A Different Look Towards Valentines
1/29/2009 | Author: RCW
The topic of love is everywhere in our society. That Valentine's Day is approaching simply brings it more prominently to our attention. The world's notion of love is starkly different than real and genuine biblical love.

I think the world is in love with the thought of love. Romance is another word for it. Sometimes all that people equate love with is some sort of strong sexual attraction. For the disciple growing in Christ, it is plain that there is a stark difference between mere erotic impulses and enduring, persevering, unconditional, self-sacrificing biblical love.

I won't rattle off the countless scriptures which help outline what love is. There are many that would suffice, but this topic is not actually the topic I was aiming to discuss.

Rather, I wanted to use "love" in the non-romantic sense altogether. Better words for what I speak of would include words like: "worship," or "affinity," or "admiration." Basically, I simply wanted to let you know about a certain concept that is absolutely central to discipleship.

One new book by a professor/mentor of mine speaks of this concept precisely . I have spoken of Dr. Naugle before in a previous blog. His new book is entitled Reordered Love, Reordered Lives: Learning the Deep Meaning of Happiness and you can well imagine its subject matter. In the book, I believe Dr. Naugle is picking up on St. Augustine's idea of the "ordered loves."

This may not mean a hill of beans to you just yet. But here's how it can:

Think for a minute about all the things that fit into your own priorities. Your likes and dislikes, your affections for a thousand things, people, places, events, substances, etc. Can you put them in order? what comes to the top? What fits at the bottom? Should they? Distinguish between what you would like to be at the top and what actually is at the top based upon your actions and lifestyle. If that takes two separate lists entirely, make two. Pray about the list.

God, may you have us so in Your hand and be so shaping us that we may continually conform to Your image and likeness. Just as You are holy, may we be holy in all that we do...especially in our priorities. For the things that we orient our lives around are the things that we love the most; and in turn, the things that we love the most are the things which we indeed worship and devote ourselves unto. Oh God, may you help us all to rightly order our loves. Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, minds that know, wills to obey, and hearts to love - YOU above all. Amen.

-RCW
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1 comments:

On January 29, 2009 at 1:25 PM , Anonymous said...

Yes I especially need to re-order my loves. I have to admit that a lot of my "loves" are things that don't satisfy or last. God is THE example of love and I need to turn to Him for help with this re-ordering, as you said so well. Great post!