Love Strong

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."—John 13:35

Amore. Love. When I was in college, one of my professors asked a question for the class, “What is the most powerful emotion?” As many hemmed and hawed in their chairs, waiting for the answer to be given rather than say something and be looked upon as foolish, the professor gave the answer, “Fear. Fear is the most powerful emotion.” Most sighed and nodded their heads in agreement, except one young man. He raised his hand and said, “I’m sorry prof, but I disagree with you. Fear is not the most powerful emotion.” The professor smiled slightly and said, with a bit of condescension, “What is the most powerful emotion then?” To which the young man replied, “Love. Love is the most powerful emotion. And love overcomes fear.” The professor stopped and thought about it as we all began to think about the power of his words. Is love stronger than fear? Fear is a great motivator, but love is even greater. As Solomon wrote about the power of love between a man and a woman, “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD”—Song of Solomon 8:6.

Solomon knew the power of love for a man and a woman, but God’s love is infinitely more powerful and precious. It was because of God’s love that He sent His Son to die on behalf of sinful men and women. The young man was right, love is the most powerful of motivators.

The Bible stresses the primary importance of love. It is the essential ingredient for our relationship with God, one another, and the main attraction for unbelieving men and women. God Himself is love (1 John 4:8) and desires that we love one another (John 13:34-35). Jesus said that all people would know that we are His followers if we have love for one another. But where does this love come from? It comes from the hand and heart of God. We could not love purely unless He first loved us (1 John 4:10). But God does love us, and once we become a beneficiary of that love through accepting the atoning death of Jesus on the cross for our sins (which is God’s supreme act of love in giving Himself for us), we are enabled to have that same love flow through us. Our task is to cultivate that love as a motivator for all that we do. Because without love as the heart motivation, then all that we do is for nothing. As Paul wrote,

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing”—1 Corinthians 13:1-3.

We cannot love in word alone, but must do so in deed as well. Our motivation to be a follower of Christ is to be found in our love for Him that overflows to others. We cannot truly understand what it means to love others until we understand how God loves us. Once we are able to understand His love for us, and then allow ourselves to receive that love as it has been expressed through Jesus, then we are truly able to genuinely love others in the way that is glorifying to God.

How about you? How much do you love God? What about loving others? Do you love strongly? Is it the motivator for all that you do? The Bible doesn’t separate the love for God and love for others, but notes that the two are inseparable as if they were two sides of the same coin. As the apostle John wrote, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen”—1 John 4:20.

One way of showing our love for God is by loving others. Another way of showing our love is by obeying His commands (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2). Is your love for God strong? How about your love for others? Is love the motivating factor in your walk with Him? It’s only by love that we can be effective and truly enjoy God for who He is.

May God enable us to truly comprehend with all of the saints His marvelous love for us, so that we in turn might love others to the glory of His great and awesome name. Amen.