What Love Is Not!!!

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
                                                                                                           Martin Luther King, Jr.


     We live in a culture that is saturated with its' own ideas of what love really is.  Depending on individual more`s and agendas (that may or may not be antithetical to the Bible), we are continually being spoon-fed images and story lines that attempt to redefine and blur the boundaries that God has given to mankind for our safety and well-being. It is almost impossible today to either watch a movie, TV show, or even the news without bias or manipulation of some kind.

     To add to these complexities, we are also living in times where Jesus said that "the love of most will grow cold". (Matthew 24:12).  Jesus prefaced this comment by describing very turbulent days in this world, including: wars, lawlessness, turbulence and commotion. He said there was an inverse correlation in that as wickedness in the world increases, the love of most people would decrease.

     Yet, the Bible is very clear as to what love is and what love is not. Our society may be confused, but the Creator of the world certainly is not! We find the perfect example of this in a piece of art. If you look at a painting, there are both positive spaces and negative spaces.  The positive space makes up the subject(s) of an image. The negative space is the space around and between the subject(s) of an image.

     The negative space serves some very important purposes: it defines the boundaries in the positive space and it provides balance. In the hands of a skilled artist, it also adds levels of meaning and beauty.  This is what the apostle, Paul, accomplishes in the love chapter of the Bible ( 1 Corinthians 13).  All thirteen verses paint the exquisite beauty of walking in love, while it describes the importance of this fundamental arm of Christianity.

     Verses four through six outline the negative space of Chapter thirteen.  Eight times Paul tells us what NOT to do.  He tells us that love "does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."

     Whenever we venture into this negative space of love, we are giving the enemy of our souls power in our lives.  This negative space defines Satan's territory and we would do well to stay out of it! We cannot have total victory in our lives if we are dwelling in the negative space.

     Why? Because the whole point of the Christian walk is love.  I John 4: 7-8 says, "Dear friends,
let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

     Much deception comes to us because we poorly assess how we are doing in this area.  Our culture has convinced us that love is tied to feelings.  It also teaches us that the measure of love is whether or not we have the capacity to feel love for others.  This is a terrible and inaccurate measure because by this definition both Hitler and ISIS are loving.

     We need objective boundaries that bring definition and measure.  Only these will bring a clear picture of the truth.  Paul describes the positive space of love as follows: "love is patient; love is kind; love always protects; love always trusts; love always hopes; and love always perserveres." 
( I Corinthians 13: 4,7). Paul continues with a promise that when we walk in the positive space of love we will never fail. That means NEVER!

     When we look at what love is, the painting displays a stunning silhouette of our Savior. Love is not a feeling. Love is not a thing. Love is a person and true love can only be found in Him. That is, Jesus, our Messiah. He is the One who can ignite our hearts on fire with His love in the midst of a cold and dark world. A.W. Tozer says, " We might be wise to follw the insight of the enraptured heart rather than the more cautious reasoning of the theological mind."

     If God were only to give us a list of boundaries yet give us no ability to follow them, it would only be mere religion.  Our problem lies not in the ability to see the love of Jesus. Rather, it is in recreating the picture of love that we do see in Him.

     Jesus desires to be our heavenly art teacher of love.  This is what separates Jesus from every other faith claim.  Because He is alive, He can and will implant His ability to love in us so that it will take residence within us and then pour out through us to others.

     No one has ever been a better example for us to follow.  When Jesus was tortured, He forgave.
When Jesus looked at the masses of people, He was moved with compassion.  When Jesus saw the needs of others, He supplied them.  When Jesus saw the sick and impaired, He healed them.  When Jesus saw the hatred and contempt of others for Himself, He blessed them.  In the midst of all these circumstances, it was Jesus' eyes of love that recognized mans' need for salvation, and then He gave the ultimate sacrifice.

     This is how love in action looks.  It is submission to Him, as well as maturity, that enables us to walk this out in our lives.  Paul says, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me." ( I Cor. 13:11). Our chronological age has nothing to do with our spiritual maturity. We choose whether or not to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and to grow up!

     The Gospel is the antithesis of  religion.  It is Christ in us that accomplishes what we could never accomplish.  It is not about what we can do- it is about what He can do through us as we surrender more and more to Him and His Word.

     This is how Paul prayed for love for the church in Ephesus: "I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3: 16-19).

     When Christ resides in us, it is as if we can paint like Vincent van Gogh.  This is because Jesus is painting a unique masterpiece in us and through us.  The essential ingredient that Jesus will use will be His love, because He is the architect and designer of love. Our mandate is to share what we have been given with the ones who need it the most!


"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love."
                                                                                                                          ( I Corinthians 13:13)