What's so Special About Christian Love?
Dave Faust
Jesus said, "All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another" (John 13:35). What makes love such a distinguishing mark of the Christian? Isn't love a common human experience? Non-Christians love each other, too. They talk about love and sing about love. What's so special, then, about the love of Christ? What makes the people who have it stand out?
Christian love is unique because of its source. It springs not merely from human emotion, not from the desirability and merits of the person we love, but from the nature of God himself. "God is love" (1 John 4:16), and love is a fruit of the Spirit. "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
Christian love is unique because of its transformative influence. The love of Christ helps us see the good again. It makes us touch again, and makes us whole again. Saul of Tarsus blasphemed God and persecuted the church, but the love of God chased him down on the road to Damascus and eventually filled him with grace and compassion toward others. The old gospel song is right when it says, "When nothing else could help, love lifted me."
Christian love is unique because of its practicality. It's something you do, not just something you say or feel. It moves us to act in the best interests of others even when we don't feel like it. First Corinthians chapter 13 isn't just a nice poem to read at weddings. It's a prescription for the practical application of agape. Love makes you patient and kind. It melts away envy, boastfulness, and pride. It makes you mind your manners, override your own self-centeredness, control your temper, and forgive wrongs. It takes no delight in pointing out what's wrong with others, and finds joy in honesty. It makes you protective, trusting, hopeful, and persevering.
Christian love is unique because of its endurance. "Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:8). As long as we stay connected to the Lord by faith, no trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword can separate us from the love of Christ now or in the future (Romans 8:35-39).
Most of all, Christian love is unique because of its extent. God's love isn't limited to a certain ethnic group or culture. He wants everyone "to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). The love of Christ compels us even to love our enemies and seek God's blessing upon them. It extends to nations of all kinds: from Scotland to Afghanistan, from New Guinea to New Zealand. It extends to people of all kinds: from the university professor to the kindergarten child, from the aging farmer to the inner-city teen, from the couple who've been married 60 years to the single adult who never plans to marry at all. It extends to sinners of all kinds: from the grouchy co-worker to the unmanageable child, from the militant Muslim to the hypocritical Christian, from the convicted criminal to the leading citizen.
Christian love is unique because of its life-changing power. Over the course of life, painful experiences tend to harden us against love and make us cynical. A bit of poetry by Edwin Brock says:
You will not see the world at first. You will touch flesh and you will cry. Years later you will cry because You see too much and touch too little.
This column first appeared in The Lookout on Feb 24, 2002.
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