I L.O.V.E. love!
I never went through a stage growing up when I believed boys had cooties. Most of my daydreams as a young girl centered around who I would marry one day. I made lists of my name ending with my latest crush’s last name as mine written out on notebook paper or in the diary that I kept as an older tween/young teen. I always anticipated sharing life with my knight in shining armor, convinced that every day would be one huge joy and unending delight.
When I think of being loved, the first thing that pops into my mind is the warm, fuzzy feelings that surround what my heart often mistakes as love. But as I was writing my latest Bible study on forgiveness, a verse jumped off the page of Scripture and struck my heart in a new and forceful way. Feelings have no part of love when it comes to showing Christ my love for Him. In fact, love has much more to do with actions than feelings according to John 14:15:
If you love me, you will obey what I command.
My definition of warm, fuzzy feelings does not hit the mark. In fact, I feel none of those when Jesus is asking me to do something really hard – like apologize to the woman in my fitness class today that I was annoyed with because she got in my space.
The class was held in the gym and was crowded. She came in late and decided to do push-ups on the floor RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! That would have been fine, but the instructor had us run to the other side of the gym in between all the floor exercises we were doing. She was in my way. So, instead of walking around her, I stepped over her. Thought I would make a point without saying a word.
Oh, the Holy Spirit assured me that I had made a point alright. And He wouldn’t leave me alone after that.
I want you to apologize to her. Shawn, you and I both know you meant to be rude and there is a good chance she knows it, too.
I argued with Him as I ran up and down the length of the gym, through lunges, squats, and more push-ups.
Ugh.
His voice kept filling my mind with the convicting truth:
If you love me, you will obey what I command.
I can talk all day long about loving Jesus, but if I do not do what He tells me to do, the plain truth is…I don’t love Him. My love for Him is merely infatuation, as immature and fickle as my thoughts about what love was growing up.
I am merely giving lip service.
I hesistantly tapped her on the shoulder. She looked quizzically at me.
“I am so sorry for stepping over you. I was rude and I need to apologize,” I said.
She didn’t know what to say for a moment. Kindly, however, she assured me with her words that she, “didn’t even notice and don’t worry about it at all.”
I knew by the look in her eyes that she had indeed noticed, but she thanked me sincerely for apologizing.
I wish I could say that I told her why I apologized, but I didn’t. I didn’t tell her that my rudeness distorted the truth that I am a Christ-follower and that I love Him profusely. That is the goal for next time.
Because there will be a next time to show my love for my Jesus through my choice of obedience…even today.
If you love me, you will obey what I command. John 14:15
