Love Defining

We do not define God. God defines us. 

This is the starting point of my faith. This is the beginning of humilty for me, a heart bowed low in worship.  Like a tantrum-throwing toddler, I may not always like the sovereignty or the parenting of God, but I am content that He is the end all, has the first and final say. He is the Potter. I am the lump of clay that needs work, molding, refining fire, redeeming beauty. HIS love defines me, not this world's perverse understanding of "love." HIS love defines me, not even the church's definition of love does this because His love is higher, more powerful than we mere humans could arrogantly assume we understand, or tie up in a nice, logical box.  How high, how wide, how deep, how long is the love of God (Ephesians 3:18)? 

I do not accept our world's weak view of love, more importantly God's love. "Love is love" is just...FALSE. Any love isn't love. How ridiculous it is to believe this! Any love, without boundaries, without particular attributes and characteristics is a scourge, a blow to the heart of God! How belittling and demeaning to say this, when God so clearly defines love in His perfect Word given to us as the display of who He is and who we are in Him. Love, like God, is separate, holy, other-than anything this world could drum up. We don't create it. It doesn't originate with us. Love comes from God, God is Love. God defines love to the finest detail. 

Love is transforming in nature and action. 1 John 4:7-8 says:

                      Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 

Love transforms. "Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." We only love when we've been transformed to love like God loves. The word for "love" here is "agape." "Agape" is a word that is ONLY used in Biblical literature. This kind of love isn't used in any other religion, relationship, historical Greek writing. In fact, pagan cultures at this time don't even have a word to use that is equivilent. It's a word that only describes God's love and how we are to love others in Christ. It's transformational. This is the love that sent Jesus to save us from our sin. 

                     In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)                  

Agape love is a love that lays down its life for another in order for them to be rescued, transformed, redeemed. In no other person, being or place can this agape be found than in God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It's other-than. It's specific, untainted and undefined or bound by our culture's raging pursuit to accept all things, to tolerate all things. This love doesn't tolerate sin. This love doesn't accept us as we are. This love woos, us draws us into the only ONE who can completely free us from our sinful selves. It's beyond precious, worth guarding, obeying, dying daily for. There is nothing frilly, cheap or watered down about it. Agape's power is beyond measure when encountered in truth. Its goal is to kill and destroy our sin-nature in order to restore us to full relationship with Father God. Agape love transforms us to the innermost part of our hidden darkness, those parts that we hide with masks of surface religious behavior. This love sees all, every area, Adam n Eve fig leaves are not welcome in this love. This love is vulnerable and violating, going to any measure to wash us, to clean us in order to present us a pure, spotless Bride to His Son, Jesus. It accepts nothing, it tolerates nothing...accept that we love others as He loves us, not as the world claims. The goal is that this is all that would remain when His agape is finished with us...we would love like Him, look like Him. 

I am learning in a greater measure to worship God for His sovereignty, for His wisdom, for His great love that tells me, "NO," or doesn't bow to my whim or fleeting wants. I don't want a god that bows to my understanding or my bossing. That god isn't worth my affection or attention. God is worth my whole life, my whole heart because in His sovereignty, in His holiness He stoops down to transform ME with His Agape. Who am I that my God who has no obligation to me, has chosen to transform me through His complete and perfect agape love? I am nothing, yet I am everything in Him. I have no meaning, yet I mean everything to Him. And so, He alone receives my worship, my obedience, my frail attempt to lay my life down and agape Him in return.