Love Starts with God, Not Us

Spirituality Column #222
February 8, 2011
Current in Carmel - Current in Westfield - Current in Noblesville – Current in Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

Love Starts with God, Not Us
By Bob Walters

I love my wife, my kids, my family, my community, my church, my work, my home, my country.

I don’t love my sin, my debts, my mistakes, my thoughtlessness, my impatience, my pride, my fear, my selfishness.

Everything – and more – on the first list is a gift from God.

Everything – and more – on the second is a function of my fallen humanness.

As for the vagaries of health, wealth, family dysfunction, natural disaster, political turmoil and other things that blow hot and cold in our world, I think they provide context to learn when to call on God and when love matters most.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, love is in the air. But what we should learn about love from God’s word, the Bible, is far different from the playful rituals of human romance celebrated on February 14.

The “love chapter” in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13 – recited often at weddings (Love is patient, love is kind,” etc.) – is lovely to read. Indeed, the chapter describes the necessity, characteristics and permanence of love.

But parts of it make little sense unless we realize it’s not about marriage; the chapter is merely one part of St. Paul’s larger argument sternly warning the first century Corinthian Christians to knock off their pagan-like worship involving tongues and prophesy. It’s an argument for the sufficiency and totality of God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ (read Burton Coffman’s commentary on 1 Corinthians 13 for a most interesting perspective).

Then of course there is the Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) in the middle of the Old Testament (just after Ecclesiastes). This is first rate poetry celebrating wisdom and love as gifts from God. It’s typically read as a steamy allegorization of human sex, or a description of God’s relationship with Israel, or even a story of a maiden choosing a shepherd over King Solomon (he of 900 wives).

I don’t favor allegorizing so much as a single word in the Bible (another topic for another day), but Song of Songs lyrically tells us that God beautifully authors both the emotional and physical joys of love.

Perhaps the Bible’s clearest, simplest, shortest discourse on love is 1 John, especially chapter 4. Nothing in it about chocolate or flowers though; it says “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 4:16).

Love starts with God. It’s His gift to us that we can share it with others.

Walters (www.believerbob.blogspot.com, email rlwcom@aol.com), noting that Valentine’s Day is about human romance, is reminded he needs to go buy a card.