Love and Faith

FAITH-BASED  LOVE

We sing, Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free, as if we really believe it. At times it rolls off our tongues from a heart that is swelling with the sense of that amazing love. But then, there are those times when we are only mouthing the words. The sense is gone.

Should you speak of His love for you only when you feel it? Should you speak of your love for Him only when you feel it?

Is the depth of God’s love for you determined by your sense of it? Is your response to God’s love for you determined by your sense or your level of emotional connection to His love for you?

Could it be that keeping yourself in the love of God (Jude 20) has more to do with faith than feelings? And, could it be that as feelings fluctuate, faith keeps you consistently responding to His love which you have come to know and appreciate, and which you prayerfully seek to comprehend more fully (Eph. 3:18,19)? And then as you dwell upon that love that you know by faith, is it possible that emotions will follow that will increase your delight in Him, and motivate you toward more fervent devotion to Him and service for Him?  (2 Corinthians 5:14)

As you think about this concept of relating to God’s love with the kind of consistency that faith produces, perhaps you can apply it to your human relationships. Your love for one another, and especially your love for your spouse, is to mirror God’s love for you, and your response to His love.  It is the Spirit of God who places this love in our hearts (Rom. 5:5; Gal. 5:22).

So, should you say to your wife, I love you deeply, even though your emotions or feelings are not necessarily connecting with that concept at the moment? Remember, God’s love for you is not simply an emotional statement. God’s love has been, and is, demonstrated! Thus, if you are loving as He loves, you should say and do, whether you feel it or not! In fact, if you say you love her deeply and then treat her in unloving ways, you words are mere words.

Thankfully, God’s love for us is more than mere words! Neither is He void of emotion. May the love He has made known to you through faith be manifested in your relation to others, especially your spouse.