2007-10-06 - What is Love?

Psalm 31:23, "O love the Lord, all you His godly ones!"

What is love? Well, don't get your hopes up. We will not solve that one here, but one thing we can say is that if you don't think about a person, you don't love them. The people we love, we think about. Those to whom our affections, devotion, and fondness are directed are those who captivate both our wandering thoughts and our determined thoughts. In like manner, those who belong to Christ think about Him. One might reply, "Well, I am very busy all day. I am consumed with my job. I can't think about Jesus at work." Well, I will not even argue the point. But I will respond with a question of my own, "Where do your thoughts go when you are not at work?"

It is one of the marks of a Christian, to be able to say that he/she loves Christ. "We love, because He first loved us," 1 John 4:19. If we love Christ, there should be no question about our love for Him. He is in our thoughts, even during the week when church activity is generally less. Even then, and maybe especially then, it is incumbent upon us to resolve to think much of Christ. In the evening, in those times when you have chances for your mind to think about those things that are of your choice, do you thoughts generate to Christ? Where do your thoughts fly when you have moments that are "your" moments? If you find that you frequently think of Christ, be encouraged that this is a characteristic of a follower of Christ. If your mind, freed from the trapping of our daily tasks, drift frequently to the things of the Savior, mercy, fellowship with the saints, or personal holiness, it is a healthy mark of being a child of God.

Returning to the subject of love, another sign that we love someone is that we are sad when they are not around. Love desires the company of the one loved. There is a natural, unavoidable sense of missing something when we are apart from someone we love. Again, this is another gauge for us of our love to Christ. Are you sad when His presence seems far away? Our sins often cause us to feel distant from Christ. It is like a spiritual eclipse. Just as the moon sometimes blocks the presence of the sun, so also our sin sometimes hinders the presence of Christ in our thoughts. The sun is still there, even when the moon is blocking, and the Lord is still present, even when our sins seem to impede His light in our lives. Love of Christ seeks to live in a manner that never blocks the presence of the Son in our lives, thoughts, or feelings. If you cannot bear the absence of Christ in your life, it is a wonderful encouragement that His love of you is genuine and present. If Christ's love be known in our lives, all other distractions fade away.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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