It’s real love.
The topic of love accounts for a large majority of all the songs that have ever been written – whether romantic love, maternal love, self-love, or the various other kinds doing the rounds, no other topic has been put to song more than this topic. That reveals a lot about what matters to us. It speaks to something in us that gives us a great sense of meaning and purpose. We want to be loved – truly, madly and deeply. Yet what does that really mean? What does that really look like?
The beloved.
That title is a precious one as far as God is concerned. The bride of Christ, the Church of the Living God, is the beloved of Christ. She is His major concern. He beautifies her, He cleanses her, He ensures that when she is presented to Him, she is spotless, without blemish or wrinkle. He nurtures, nourishes, and cherishes her. He ravishes her with His warm embrace and holds her in the highest esteem because He paid the price to redeem her from the fate she was headed. His love for His bride leads Him to protect her fiercely against all those who would seek to take advantage of her. His love for His bride is keen to ensure she remains faithful by practising unwavering faithfulness to her. This covenant love binds Him to her and is the platform for Him to display the greatest love of all.
Some would read that and may think that this must make the bride the centre of attention and the focus of all things. Some might even get so besotted and caught up with all that is being done that they genuinely believe it is primarily for their benefit. That self-centred approach misses something at play. In giving this love, Jesus is being who He is – Love. It is not because the bride is worth it – it’s because He is Love and that expresses itself in all circumstances. If anything, this is why great glory goes to the Lord Jesus for patiently and persistently bearing with His bride. This is why even the bride acknowledges her Lord for the great love He bestows on her. She responds to what’s been expressed not with a self-absorbed vanity fair, but with a commitment to complement her first love by receiving the love and then being a conduit to express it back to her husband.
This gives us a good picture of what it is to be loved. It’s far more than sentiment. It’s far deeper than affection. It’s far stronger than the romantic whims of a summer day. It’s far more resilient than even the mother’s love for her child. To be loved is to be in receipt of something which has the power to transform our own idea of what love is. It transforms us from being merely happy recipients who content ourselves with getting our share to operating in an overflow, keen to pour into others what has been generously poured into us. That desire is not dependent on what the other person has done.
We don’t have to wait for the other person to ask for forgiveness because of the great love we’ve received, which has cleansed us from all sin. We don’t have to demand respect from another person, as we recognise that the love of the Father is like the sunshine and rain that fall on the just and the unjust alike. We don’t have to harbour malice and bitterness toward those who mistreat us, oppose us and seek to exploit us, as we’ve been filled with the love of God that even extends to His enemies. We don’t even do this from a position of looking to earn anything from anyone because it is enough to acknowledge the amazing love of God that empowers us to love this way anyway.
As our loving Father points us to His loving Son, so He sends the Spirit of love, so we can embrace this amazing love and truly experience what it is to be loved as the Beloved. And as we take it in, our challenge is how will we pour out what’s been poured in to a world so starved of real love?
For His Name’s Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
Next Steps
Reflect: What does it mean to you to be loved by God? How would you communicate that to people you know who know God? How would you communicate that to those who don’t know God?
Pray: Father, thank you for real love. Thank you that it looks like your Son nailed to a cross. Thank you that it looks like an empty tomb with the Lord triumphant over death. Thank you that it looks like the outpouring of your Spirit on all flesh to those who believe. Thank you that this is the love that purifies, forgives, encourages, reconciles, redeems, renews, restores, and remains steadfast in all circumstances. Help us to receive your love and be channels of what it truly means to be loved. For Your great name’s sake.
Act: Spread love.
