Always Living, Always Learning

There is a lesson to be learned when real love is given
I feel like i have been a pupil for the past three weeks down under. A pupil in a teachers position. Its crazy how when given a role of leadership we end up learning more then we ever would as a student.
Recently God has been revealing to me what real christ love is. The primary meaning of the word "love" in scripture is a "purposeful commitment to sacrificial action for one another".
In our day, most define love as some type of feeling. We "fall in love," or two people meet and it is "love at first sight." But the world's love is a selfish matter. If you are attractive to me, be nice to me, meet my needs and love me I in return will "love" you. The world's love is based on getting something from some else. The world does not give love where is does not benefit themselves. If you do not please me then I have no love for you. Thus for the world love must be earned by making someone else feel good.
Emotions will vary, but a commitment which has its basis in biblical love will not be affected by the whelm of emotion or of one's circumstances. I was watching a movie a while back called 500 Days of Summer. It was a great movie but in the film boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, and suddenly out of nowhere girl decides she wants to stop being with him. This is a classic example of worldly love. We go head first into it based solely on our emotions.
Our example of true love is shown in God's love for the sinner. Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates his own love for us is this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us". This shows that true biblical love is a matter of will....not of emotion. God choose to love us and His love was not based on our meriting it in any way.
Paul talks about the true righteousness of those who profess Jesus Christ in 1 corinthians 13:4-8, "Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no recod of wrong, it rejoices in truth, it always protects, trusts, and perseveres. Love NEVER fails." Paul is speaking and telling us that if we do not do things in this "charity" love then it is not true love. When we say "charity" love we mean christ like love, "Agape" love. A sacrificial love, not an emotion based love. God is telling us that "charity" which is true biblical "love" does not fail. Relationships based on emotion fail, but those based on the tenants of true biblical love NEVER fail.
Today many churches promote a "feel good" religion. It is meant to appeal to emotions. This has had the effect of turning people on to emotion and feeling instead of true spiritual biblical love and commitment. Many today are motivated by emotion rather than being motivated by a commitment to the Lord.
The reason so many are in false doctrine and weak in faith and service to God, and are immature... is because they do not honestly know what the Bible teaches about Biblical love and commitment to Christ or they know and refuse to life in love as the Lord instructs. Their relationship with the Lord is based on how they feel rather than on the promises of God's Word. The same is true in their relationships in their marriages, with their children, family and friends. They evaluate their relationship based on the selfish idea that others should make them feel good and if they do not they are not loved or have the right to withhold love towards others. ILLUS: When I first came to Australia I met a woman who was offended because I wasn't a huge fan of contemporary So-Called Christian Music. She told me in glowing terms how she listened to a Christian Rock Station and the song so helped her get through the day. My friend....think for a moment about what she was saying? She got through the day by hearing a commercial singer, repeating phrases over and over to a strong rhythmic beat and that this helped her spiritually. By the way...the Buddhists, Oriental mystics and many other pagan religious do the same thing. The use music with a strong rhythmic beat to whip the people often into a frenzy.
This is a tough thing because I am very much a music mind. But I feel God has been challenging me to be based in his word, his truth. Music is great but many times music is there to cater to our emotionally charged relationship with the Lord. When our love with the Lord should be based with an "Agape" love. Now don't get me wrong there is some great music out there. But if your looking at music to grow you in the Lord that music should be calling you into action, urging you to go out and proclaim Christ's gospel of life and love.
These last three weeks down under have been a stressful/fun/rewarding/challenging time. God is challenging me with the true meaning of sacrifice and leadership. Giving true Christ like love is not easy, investing your life into lots of people is a draining life. But when you begin to see the fruits of your labor it is fuel to continue. God is good. God is love. God is people.