, our every prayer.
A man who takes time out of his busy life to listen to tears and hurts, to comfort and encourage.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God, loving us even when we are most unlovely, most unloving and are shutting Him out.
A man who loves even when you are most unlovely, most unloving and are shutting him out.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God, putting the needs of His creation above every thought of Himself. (Philippians 2:5-8)
A man who puts your needs above every thought of himself.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God, giving up all to heal our hearts.
A man who puts aside every thought of himself to heal your heart.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God's perfect love.
Man's imperfect but God-based love.
Both are incomprehensible to me. I've never known love like this before. It's something that sends me staggering and dumb with surprise.
I don't want mush any more. I've seen real food, and laugh in amazement at the fake the world offers, that so, so many Christians - and I - believe.
Did it really take so much to make me see it? Why couldn't I see it before?
All I've seen of God's love in churches with pastors is a little man standing as a figure between the congregation and God. It took leaving that kind of church to recognise a one on one relationship with God and me.
How can I doubt that a man can love me just as I am, for who I am? How can I not see that I am special?
Easy, when you get taught that God so loved the world. And you all have to love one another. But even though you know and believe that you need a one-on-one relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, it is hard to believe that if you were the only sinner in the world, that He would die just for you.
If you can't believe that you're anything special, if all your life you have been, though not physically, but mentally induced to believe you're just another person, and a rather annoying, useless one at that - then that could explain why you find it so hard to believe in God's love for you - and that any man - or woman - could love you too.
I heard it said once before, that the model is love from a man to a woman, and respect from a woman to a man - although of course, the man needs to respect the woman to some degree, and the woman to love the man.
I didn't agree.
Thinking on my past experience loving my cadet sergeant, yes. I agree now. Loving where there is nothing/almost nothing in a man to respect is misery. And (talking brotherly sense :P ) when one of my guy friends puts me above himself, without making it obvious, boy do my respect levels go up.
I want to say thank you to all of you guys who do that. I want to remind you ladies of what true love is, and I want you all to think about it.
Ephesians 5:22-32
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.
But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body.
FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.
This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
1 John 4:7-21
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
We love, because He first loved us.
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
This is love. God loves. And even in the pain, the storm of life, the confusion of life, He is there. He is not the cause. He is the Comfort, the Help, the Support.
But perhaps, the main point of this post is more of the subject line. What is love - to you? Think about it.
God, becoming Man. Laying aside the majesty, power and glory, all of the advantages of His being God, to take on the dust form of His creation. To become the lowliest of men, out of sheer love. To save those from the despised walks of life.
A man who puts aside comforts, advantages for himself, to honour another. To stoop to someone from the darker side of life, when he could choose someone better.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God, Himself hurting for our pain, causing momentary, though strong (and maybe in earthly time, lasting for a long time) pain for our future good. Staying with us through it, holding us, sticking with us even though we lash out at Him for the pain. Even when we bring it on ourselves.
A man who, although hurt by hurting, causes necessary pain for a time for future good - sensitive but firm. Staying with you through the pain, even though you lash out and try to kick them away.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God, spending time with us in His Word, hearing our every thought, our every cry, our every prayer.
A man who takes time out of his busy life to listen to tears and hurts, to comfort and encourage.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God, loving us even when we are most unlovely, most unloving and are shutting Him out.
A man who loves even when you are most unlovely, most unloving and are shutting him out.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God, putting the needs of His creation above every thought of Himself. (Philippians 2:5-8)
A man who puts your needs above every thought of himself.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God, giving up all to heal our hearts.
A man who puts aside every thought of himself to heal your heart.
This is love to me.
What is love to you?
God's perfect love.
Man's imperfect but God-based love.
Both are incomprehensible to me. I've never known love like this before. It's something that sends me staggering and dumb with surprise.
I don't want mush any more. I've seen real food, and laugh in amazement at the fake the world offers, that so, so many Christians - and I - believe.
Did it really take so much to make me see it? Why couldn't I see it before?
All I've seen of God's love in churches with pastors is a little man standing as a figure between the congregation and God. It took leaving that kind of church to recognise a one on one relationship with God and me.
How can I doubt that a man can love me just as I am, for who I am? How can I not see that I am special?
Easy, when you get taught that God so loved the world. And you all have to love one another. But even though you know and believe that you need a one-on-one relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, it is hard to believe that if you were the only sinner in the world, that He would die just for you.
If you can't believe that you're anything special, if all your life you have been, though not physically, but mentally induced to believe you're just another person, and a rather annoying, useless one at that - then that could explain why you find it so hard to believe in God's love for you - and that any man - or woman - could love you too.
I heard it said once before, that the model is love from a man to a woman, and respect from a woman to a man - although of course, the man needs to respect the woman to some degree, and the woman to love the man.
I didn't agree.
Thinking on my past experience loving my cadet sergeant, yes. I agree now. Loving where there is nothing/almost nothing in a man to respect is misery. And (talking brotherly sense :P ) when one of my guy friends puts me above himself, without making it obvious, boy do my respect levels go up.
I want to say thank you to all of you guys who do that. I want to remind you ladies of what true love is, and I want you all to think about it.
Ephesians 5:22-32
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.
But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body.
FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.
This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
1 John 4:7-21
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
We love, because He first loved us.
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
This is love. God loves. And even in the pain, the storm of life, the confusion of life, He is there. He is not the cause. He is the Comfort, the Help, the Support.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)