When most people think about the word love, they associate strong positive feelings towards another individual. I was curious to see how AI (artificial intelligence) would define the word love, so I did a Yahoo search and came up with the following AI description:
“Love is a strong feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection for someone, such as a parent, child, friend, or partner. It encompasses various forms, including romantic love, which combines passion, intimacy, and commitment, creating a deep emotional bond between individuals.”1
And while this is certainly one form of love, Christian love, as defined in the Bible, is far more than feelings. In fact, this type of love, sometimes has nothing to do with feelings, but everything to do with a word that is not very popular with non-Christians – obedience.
For you see the highest form of love that Christians are expected to manifest in their lives is called agape love. This love is selfless and unconditional and seeks the highest good of others and the glory of God in all situations.
And the way we show that we love Jesus and others can best be shown in the following two verses of Scripture:
(John 14:23): “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’”
In both of these verses we see that if we say we love Jesus we will keep/obey His teachings/commandments. For you see Christian love and obedience are really two sides of the same coin. I like how A. W. Tozer put it: “Our Lord told His disciples that love and obedience were organically united. The final test of love is obedience.”2
Before a person comes to Christ, manifesting agape love is near impossible. For you see our old sin nature is all we know and even our best intentions often are done with selfish motives. The main focus in our lives, because of sin, is not on God, or even others, but on self. Sin always seems to find us out when we examine the motive behind our actions. I share the following personal testimony to demonstrate the all-encompassing nature of sin and why agape love is so difficult for a non-Christian to carry out.
Back in 1981, before I became a Christian, I used to do volunteer work at a community center for mentally disturbed individuals in New York City. Twice a week I would donate my time to help feed, socialize with, and listen to the problems of these hurting people. Years later, when I began to analyze my motives behind doing such a worthwhile activity, the answer suddenly became obvious. Back then there existed a great void in my life, and a desire to find meaning. I thought that this work would help fill that void in my life. The real reason behind my outwardly good deed was not to help others, but to help me.
But now as a Christian I have been given a new heart, with new desires, and a completely new motivational rewiring in my heart. Now I desire to do everything to the glory of God. And now when I read in (1 John 5:3): “…And His commandments are not burdensome,” I can honestly concur.
My friends, obedience is something our old nature recoils at. Let’s face it our flesh likes to be satisfied and not take orders; especially biblical commandments. But the more I read and study my Bible the more I realize that obedience is the pathway to blessings. Obeying God’s Word, while not always easy, is the best investment you can make with your time, your talent, and your treasury. God, over and over again, tells us in the Scriptures that when we obey Him we can avoid a host of negative consequences and receive a myriad of blessings. For example, obedience brings joy, peace, answered prayer, helps conquer anxiety and worry, and brings sweet fellowship with the Lord. (For a more detailed analysis on the blessings of obedience see the devotional link: The Blessings of Obedience – Bible Apologetics – A DAILY DEVOTIONAL).
Loving God, through obedience to His commands, is what Christian love is all about. And when you show your love to Jesus through your obedience you receive something that is far more precious than silver or gold: you put a smile on God’s face!
Love With Shoes On
…From the desk of the Auditor
Curt does a clean little audit of the modern, feelings-only definition of love, then politely escorts it out of the building.
He starts with the “warm attachment/deep affection” kind of love (fine, human, limited), and then pivots to the Bible’s “highest form” of love: agape, selfless and God-centered, aimed at the highest good of others and God’s glory.
Lions, tigers and Christians…oh my.
What makes Mr. Blattman’s handling stalwart and sturdy is that he doesn’t leave agape floating in the clouds. Curt pins it to Scripture and puts a ruler on it:
love shows up as obedience (John 14:23; 1 John 5:3).
That’s the part most people dislike, because obedience doesn’t sell merch or glitter, but it does tell the truth.
Then Curt gets uncomfortably honest (the best kind of honest, and why I like to read his musings) about how hard agape is without Christ, because our default wiring is self. Oye lo.
Curt’s 1981 volunteer story is the smoking-gun footnote: outwardly noble, inwardly still trying to fill a hole in the soul.
That’s not him “confessing for drama.” It’s Curt on stage, presenting how sin can ride shotgun even in our good deeds.
And then the gospel turn: new heart, new desires, and suddenly “His commandments are not burdensome” isn’t religious poetry, it’s lived experience.
And we ask ourselves: Is it our experience as well?
So if we’re going to “manifest” this love in our lives, Curt’s point is painfully practical: stop treating love like a mood and start treating it like a covenant action. Obedience is not the enemy of love.
It’s love with shoes on.
When the heart burns but the mind won’t bow, love turns theatrical.
When the mind bows and the heart follows, love turns holy.
Thanks very much Curt 🙂