Keep your head up
I have been honing a theory since two nights ago that perhaps God shows us love in our own love languages. This of course assumes that the five languages are universal, and that they are the only five. Or rather I'm confining it to them.
Last night when I defined "God shows us love" I meant it in the present day - blessing us with a certain something we've asked for (giving gifts), done something special (through someone or otherwise) for us (acts of service), let us feel His presence (physical touch - as close as I got), talking through us when we read the Word (quality time) and so on, and I pretty much thought that was it. But here is the verse from today's daily devo titled The Sure Sign of God's Love:
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
As Pastor Prince likes to say, God's love is demonstrated through that one act on the Cross. Not anything else, because everything is determined only by that Cross and that Cross alone. So I expanded my (extremely narrow) definition of "God's love" to its rightful, original meaning: Christ's death on the Cross.
If His death was that one act of true love (lol Frozen), then it should fulfill the five languages, in the sense that someone with a particular love language should interpret His death a particular way. So, if my love language was gift-giving, then I'd recognise His death as a gift ("abundance of grace and gift of righteousness" Romans 5:17); if it was acts of service I'd recognise the fact that Jesus came as servant who then gave up His life at the Cross as ransom for us. If my love language was words of affirmation I'd remember that Jesus called God "My God" instead of "My Father" the only time ever in His life to tell me Now, you can call Him Father, because I have bridged that gap. If I felt love through quality time, the time aspects would hit me the most - that Jesus spent >30 years of his life as a measly human being in order to die for me; plus, that one act is sufficient and its effects last forever.
I'm only quite iffy about the physical touch thing, because try as I can, I cannot link Jesus' death on the cross as a form of love via physical touch. I suppose you could say that up on that Cross He was denied even physical human contact so that we can experience His presence personally today, or that the entire thing touches me. I am skeptical myself, and I'm even skeptical of everything I've typed so far, but it's a thought I've nurtured and I'd like to follow through with it until completely disproved or proven.
Hmm. Thoughts, anybody?
Last night when I defined "God shows us love" I meant it in the present day - blessing us with a certain something we've asked for (giving gifts), done something special (through someone or otherwise) for us (acts of service), let us feel His presence (physical touch - as close as I got), talking through us when we read the Word (quality time) and so on, and I pretty much thought that was it. But here is the verse from today's daily devo titled The Sure Sign of God's Love:
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
As Pastor Prince likes to say, God's love is demonstrated through that one act on the Cross. Not anything else, because everything is determined only by that Cross and that Cross alone. So I expanded my (extremely narrow) definition of "God's love" to its rightful, original meaning: Christ's death on the Cross.
If His death was that one act of true love (lol Frozen), then it should fulfill the five languages, in the sense that someone with a particular love language should interpret His death a particular way. So, if my love language was gift-giving, then I'd recognise His death as a gift ("abundance of grace and gift of righteousness" Romans 5:17); if it was acts of service I'd recognise the fact that Jesus came as servant who then gave up His life at the Cross as ransom for us. If my love language was words of affirmation I'd remember that Jesus called God "My God" instead of "My Father" the only time ever in His life to tell me Now, you can call Him Father, because I have bridged that gap. If I felt love through quality time, the time aspects would hit me the most - that Jesus spent >30 years of his life as a measly human being in order to die for me; plus, that one act is sufficient and its effects last forever.
I'm only quite iffy about the physical touch thing, because try as I can, I cannot link Jesus' death on the cross as a form of love via physical touch. I suppose you could say that up on that Cross He was denied even physical human contact so that we can experience His presence personally today, or that the entire thing touches me. I am skeptical myself, and I'm even skeptical of everything I've typed so far, but it's a thought I've nurtured and I'd like to follow through with it until completely disproved or proven.
Hmm. Thoughts, anybody?