WHY DOES THE BIBLE SPEAK SO MUCH ABOUT LOVE?
IS IT REALLY THAT IMPORTANT?
BIBLE PASSAGE:
As the Father has loved me, so have
I loved you: Now remain in My love.
(John 15:9)
MEDITATION:
The Bible speaks often about love. There is a horizontal love for others
and a vertical love for God.
God has blessed some people with the ability to perform research and
find out how the body and mind of people are affected by certain things.
Some of them have spent an enormous amount of time researching and
studying the effects of love.
Science now provides evidence of what is experienced when we are
involved in loving relationships. It triggers various neurotransmitters
and hormones in our bodies that affect us systematically.
Treatment of depression often includes getting the patient to focus
on interpersonal relationships as a therapeutic way of improving or
reducing depression. Some treatments include attachment therapy
in children and interpersonal therapy in adults.
Ultimately, the goal of this type of therapy is to encourage patients to
be involved in loving, stable and supportive relationships which can
potentially help in their recovery from common mental health illness.
Mahatma Ghandi once wrote,
“Where there is love, there is life”
Loving and stable relationships can help improve a person’s ability
for managing stress, and it can also help decrease the anxieties and
depression in patients.
We are all social creatures, and research has shown that when it comes
to mental health, doctors should be mindful and evaluate the patient’s
level of “connectedness”. They should also encourage them to develop
and nurture stable and loving relationships.
Dr. Hullett says,
“Human beings are social animals who have biological drives
that make them want to find relationships. When they can’t
find those unions, they’re punished with stress”
People in happy relationships experience less stress, which in turn
improves their cardiovascular health. Furthermore, Dr. Hullett says
people who aren’t in stable, committed relationships have a higher
rate of heart attacks.
Research suggests that happy couples who engage in positive conflict
resolution, will have higher functioning immune systems than those who
don’t (says Gian Gonzaga, MD, Sr. Director of R&D at eHarmony Labs).
He points to a study by Ronald Glazer and Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, in which
couples were observed during disputes.
The couples who displayed the most negative behavior during the fights,
also showed the greatest decline in immediate immune system functioning.
Those who argued in a more loving, positive way had higher immediate
immune functionality.
The great Swiss theologian, Dr. Karl Barth, was probably in his generation
the greatest theologian in the world, and a great philosopher as well. Some
didn’t always agree with him, but they still respected him. While he was in
this country, a student at one of the seminaries said,
“Dr. Barth, what is the greatest truth that ever crossed your mind?”
All the seminary students were sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to
hear some great, profound, deep, complicated answer. But, Dr. Barth slowly
raised his great shaggy gray head, looked at the student and said,
“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so”
He knew that regardless of how he was treated by others, he could always
be assured that he was loved by Jesus.
As we are told in the Bible, love is important in relationships with others,
and with the spiritual trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit). We have also discovered the importance of love for mental
and physical health. Consequently, love is something that we, as believers,
should nourish in our hearts.
If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship
that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient,
love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does
not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will
cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is
knowledge, it will pass away.
(1 Corinthians 13:3-8)
ACTION:
Inhibitors to developing love in our hearts are selfishness, egotism,
self-centeredness, and arrogant pride. If we expect to increase the
love in our hearts, we need to reduce and eliminate these inhibitors
in our lives.
It is not easy for us to do, but God has sent us an Advocate (Holy Spirit)
to help us with our efforts…if we are serious about wanting to be more
like Jesus.
We need to ask ourselves:
“Do I really want to be more like Jesus?”
“Am I a person who radiates love?”
“How do I show others my love and concern for others?”
“Can I recall a time (or times) when I have
sacrificed in order to show love to someone else?”
“What gift or talent has God given me that I can use
in showing love and encouragement to others?”
“How often do I check on someone who are sick or hurting emotionally?”
“Do I allow my own issues to take precedence over encouraging others?”
“Am I using the spiritual gift or other talent the Lord has given me
to encourage and lift the spirit of someone else, without expecting
anything in return?”
“Do I love others in the same manner that the Lord loves me?”
“Do I show love to others in the same way they show love to me?”
“Am I a giver or consumer?”
“How will I respond to the Lord
when He asks what I have done to show love to others?”
So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we
are at home in the body or away from it. For we
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each of us may receive what is due us for
the things done while in the body, whether good
or bad.
(2 Corinthians 5:9-10)
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me the importance
of love in my heart and soul. Thank You for showing me what
sincere love looks like. Teach me how to more freely express
love to others, and of course, to You. Help me understand that
love is much more than an emotion, and that it is not a noun,
but an action verb. Show me how to replace selfishness in my
life with a love that resembles the love You have shown to me;
a love that forgives and encourages others.”
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