5 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Daniel 3-4
2 John

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

2 John 6 (CSB): “This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.”

Reflecting on God’s Word

In 1974, Don Richardson published a book titled “Peace Child.” Don was a missionary to the Sawi tribe in what we now call Papua, Indonesia. He recounted how he made contact with that cannibal tribe and was taken aback by their upside-down worldview. As he shared the story of Jesus with them, he was shocked when they rejoiced at the mention of Judas’ betrayal. In their worldview, betrayal (or “fattening for the slaughter”) was celebrated.

While that is an extreme, it highlights how we can hold flawed worldviews and belief systems that are clearly wrong, yet we don’t realize it. Others may see it in us, but we are blind to the problem. The problem is compounded as we interpret everything around us through the lens of our flawed views.

And this problem gets even MORE serious when we understand how our brains work. Our brains are wired to see and embrace what we agree with and “spit out” what we don’t.

Need proof for what I’ve just said? Ok. Here it is…

How long has it been since you were convicted by something you observed in Scripture? So many Christians read God’s Word day after day and rarely, if ever, feel convicted. Now, there are only two options: we are either perfect or we aren’t actively paying attention to what God is saying to us. It very well could be that we don’t notice what would require adjustments to our thinking or behavior because we have a flawed belief system that rejects what it disagrees with.

I said all of that to say…

We often get “love” mixed up. Our worldview of love is almost certainly tainted by what the world says about it. If you listen to love songs or watch “chick flicks,” you will notice that they are emotion-driven. Love is said to be an emotion that comes and goes. It’s wonderful when we are feeling it, but it could easily leave, and we won’t be “in love” anymore. Decisions to be with someone or to end a marriage are determined by whether or not the emotion of love is present.

According to a biblical worldview, emotions are the spice of life. When we look at the Trinity in Scripture, we observe that our God experiences a wide range of emotions (compassion, anger, grief, sorrow, joy/happiness, jealousy, regret, etc.). Since we are all created in the image of God, emotions aren’t inherently wrong. In fact, if I were to tell my wife that I loved her but had no emotional connection to her, she would have every right to feel heartbroken. Emotions are God-given and so important to living the life God has given to us.

But while biblical love should have emotions, it isn’t driven by emotions. Emotions aren’t calling the shots. If emotions are in the driver’s seat, you are in for a ride! When we look at the stability of Jesus’ emotional state and how He behaved, we realize that while He experienced emotions, He was driven by something else. He was led by His will that chose to follow His Father’s will.

When we apply this to biblical love, we realize it is not driven by emotion but by the will. We love because we choose to love. My love for Kim and her love for me is wonderfully emotional. But there have been plenty of times when the feelings of love dried up for a season, and we continued to relate to each other in loving ways because we made the choice, before God and witnesses, 28 years ago, to love each other no matter what life threw at us.

So, how do Christians cultivate a biblical worldview of love? What does it look like to love our God and love others in a way that God approves?

We get into the Word and get the Word into us! His commands and instructions tell us how we are to love others.

2 John 6 (CSB): “This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.”

Friend, we may overlook all the commands about how we are to love our God and others because they contradict what we already believe. So, consider approaching your Bible with an open heart. Ask God to humble you, and look for the things He will call you to change. Little by little, let the way you love your God and others be the kind of love that God has commanded us to experience.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to help you approach your Bible study with a humble and hungry mind and heart, looking for what you need to adjust in your thinking or behavior.
  • Ask God to help you cultivate a love that is much more in line with what He has commanded.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into biblical love, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“What does the Bible say about love?”

Sharing

If this post has been helpful to you or if you think it could help others, please consider tapping one of the social media buttons below to share it on your favorite platform.

____________________

Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)