Does Jesus have a love language? A love language is a preferred way of receiving or expressing love. Most people will find their love language in any of the following 5 categories: gift giving and receiving, words of affirmation, physical touch, acts of service, and quality time. Many times we express our love to others the way we want to receive it. When this ‘good move’ is countered with lack of gratitude or cold thanks, we wonder what we had done wrong. At the early stage of our marriage, I used to buy cards and flowers for my wife. I would go all the way to look for a ‘beautiful’ card and add a rose flower too. While she would not reject outrightly the gift, the card and flower will soon be in the trash can. Well, I expected it to be on her table somewhere she would be looking at it from time to time. No! That is not the place the card and flower occupy in her heart. It is not her preferred way of receiving love. I had to ask, observe and learn to discover what really touches my wife’s heart. How do I express my love in a way that she would feel she is the most important person in the world? It took a while to learn and connect well with it.
What is Jesus’ love language? Jn 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Joh 14:23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Jn 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
1 Jn 4:20 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.
1Jn 4:21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Loving God is not first about what we do. There are many religious activities that Christians do that don’t reflect love or are not acceptable to God as demonstrations of love. Love for God is first a matter of obeying His commandments in His Word. It is about doing what He said we should do according to the Scriptures. It is not a subjective obedience but an objective one first of all. It is about responding to the injunctions of the Scripture of truth in humble obedience. Subjective obedience is waiting for God to tell you to do something… (often what He has already said in Scriptures). The LORD commanded to love your neighbor (a fellow Christian) as yourself, you don’t need to wait for another instruction ‘from the Holy Spirit’ to do that. But when He said you should love your neighbor who is in need, which you are aware of, you decided you would give what could have gone to help meet that need of that neighbor as an offering in church. While that may sound good, in reality you have set aside the commandment of God.
Showing love (caring, helping, defending, protecting etc) to a brother or neighbor is the expression of our love for God. If you say you love God, do you love your brother? If you don’t love your brother, you don’t love God. That is how God understands it. ‘You are a liar’ says the LORD, if you say you love God and do not obey the command to love your neighbor or brothers and sisters. This is Jesus’ (God) love language. This is how God knows we love Him. 1Jn 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. To love God is to love those He loves- all believers and all men. Our love, in obedience to Christ’s command, must be willing to sacrifice for others. It will put others first, not to impress or to get men’s approval, but in obedience to God. Such love cannot have the flesh’s applause. You may sacrifice by the power of the flesh because it is by the will of man. But to sacrifice in obedience to God is a different matter- and that is love.
When men shall be gathered to the throne of Christ for judgment, the King will say to those on his right (the sheep), ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me’ Mt 25: 34-36. Why are these called sheep? They demonstrated through obedience their love for Christ. They shared the life of Christ of love with others. They went beyond themselves to help and care for their brothers and neighbors. They witnessed Christ! Their love was not just in words but in truth- by practical works.
Do you really love Jesus? Do you love God? God does not accept it by what you say or what you do of your own desires but by your obedience to His Word of command. May God give you grace to obey the LORD whom you have professed your love to. Amen.