Love Is…
By Anthony Casperson
1-13-24

Because most of the video games that I play are RPGs, I’m fairly used to having truckloads of new terminology thrown at me. Particular terms that have very specific definitions. Things like Armor Class, Difficulty Class, Ability Score, Ballistics Skill, Psy Rating, or Deflection. And let’s not even start on the term THAC0, which confused many during previous generations of RPG players.

If you don’t know what the word means, or how it affects your character’s prowess, you’ll be lost while even trying to get through character creation, let alone the rest of the game. And you’ll often find your play experience ruined because you thought the terms meant one thing while they were defined as something entirely different. All of which will skew your attitude toward the game, just because you didn’t understand the definitions.

This is why many of these sorts of games include a glossary or pop-up box definition when you highlight the term. They’re an aid for the new player—or those who refused to learn in the first place. But that is only if the player takes the time to pay attention to those helpful definitions.

A similar pop-up might be helpful for many words used for faith in Jesus. It’s not that the definitions are difficult or hidden away only for the most studious of followers of Jesus. No, the need arises because of how many of such terms fall into thoughtless Christian-ese, then lose their distinctiveness of definition, and eventually get picked up by those without biblical knowledge to re-define.

All of which leads to confusion about the term, even though we all continue to use it while thinking that we all have the same definition when we don’t.

If you read the title of this blog, you can probably guess which term we’ll take a look at from a biblical perspective today. Love.

Western culture seems to be fond of the statement that “Love is love.” That’s a terrible definition because merely repeating the word isn’t helpful. But what’s typically meant by this statement is, “Just leave people alone to show their affection for one another as they see fit.” Basically, “Butt out. It’s their business, not yours.”

On top of that, far too many people who claim to be followers of Jesus add this perspective of love to passages such as Matthew 22:36-40, where we see Jesus explain that the greatest commandment is to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbors as ourselves. They then attempt to use the idea of loving God and loving people as a bludgeon against those who speak into the sinfulness of culture’s examples of what they call love.

After all, “How can you say that you love God, if you’re so mean to people who have a different lifestyle than you do?”

This is why it’s important to discuss the fact that love isn’t a call to keep our mouths shut. If it were, the same Lord who told us the Great Commandment wouldn’t have also told us to do the Great Commission, which explicitly tells us to teach all of things which Jesus commanded to those whom we go out and make disciples.

We can look at this even further in the words of one of those first disciples: John. The man referred to as “the one whom Jesus loved.” If there were any person to explain love in Jesus’ way, it would be him.

In his letter that we call 1 John, we see quite a bit about love. And in chapter 5, verses 2-3, we find this in the ESV, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”

This is how we know that we love others. Specifically the people of God. Right here, this should give us a direct definition of how to love others well. The proof of our love of others is when we love God and obey his commandments. When we put him first and foremost in our lives, and also put into practice all of the things that he’s commanded throughout his word.

That includes the parts which show how certain examples of “love” according to our culture are actually sinful.

It’s not that we have to eradicate every person’s deeds that go against the ways of God. We’re not here to force anybody to follow the holiness of God to which all followers of Jesus should be growing into. Sinners will walk in their sinful darkness.

Rather, what we can see is that love has to include calling those who claim to bow before the cross to also grow in God’s holiness—to constantly and consistently act in line with God’s commands. Especially in those places where we have sinful habits from our previous godless state.

To point out the sin and call each other to something better is love. And helping each other become freed from the grasp of the sin that so easily entangles us puts that love into practice.

We can see that this biblical example of love can be applied to our fellow followers of Jesus. But what about those outside of the family of faith? How do we love them with this definition of the word?

Well, what can be more loving than sharing our faith in Jesus? What’s more loving than showing them a life free from the very sins which seek to lead them to destruction? A life of following un-burdensome commands from the one who created everything.

It’s not demanding that anybody change their life before they come to Jesus. After all, we followers of Jesus still have to grow more and more every day into that perfect holiness, so why would we expect others to have to start there?

Instead, we have to share the truth of life with Jesus and how he helps us become free from our sinful habits. Not condemning a person to worthlessness for their sin, but also not sugarcoating their condition before the holy God who calls all who are his to the same holiness.

Agreeing with God in what he calls sin is a part of following his commandments. And following his commands is the outgrowth of our love for him. Neither of which should be a burden for we who seek right relationship with him.

So let’s stop claiming that leaving people in their sin—or even worse, celebrating their sinful acts—is love. That’s the very antithesis of the term.

Let’s love others by loving God and doing as he says. Love leads to holiness, not sin.