Love is…

“The fruit of the Spirit is love…”

I cannot think of anyone who does not want to be loved. How to define that love is difficult, though. We all define love differently. Probably more accurately, we all emphasize different aspects of love. For some, love is a rush of emotion and feelings, while others stress love as a commitment. Many equate love with actions, mere words never being enough. Others equate love with acceptance or agreement or lack of conflict.

The topic of love could, and does, fill volumes of books, magazines, and online writings. However, during this first part of December, I am reminded of God’s love in the form of a baby. A baby born in Bethlehem. Literature is filled with beautiful and memorable phrases, but “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” surpasses most, if not them all. (John 1:14)

John also wrote that love comes from God. (1 John 4). He goes on to write that God revealed His love to us by sending His one and only Son into the world. He repeats that God is love several times. It is not only that God loves, but the “I Am” is love. Ponder that for a minute. I can love others, but there is no one who would say that I am love, that my very essence and identity is love.

Moreover, John writes that we love because God first loved us and that we must love our brother and sister if we love God. Even further, he says that if we love one another as Christ loved us, then we will be known as Christ’s disciples. (John 13). “As Christ loved us”—that is how our friends, neighbors, family, and co-workers know that we are disciples of Christ. That is setting the bar pretty high.

As it turns out, John wrote quite a bit about love.

This Christmas season, I hope to celebrate by loving well, not in my own power, but by the Spirit’s power. By seeking His love and yielding to Him, God displays His vast, unquantifiable love through me instead of me holding tightly to a definition of love that is small and short-sighted in comparison. After all, Christ’s love surpasses my human knowledge. I cannot fathom the width or length or height or depth of His love.

I don’t know what loving well this advent season looks like for you. Perhaps it looks like listening to that friend or loved one even though you need to make sure you are ready for the umpteenth Christmas gathering. Maybe it looks like saying a kind word to the person behind that check-out counter even though you just want to get in and get out quickly. It might even look like saying a gentle word during tense gatherings or speaking truth in a loving, humble manner.

Whatever it looks like, I hope we are known this holiday season as Christ’s disciples by our fruit, part of which is how we love. We might love imperfectly, but that is the beauty of God’s love for us. He tells us that He knows how we are formed, and that He remembers we are dust, but He promises that His love is everlasting and that He has compassion for us. (Psalm 103). I don’t know about you, but that comforts me. The Lord knows all my faults and loves me anyway. He empowers me to love myself enough not to dwell on past mistakes. He gives me the ability to love others despite my shortcomings. My responsibility is simply to trust Him and allow His love to shine through me. Ironically, I often find that I am a bigger blessing to others when I am not consciously trying to be one.

Even when I am loving well, though, it may not be received as such because of someone else’s definition of love. But that is okay. The Spirit can do His job perfectly well in someone else’s life without me mucking it up by taking control and ownership of everyone else’s thoughts and actions.

God’s love is not constrained by my shortcomings, nor is it constrained by time. God is eternal. God is love. When we are in Christ, we will never be unloved. Never. Even for eternity. Our communion with Love (our Heavenly Father) was made possible because of Christ’s sacrifice, which could only take place once He became flesh, a baby, and dwelt among us. Through Christ, I gain God who is Love. Through Christ, I gain community with God, and I gain community with other believers now and forever. That is a thing of beauty.

In the hustle and bustle of this season, I hope to display the fruit of the Spirit well.

This season, I hope to celebrate Christ’s birth by being a disciple of Christ.

I hope to love.

Photo Credit: https://tinyurl.com/y77fp7l5