A Sacrificial Love
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. - Ephesians 5:25
The idea of love is always in front of us. Stop and think about how love is the primary theme in a lot of the content that we absorb in the popular culture. I am not aware of much popular music but I come across enough of it to know that the majority of songs talk about love. Most of the time television shows focus on some sort of romantic element. It is no wonder that Valentine's Day is such a big holiday. Romance is presented as the ideal and if you don't have this, well, then you better find it.
As I was pondering this idea, I put some thought into how popular songs and television present love. Would it stand up to the standard we have in scripture? Of course, many popular expressions of romantic love are not in line with God's law. That isn't what I'm driving at. The Bible exhibits a love that lasts and cares for others. Is this what is being presented to us as love in popular entertainment?
I thought about several half-hour sitcoms where the main character is single. It seems like these characters are in love several times in a 24 episode season. Is this because this is the way the people producing this view love? Is it because they don't want to have to pay for this new character to be a regular on the show? Regardless of the reasons, love is often seen as fleeting. Love is how the person feels about another person. When that changes or you discover some new quirk it is time for another person to love. There is often no sense of commitment or devotion. Only what the person can get from the relationship.
This is nothing like the standard that we see in the Word of God. Love is not an emotion that comes and goes but instead, it remains and stands. Instead of being centered on ourselves it is about others. Love is about devotion. Our love is to be like the love of God which does not fade and change but instead endures.
One way the Bible describes romantic love within marriage in the Bible is that a husband is to have a love that reflects the love Christ has for the church. This is humbling. Jesus gave up his life for the church. There is not a greater example of sacrifice, love, and devotion than what we see in the message of the gospel.
What we can take away from this statement is that because we are a gospel people our love should also be gospel-driven. The objective love shown to us at the cross is the way that we are to love. Whether it is love for our neighbor or love for our spouse it is to be a love that is not centered on ourselves.
This is a very difficult proposition. Our natural human inclination is to get out of our relationships what we want. The sacrificial love that we are called to will not come naturally. To have this love that endures, we must look to Jesus. In faith, we trust that by the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, we will grow in this love.
While the stories our culture presents us often show a love that is fleeting, we desire a love that lasts. Let us look to the story of God's love for us in Christ, that we may love with sacrificial love and a love that doesn't fail.
