“Our ‘behavior’ will not be changed long with self-discipline, but fall in love and a human will accomplish what he never thought possible. The laziest of men will swim the English Channel to win his woman. …by accepting God’s love for us, we fall in love with Him, and only then do we have the fuel we need to obey.”
- Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz
Most often, when we think of love for others, we think of virtue, noble deeds, and kind words. We think love is simply something we ought to do, or feel, or say. Indeed, love is demonstrated through both actions and words; action offered alone bespeaks cold, unfeeling duty; but words in isolation are empty unless shored up by meaningful action. These are all crucial, profound thoughts where love is concerned. Yet, rarely do we consider that genuine love is not only a goal to achieve, but also the foundational motivator for all that is good.
Love enters my heart, suturing the soul, overcoming my fears and then, motivates all that is good in my life. Love continues to challenge me, stoking a fire of passion to reach beyond my instinctive selfishness to God’s higher purposes and others’ betterment. It is no coincidence that when Jesus of Nazareth was asked by the religious elite of His day what was the greatest commandment in God’s moral law of the Old Testament, He replied, “Love the Lord Your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your mind. And the second one is like it—love your neighbor as yourself.” Love for God and love for others. Notice, He was asked for ONE command, but He answered with two. Or did He? This is the crux. Love for God and love for others are not, nor can they be in competition, separated, or placed in different categories. Love of God is meant to breed love for people, and love that is genuine and thorough for people needs to flow out of the love of God.
What about when religion goes awry? The loss of love, or at least its marginalization, is the tragic core of religious corruption. When dutiful obedience rules overshadows the underlying motive of love, all is lost. Condescension, rejection, shame, and judgment walk hand in hand onto the central stage of religion when love for God and others departs from our lives. Love is indeed THE motivator for all that is good. Anything less than love as motivation is corrupting.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are appropriate standards, rules, guidelines for a moral religious life. How does the presence of standards tie in to love as the motivating force? One author has put it this way—for every “No” I say in life, there should be a bigger “Yes” burning inside. We may ask if an action, word, thought is good. The answer can be found in whether it compromises love for God and love for others. My reason for saying “no” to immoral practices, profane language, and dishonest behavior is because they stand between love for God and love for others. Love is the bigger “yes” burning inside.
