The Love of Christ
The Love of Christ
The Word of God tells us that we were loved before we were capable of loving in return. "When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ... God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:6, 8). "We love him because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
When a man and a woman truly love each other they spend some time talking over the wonder of their acquaintance. "When did you first know you loved me?" "Do you remember the first time we met?" "What did you think of me when we were first introduced?" These and a thousand similar questions make up the ever-fragrant conversations of true love. There can be no such questions about the relationship between our Lord and ourselves. It was when we were lost that He found us. It was when we were dead that He brought life to us. It was when we were without strength that He came as the strong one to deliver us. It was when we were unlovely sinners that He manifested His grace by stooping to love us.
If there is any true love on our part toward the Lord, it is because we have learned to know who He is and what He has done for us. "We love him because he first loved us." We know the verse, but we do not love Him as we should. If we find that our love is cold, it is because we have not spent time with Him, for how could we gaze upon Him and not be entranced with Him? How can we see Him moving among men and not be touched with His compassion?
It does not suffice to have learned all the verses that recount His praise. There are those writers of the Word who have spoken of Him as "the fairest among ten thousand," "the lily of the valley," "the altogether lovely," or "the bright and morning star." All this is but a trick of the memory if we do not show in our lives the love that we bear for Him in our hearts.
It may be well for the child of God to spend time asking and answering the question concerning our love for the Lord. Do we not overestimate what we think of the Lord? We cannot overestimate what He has done for us nor how deeply He loves us. The Lord came to Peter who had boasted of his great love for the Master, and asked him twice if he really did have a great all-encompassing passion for Him. The chastened disciple twice answered that he did have an connection for the Lord. The Savior then came down to the lower level of Peter's word and asked, using the Greek word phileo, "Hast thou this affection for me?" Peter was grieved because the Lord came down to this lesser word, and cast himself upon the Lord with an abandon of emotion that showed how much chaff had been taken away in Satan's sifting. The Lord made no effort to claim more than the renewed heart knew was there. Peter knew that the Lord had planted love within him, and he knew that the Lord knew it. "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee."
The Savior knew that He had begun a good work in Peter which He could continue to perfect until His return. So in His great grace He did not turn away from Peter because the disciple's love was small. Instead, the Lord gave him his commission for service, and began a lifelong work in His servant.
Thus our confidence must be in our Lord. In all of His grace, He will not turn us away for failing Him.
1. In Christ’s work, is love a feeling, an action or both? Explain your answer.
2. If we only love God because he loved us, doesn’t that make our love contractual? Is that real love?
3. What are some ways that we can provide the love of Christ for our neighbor?
