Love

I may not be the only devotion writer this week who reflects on the fact that English uses one word, love, to cover a wide range of types of affection. We “love” non-tangible things like life hacks or positive ideas like freedom. We “love” experiences like roller coaster rides or vacations or the first cup of coffee in the morning. And we “love” other people. So it’s understandable that we may feel some uncertainty about what Paul is commending when he calls love a fruit of the spirit.. 

Paul had lots of different words about love available to him, so it’s not too hard to narrow down what he was focused on. He was not talking primarily about friendship, love of family, or erotic love, though the love he was talking about has implications for those other important types. Instead, he was inviting us to develop the kind of love that characterizes God. Scripture describes God’s love as faithful and strong, overcoming challenges and forgiving failures. God pursues the highest good for those God loves. 

One feature that isn’t central to Paul’s understanding of love is the emphasis on feeling. Love in the Bible isn’t primarily an emotion. Instead, it’s mostly about our actions. I’m not saying we should intentionally have a bad attitude while we’re caring for people. I just think it’s reassuring that sometimes when we try to seek others’ well-being (to the best of our understanding), we can’t muster up those warm feelings no matter how hard we try. In those situations, we should cut ourselves some slack.

It’s no accident that Paul started his list of fruits of the Spirit with love. All of the other qualities on the list flow out of love. In a different letter. Paul describes love by describing its qualities. I think it would be helpful to meditate on his rich passage this week:

Love is patient;
love is kind;
love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way
it is not irritable
it keeps no record of wrongs
it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends.

- David Neumann