BrainOut!

The mumblings of a Christian autistic husband, dad, IT guy and amateur radio operator - Will Brokenbourgh / AF7EC

Love

January 19, 2024 · Will Brokenbourgh

Happy 2024!

"All You Need is Love", "Love Story", "L.O.V.E.", "How Deep is Your Love" -- there is no shortage of songs about love and I doubt that there ever will be, but why do people sing, think and talk about love so often? What is love and why does it seem to cause so much pain, euphoria and wars?

What is love, anyway?
You may say that love is what a man and a women have for each other, or what parents have for their children or what grandparents have for their grandkids. Yes, these are great answers, but it still doesn't really explain what love is. How can you have something for someone if you really can't define it?

Why Jesus?

Love isn't just about feelings
Love is so much more than the 'warm fuzzies'. God gave us feelings for a reason, but, as usual, the devil corrupts what God designed for good and preys on people by hijacking certain feelings. Someone may 'fall in love' with a co-worker, friend or someone from the pub, but is it really love, or just 'feelings'?

You may want to put aside the dictionary definition of love for now and think about true, real love. The only pure, real love is from God, our creator. He showed his love for human beings by sending his son Jesus into the world to be a sinless and spotless sacrifice to take away our sins. We didn't have to die on a cross, Jesus took our place. Why would he do that?

What 'true love' really is

• Rolling out your neighbor's trash can when they forget
• Not giving up on a loved-one when they are going through a very tough time
• Cleaning up the kitchen for your spouse so they don't have to
• Not letting an offensive spirit consume you when someone says something hurtful or careless
• Giving a spare car to a needy family
• Not returning an angry word in-kind
• Praying for those who reject your love

What 'true love' is not

• Strong feelings for a person you just met at a party
• Sexual attraction
• Spending tons of money on someone to gain their affection
• Lustful urges
• Approval, support or tolerance of wrong thinking or behavior

"There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." - John 15:13 (NLT)

What John 15:13 says really should re-align our vision of what love truly is. Love is service!

Unfortunately many of today's voices make serving others sound like a bad thing. We have many groups that insist that you give them, their constituency and their agenda respect and support, even when the core of their beliefs run counter to God, love and common-sense. "We demand respect!" they shout -- "You're a racist, a bigot, a fascist or a Nazi if you don't support our cause!" they scream. Here's an important question -- are these groups ultimately trying to glorify God, spread true love across the world and serve all people, or are they trying to lift up what boils down to agendas pushed by the devil and his underlings? The devil and his demons can be loud, brash and give you a headache, but who says you have to give them your attention or allegiance?

"Three things will last forever -- faith, hope, and love -- and the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)

The world we live in now has become increasingly hostile, especially toward people who love God. Very vocal crowds mock you if you hold conservative and traditional views. Things that people would call 'horrible', 'disrespectful' or 'un-American' in the 1950's, 60's or 70's are now accepted as near common-place. People confused by demonic influence push ideas that are not only just plain wrong, but also unhealthy and dangerous.

Instead of clear thinking and common-sense prevailing, parents are forced -- by law -- to have their children mutilated, litter boxes are installed in public schools for confused students who think they are animals and vast crowds of protestors chant and scream their support for murderous terrorist organizations. Legislators in the U.S. engage in constant bickering and arguing but actually get very little done for the people of this country. Corruption, lies and hatred frame the human experience during these times, and it doesn't appear to be getting any better. What can be done to steer our world away from destruction and toward recovery? Love.

"'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these." - Mark 12:31 (NLT)

If true love was a common goal, so many of the world's ills would be drastically reduced or eliminated. Governments wouldn't try to enhance themselves, but actually serve their citizens. Driven by compassion for victims, people would peacefully protest against terror instead of promoting and celebrating it. The confused and angry people who scream at the world due to their pain and sadness would no longer exist because love during their formative years would have helped them grow into clear-headed, rational and loving adults. Wars, feuds and bitterness would be a rarity instead of common-place because people would choose to react out of an abundance of love instead of exacting vengeance. People would be more willing to give their hearts to Jesus Christ because love would motivate their actions instead of indifference, hatred or self-indulgence.

Love should not be limited only to your family, church members or friends -- it should be something we show, and give, to all. Remember, being a servant is being loving. Wherever we are, whatever we do, no matter the task, make love -- true and real love -- your goal. We all are different, have different gifts, different talents, different circumstances and different abilities, but we all have one Creator, and he has a never-ending supply of love! Why not ask him today to give you an overflowing portion of love? Why not take from that overflow and help give comfort to those who suffer from pain, hatred and confusion in this hurting world?

God bless you, and thank you for reading!

About me
First and foremost I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. After that, I'm a blessed husband, father and grandfather. I do remote computer work for a living although it's mostly part-time. I'm an amateur radio operator - AF7EC. When I'm not working on the endless list of house and car projects, I like to tinker with electronics, like to listen to shortwave radio and write software (mostly open-source) in C, C++, Python and Free Pascal. I usually run Linux as my main operating system but sometimes I'm forced to endure macOS and Windows 11 for gaming with my son or testing software. Overall, I am a big nobody, but always willing to share about Jesus and all that God has done for me and my family.

 

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