What’s Love Got to Do with it?

Love… that’s the post…

No, just kidding…but many times, we as people believe that love is the answer to all the world’s social ills. Love makes the world go around, right? We should love everybody, right? So, if that is every person’s belief, why don’t we show love to everyone? I didn’t say ‘why don’t we love everyone’…because we can say we love, but talk is cheap. Love is an action word. Before someone takes offense so soon, let me explain why I asked the previous question.

There are many songs published and recorded on the topic of love – Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Love Me Tender, Endless Love, Love Story, Make You Feel My Love, I Will Always Love You…you get the idea. But when I was preparing to write this post, a breakout hit by Tina Turner kept coming to mind – hence the title of the post. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a person starting to fall in love but does not want to because she is certain that she will end in heartbreak. So, she asks why love has to be a part of what she is feeling – and if she can have the same connection without it. I sense that as believers, we tend to live the same way. We want to experience the fullness of this Christian journey without placing our hearts in peril by extending ourselves entirely to other people. Now, let that sit and marinate for a minute… I’ll wait…

Ready? OK, I’ll continue…

Let’s be honest – at some point or another in our lives, we were hurt by someone we loved. Family, friend, or foe …intentionally or unintentionally, it happened. Unfortunately, it is inevitable because we are fallible beings. Due to the hurt, many of us become ‘gun shy’ to opening our hearts in that way again to that person or another that reminds you of that person or to someone that has the same background, comes from the same family, went to the same church…need I continue?

This sounds like a downer, doesn’t it?

It only sounds that way because we LIVE that way.

However, believers have a ‘superpower’ from God spoken of in I John 4:19 (BBE): “We have the power of loving, because He first had love for us.” That’s some major power there! And what is so awesome about that power is that His power can overcome our past issues and trepidation about opening ourselves to love as God commands. Maybe we have it twisted – perhaps we are still hurt from our past because we live in fear of loving – and in that fear is that pain! As a matter of fact, verse 18 of that same chapter states, “There is no fear in love: true love has no room for fear, because where fear is, there is pain; and he who is not free from fear is not complete in love.”

I want you to think about this: what is the ABSOLUTE WORST thing you’ve done in your life? Ugly, huh? Does it make you embarrassed to even think about it? What if someone did that thing to you? Would you cut that person off? Never speak to them or of them again? Try to get them back? I will talk about me if you don’t want to be honest…yes, I’ve felt all those things even in my Christian walk! Real talk! Now, let’s flip the script…how do you think God felt about you doing those things to Him? Oh…you DIDN’T do it to Him? If you live on His earth, taking in His air, living with the heartbeat He gave you – but living life as if He doesn’t exist – yes, you did what you did to Him. So, again, how do you think He felt? Hurt? Angry? Disappointed? Yes, God feels those emotions. “THEN WHY DIDN’T GOD JUST TAKE ME OUT?” Romans 5:6-8 (MSG) answers this for us:

“…He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.”

God put His love on the line for us. Jesus proved His love by dying for us – BEFORE we were ready for Him. And if God would do that for us, doesn’t He deserve us loving others – BEFORE they ‘get ready’ for us?

Again, love is an ACTION word. Think of someone that is missing out on experiencing God because you aren’t willing to sacrifice your fear to show them – how can you remedy that today? What do YOU think love has to do with it?

Until next time…