Love is Love?
Every year in June, the same people who hijacked the rainbow from God (Gen 9:13-16), gather around the phrases such as: “Love Wins” and “Love is Love”.
Many Biblically illiterate people in the world claim that if God is a loving God, then anything they covet or anyone they lust after must be approved by Him. After all, if God wants us to be loving, isn’t pursuing anything our hearts “love” a good thing?
As fallible humans, we have a dreadful condition: we enjoy loving evil things. The litmus test for what is right is not asking ourselves if we love it. Our heart is wicked and deceitful and enjoys loving worldly things (Jer 17:9, 1Jn 2:16).
In a postmodern age when truth becomes relative, the Bible isn’t relevant, and the only god people serve is their heart’s desires (Php 3:19) it’s no wonder that the love of God is completely twisted into something it is not.
First of all, God is a loving God, but how He expresses His love is not through supplanting sinful desires in our hearts. In fact, Romans 5:6-8 gives us a clear depiction of what God’s love truly is:
“[6] For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.[7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. [8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Despite our sin and shortcomings, God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die the death we deserve so that we could have eternal life (Rom 6:23). Dying for an enemy and giving them everything that’s rightfully yours: now that’s a love only God can express.
As Christians, the love we should express in our lives is called charity and 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that it, “Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth” (1Co 13:5-6).
Seeing that charity doesn’t rejoice in iniquity, showing the world the love of God doesn’t include waiving a rainbow flag in support during June.
Now, does that mean we hate everyone who does? Of course not!
If you have trusted in the gospel of grace (1Co 15:1-4, Rom 3:21-26, 4:4-5, Eph 2:8-9, Titus 3:3-7) you have been given a mission to see all people saved and come to a knowledge of the truth as an ambassador-soldier (1Ti 2:4, 2Co 5:20, 2Ti 2:4).
We must go into the world proclaiming the gospel of grace, preaching the love that God has commended toward all people through His death, burial, and resurrection. We must walk as children of the light to see as many souls saved as possible (Eph 5:6-8). This includes not only our speech but our conduct and good works.
Before you right-off an unsaved person because of their sin that doesn’t look like yours, just remember you used to be in the same boat. None are righteous and all are sinners. We must look past the flesh (even if it is adorned with rainbows) with sincerity and empathy in order to reach the soul with the light of the glorious gospel of Christ (2Co 4:3-4).
“[3] For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. [4] But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, [5] Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; [6] Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; [7] That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” – Titus 3:3-7
