Loving With All Of Your Heart

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

(In September of 2007, I posted a series of essays on the subject of love. I recently went back to my journal to re-read those essays and discovered one that I didn’t post.)

In I Corinthians 12-14, Paul writes to the Corinthians about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and then his famous words regarding what love is and what it isn’t, and finally about the proper use of the gifts. Question: Why write about the gifts, take a detour regarding love, and then go back to writing about the gifts? What in the world was he thinking? I believe it was because, while the people of Corinth were all-about-the-gifts, Paul wanted them to see that they should stop following after gifts and follow after love: that it was only when we follow after love that the gifts He gave us will have the impact (both on us and others) that they were designed to have.

Most of my early journey was filled with teachers who spoke of love like an engineer speaks of plans for building a bridge or like a mathematician explaining formulas or like a stoical Spartan speaking of doing his duty. Even when they spoke of I Corinthians 13, there was no poetry, no feeling, no passion or compassion, no enthusiasm … and no fire.

Unlike one Christian theologian I read, I do not believe that emotions came when Adam and Even went their own way. I do not believe that God is a Vulcan, and definitely do not think that Stoicism is even remotely a Christian mindset, much less a Christian virtue. Come on. Isn’t a love that is void of feelings far, far beneath what God intends for us to experience for Him and for others? Sure, some people need to remember to bring intelligence and willpower to demonstrations of love, but just as many need to take their hearts out of cold storage.

The Danger of Love
Love is dangerous because it is the nature of love to surrender, to lose control, to be vulnerable to the point of becoming fragile. And herein is the reason so many people avoid allowing themselves to love as they were meant and made to. Love is both a wonder-filled experience and a painful one. (See Birth of Jesus and Jesus on Cross) As many people have a predisposition to avoiding pain, they close their hearts to it, and in doing so close their hearts to love.

It is far safer to approach love for God and others solely as acts of our wills: do your duty, and keep your commitment. Just do it … but don’t feel it, because once you throw your heart into the arena, someone is going to step on it.

Ask yourself this: Do you feel loved by friends who resign themselves to performing their duty toward you?

Monte: Hey George: I really don’t feel like serving you today. I have no sense of compassion or affection toward you, don’t even care about you, but… I… Will… Serve… You.

George: You can leave now.

Love requires our brains, our strength, our willpower … and our hearts. And yes, there are certainly times when your heart just isn’t in it. However, if this is a lifestyle, if this is my way of being in relationships, then something is terribly wrong with me.

Love is a flame: it ignites, it blazes, it consumes. The flame both warms us and often burns us. Sometimes the blaze purifies, sometimes it scars; sometimes it empowers, sometimes it is an earthquake. If there were a sure-fire way of only experiencing the happier aspects of love, more people would love more freely. But love is dangerous … like dynamite or wine.

So many people go through life hiding from love. O, underneath the cool exterior there are hearts filled with the desire to love and be loved, but they keep that longing in a cage, buried deeply, far away from the risk that comes with bringing their longings to the surface and into the light. But this is not living as God created us to live. Okay, sure enough, if we live this way, we will be safe: safe from pain and suffering, and safely shut away from truly living.

Following After Love
Do this experiment: Rather than solely asking yourself what is Right or Wrong about a particular decision you are facing, ask, “Where is love? While considering each possible action, where do I experience passion or compassion, enthusiasm, affection, desire, care? Where is love drawing me? What is the love that is in my heart telling me? Upon what path do I sense love?”

Another experiment: The next time you have a desire to call someone or to go see them—if the mere thought of a family or individual comes to mind—act on this immediately. Give them a word of encouragement or ask yourself what small act of kindness you can do for him/her/them, so as to demonstrate your love. And then stand back and watch the power of God released, both in them and in you.

Copyright, Monte E Wilson, 2008