Love is a Lifestyle

 

                                                     Love is a Lifestyle…

                             By Mary Ann Wray

If you are like most people you get tons of advertisements in the mail-that is if you were to add it all up by the days, months and years. It really makes you wonder how companies can afford the postage, paper and administrative work that goes into producing such advertising with probably little return on the investment. Most of us, like myself, throw these envelopes in the trash before even opening them. The trash receptacle by our community’s mail box is usually overflowing with junk mail as we like to call it. However, if I am unsure of the contents because there are no clues plastered across the envelope like “Open now for an Amazing Offer”, “You’ve been approved for Personal Loan up to $45,000,” and the all telling junk mail address to “Annette” Wray (not close to my first name at all), I may open it to see the contents. There have been a few occasions where I found the advertisement to be something of some value that I thought I could use.

What is interesting about these offers for loan consolidation or credit cards is that you have to activate the card or answer the promo via a phone call to take advantage of what’s being offered. There’s always some catch but whether or not I choose to accept the offer requires some action on my part. That gave me something to think about today in terms of “love”.

Since February is the month we celebrate Valentine’s as the Holiday of love, I’ve been thinking a lot about the word and concept of love all month. The thought occurred to me today that it is typical for most people to view love as an emotion, a warm fuzzy feeling, a sexual preference and/ or liaison, a life principle, or even a life’s goal. We hear all the time that God is love and it warms our hearts…at least for those of us who believe in God.

But do we really understand the depth, intensity and even severity of God’s love?  We tend to look at God’s love as a something nice and valuable whenever we are in trouble and need it due to illness, loss or loneliness. We may agree with FB posts that say “God is Love” and think that He is. But do we stop and consider what it may have cost Him to demonstrate His love to us? Do we stop and think about or even realize that it requires nothing on our part to earn it? Most of us remember from Bible verses, Sunday School or youth camps the Verse that says, “God is Love” (1 John 4: 8 & 16). But do we really understand what that means? We tend to define and compartmentalize God’s love based on our own standards and beliefs about what love is and isn’t.

The truth is that God’s love has a severe side. Let me try to explain. You see, God’s love is not an emotion, feeling, or principle. It’s actually a hefty price He paid to ransom you and I back to Himself from the bondage and penalty of sin. If you believe what the Bible says, and even if you don’t, the fact is that Adam’s sin and all of subsequent humanity has been separated from God because of it.

The moment Adam and Eve disobeyed a simple commandment, the severity of that consequence not only affected them, but their children, their children’s children on down through thousands of generations. It is our sin that separates us from God and prevents us from experiencing the fullness of His love. Prior to Adam and Eve’s fall, they experienced the perfect peace, harmony and provision that the Father created for them in the Garden of Eden. One simple act of disobedience cost them everything. The good news is that the Father had and has a perfect plan to reunite us with His perfect love. Though Adam and Eve were disobedient, Jesus’ act of sacrificial obedience to the Father’s ultimate requirement for reconciliation saves us. For this is God’s love: while we were sinners and without spiritual strength, Christ died for us.

“For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5: 19

The severity of God’s love cost Jesus, His only begotten Son, to willingly lay down His life and shed His own blood to offer atonement and forgiveness for our sins. According to God’s standard, it was the ONLY way sin could be atoned for-that is, taken care of permanently and fully. The Old Testament Law and sacrifices had their time and place but in the fullness of time, God sent His only Son into the world as a substitutionary sacrifice through the shedding of His own blood for our sins-once and for all (Galatians 4: 4). That’s a pretty radical and severe thing to do! To know that God would give up His only begotten Son in exchange for all of us is mind boggling. The only condition is that we must ‘activate’ our faith and repent of our sins that we were born with and our dead works in order to receive Christ’ forgiveness and eternal life.

This is a foreign and incomprehensible concept for most adults. It defies, reason, logic and sensibility. But the fact is, that we must become childlike in our faith and use the measure of faith we’ve all been given, in order to receive God’s forgiveness and begin a personal relationship with Him through Christ (Romans 12: 3). This defies the boundaries of most religions and even certain Christian Denominations that require works plus faith in Jesus’ sacrifice to be saved from the penalty of our sins. It’s not works plus grace. God’s greatest gift of eternal life comes by God’s amazing grace through Faith in Christ-period! Jesus paid the price in full for our sins. No penance is required. No effort on our part to be good enough is required. What God requires is repentance from dead works. To repent means to change one’s mind and turn in the opposite direction. Dead works are the things we try to do to earn our way to Heaven or to be in good standing with God. It all results in futility. None of us are perfect enough to reach this state of acceptance with God on our own. Jesus was despised and rejected so that we could be accepted. He simply offers forgiveness and personal salvation by grace through our faith in Him and His sacrifice on the cross alone.

He offers new and eternal life for us through His resurrection from the dead. The Bible says that we were dead in our trespasses and sins but when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior we are raised to the newness of life with Him. It’s called being Born Again (See John 3 and Jesus discourse with Nicodemous a religious leader and priest of His day).

Most of us look at love as a warm fuzzy feeling:  an excited or placid feeling you get when you’re around like minded people, groups, parties, organizations etc. that you feel welcomed in or agree with. This type of thing is not necessarily wrong in and of itself but it does not stem from the God kind of love. It is completely conditional upon conformance, performance, man-made rules and standards and other temporal things.  This type of association will pass away with time. People move on to other things, lose interest, quit a club, job or something else can interfere. We do need to socialize but this type of camaraderie requires no personal sacrifice, discomfort, pain or laying down of one’s life. It requires getting something in return for one’s help, love, affection or belonging though it may be unspoken. It requires fitting in to a standard or similar experience to be accepted.

Jesus is not like that. He laid down His life knowing that many would reject Him and as such He would get nothing in return. All He wants in return for His love is our faith and belief that through His supreme sacrifice, His death was worth it in exchange for our eternal soul. What a wonderful trade off!

Truth be told, once you experience this type love your priorities change. The word “love” used in the New Testament is mostly the Greek Word “agape” which is defined as the God kind of sacrificial love not like anything could come from this world. It’s a supernatural love that transcends the human heart. That is why it is so incomprehensible. The Apostle Paul wrote a powerful prayer to the Ephesian church in His letter to them as follows: “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3: 14-19

Those five verses are loaded with nuggets of wisdom and knowledge and worth meditating upon! You see, your friends may change. Your heart may change and your status and desires in life may change. But once you fully embrace by faith God’s agape love it compels us to become more like Christ and serve Him with gladness. His love moves us to sacrifice in order to express His grace to others who may not deserve it even at inconvenient and impractical times.

Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice. Once we experience His grace and love we too will become willing to follow suit. His love becomes our lifestyle on purpose even though we trip up and fail at it miserably at times. It may cause us to be misunderstood by others, even other Christians at times. Jesus himself experienced betrayal, rejection and defection by some of His closest friends. Following Him in the love walk may mean rejection and misunderstanding but it’s a small price to pay compared to Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice.

God’s love was manifested like this: while we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly. Once I receive Christ I have to examine my own heart and love walk to see if I’m doing acts of kindness to be accepted by others, or to be approved by God as my audience of one.  It means giving to those who don’t even deserve it.

Christ’s supreme love sacrifice compels us to emulate what He did. He doesn’t require me to shed my blood but His love requires laying down my own wants, needs ambitions and comforts to express it to a hurting sick world. There may come a time like in so many foreign nations today, where some of us who name the name of Jesus Christ may be martyred to stand for Him and our faith. But the end result is instant deliverance from this world’s chaos, sins and troubles into the immediate and eternal presence of God forever with great rewards.

Recently, my husband had hip replacement surgery and many people offered their prayers and well wishes. We were very grateful for all of that. The operation was a success and I believe His recovery was expedited through people’s prayers and well wishes. What struck me more though was the fact that unexpected individuals went out of their way to visit, help by offering to run errands, give medical expertise and time, and provide meals at no cost. One neighbor walked our little Yorkie several times a day.  Care-taking can be challenging and exhausting at times. It’s just a fact. People’s sensitivity and love lifted both of us tremendously especially when he was hurting and I was pretty tired. One fellow church member drove over an hour to bring us food from across town. That is what you call going the extra mile!

To be honest, there was some disappointment and hurt we experienced too. Reason being, there were those who told us many times that they love us but they turned up completely missing. I had to really pray through it and ask God to help me with my heart attitude. The Holy Spirit helped me realize three things through this. First of all, it is wrong to expect anything from people, no matter who they are. Jesus said we are to give without expecting anything in return. I also realized how Jesus must feel when He is ignored by so many despite His tremendous invaluable love gift to us all. I thought about how he must have felt when His closest companions fell asleep at His greatest hour of need in the Garden of Gesthamane. They offered him no support because they didn’t see the need even though He asked. They were insensitive. After the Day of Pentecost where the disciples and other believers received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they would come to understand the suffering that Jesus went through and learn to endure for themselves and support each other in their trials and tribulations. Lastly, it is also wrong to harbor any bitterness or unforgiveness towards those who let us down. We have to let God handle that.

We are not alone in our personal challenges and suffering. Jesus has been through it all way before us. He has experienced every trauma and pain we will ever feel. However, the major point is this:  Have you received Christ as your Lord and Savior accepting His sacrifice then embracing His lifestyle of sacrificial love?” All it requires is that we “call in and activate” His gracious offer to us through our faith. Yes, love is a lifestyle not a catch. It is not casual, not always convenient and not a matter of easy believeism. It is demonstrated through actions as well as words. Love’s real name is Jesus and we are all called to be His Agape followers!