That Crazy Little Thing Called Love

“Love not the world neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  I John 2:15

That word “love” gets tossed around a lot to describe so many things to which people get attached.  Folks “love” ice cream, cars, clothes, and a thousand other inanimate objects which have no way of returning love.  When used to describe our affinity for stuff, the word “love” has very little meaning.  “Agape” love is the kind of real love that causes one to sacrifice time, effort, money, and desires for the benefit of another.  That is the kind of love that sent Jesus to the cross to sacrifice Himself for all of us sinners.  So you can understand that when we say we love someone’s new boots or hairdo or ice cream, it devalues love into nothing more than a trivial sentiment.

What about “loving” the world?  In this context, the world is all that is antithetical to the Lord of heaven and earth.  The way I see it, there’s not much that the world can offer that can sooth my pain, heal my hurts, or protect me from the attacks of the devil.  Matter of fact, Satan uses things of the world to bring heartache, destruction, and conflict.  He works though those who don’t know God to bring hostility, distrust, war, and pain.  The world is not a solution for man’s problems, rather, it is a major contributor to all that’s wrong with mankind.  This reminds me of something President Reagan said years ago.  He said that the government is not the solution, the government is the problem.  When I think of the world, I think mostly of the various governments of the world made up of humans. God was the One who ordained governments, but they were to be a force for good (Romans 13:3), a help for mankind.  The world is not our father, and the earth is not our mother.

John made it perfectly clear that one who loves the world does not have the love of the Father in him or her.  There is only room in one’s heart for one kind of love, either that real love which comes from God or that counterfeit love that comes from the world and Satan.  The choice should be a “no-brainer”, but it’s astonishing how many make the wrong choice.  While we are not to love the world, we are still responsible to take care of our little portion of it and not to be wasteful and/or inconsiderate of others.  After all, it is our home until such time we leave for our final destination.

I speak words of wisdom, And do what I think is right, But it all seemed for show, Until I saw the light;

The light of compassion, The light of God’s love, What useless efforts without, The love that comes from above.

This love that is longsuffering, Kind, humble, perfect and true, Is never jealous, boastful, or mean, It will never fail me and you.

Love is not a feeling, It’s a decision that we make, That’s how we love the unlovely, We love for Jesus’ sake.