Before the Cross: Fruit of the SpiritSample

Fruit of the Spirit: Love

My wife was watching HGTV the other night (which is guy code for “Yes, I watched it with her”). Through a few episodes of House Hunters, a show where a person or a couple tours 3 prospective homes with a realtor, I couldn’t help noticing the abuse of the word “love”.

The people looking at the homes loved backsplashes. They loved crown molding. They loved the size of bedrooms and bathrooms and bathtubs. They loved lot-sizes and breakfast nooks and granite countertops. They loved man-caves and mom-caves and mudrooms.

Word Abuse

It reminded me the word love is overused.

It will be overused today. You’ll probably hear “I love all this rain we’re getting” from someone.

It will be overused tomorrow. I know I’ll probably say, “I love fajitas” at some point this weekend.

Some have suggested upping the value of the word love when you want to express selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love by using the word “agape” instead.

I know if someone tells me they “agape me” it will weird me out a little bit.

You can’t cure this. Once a word or phrase is out there and wildly used, it has to run its course, e.g., “Don’t go there” might sound archaic if you hear it in conversation today.

Nothing is going to stop the abuse of the word “love” by God’s creation, just like nothing is going to stop my abuse of quotation marks in this devo.

God Means It When He Says It

At some point, we’ll want to express real love to somebody and let that person know it’s not the fajita kind of love. Use “agape” at your own risk.

I believe the best way to express this higher love is to know how much you are loved by God.

As his creation, we are set higher than the angels, higher than the animals, given to a special plan by God for God.

We are loved by Him both collectively and individually in His intimate care for our thought-by-thought and action-by-action each and every second.

I get the feeling God’s love for us is higher than His love for a well-designed solar system.

The Bible is packed with scripture on His love for us and how we should love.

For those who are hurting today or struggling to find their way, be encouraged and encourage others with this love.

It can’t be overused.

If you think it can, don’t go there.