God’s Love Language

Posted on Feb 14, 2018 by admin in General |

We all know the 5 love languages:
Words of Affirmation
Acts of Service
Receiving of Gifts
Quality Time
Personal Touch

Books upon books have been written on them, giving us precise details on how to better understand ourselves and our loved ones. We are given directions on how to show them just how much we cherish them in the way that Abba created them to receive love.

In the book “The Five Love Languages”, author Gary Chapman spends much of his time explaining how each of us receive love. Understanding this is really important. Let’s think about this in a marital context. A husband may feel as if he is doing all he can to show his wife how much he loves and appreciates her. Over time, though, he may come to realize that she has not felt loved for quite some time and it may severely affect their marriage. How can this be when he was doing his sincere best? What’s wrong with him…or with her? Is this what happens when two people “fall out of love”?

Chapman’s point is that we all have a way that we receive love. Chapman’s five categories are those mentioned above: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving of gifts, quality time, and personal touch. The issue is that we generally give love in the same way we receive love. So, if a husband receives love by his wife giving him encouraging words, then he will naturally love her that same way in return. It’s the way we’re wired as human beings. We tend to love through our eyes. We love, not based on what others need, but in the only “language” we know…our love language. Only when we begin to learn what’simportant to them can we love them in a way they understand and receive…their love language.

This begs the question, what is our Messiah’s love language? How do we show the Father that our heart’s desire is to please Him and worship Him for all that He is? How do we love Him? Are our affections based on what we desire or on what He desires? John 14:15 Reads:

“If you love Me, you shall guard my commands.”

The bible is full of verses just like this talking about showing God our love by guarding or keeping His commands. What are His commands…His Torah (His commandments or instructions). This doesn’t at all mean that we are trying to earn God’s love or approval. It’s not about us. The point is that we want to prove our love for Him, to Him.

Let’s jump back to our marriage illustration for a second. If a spouse only does things that are pleasing to their mate so they can receive something in return, what would we say about them? Selfish? Manipulative? Both adjectives are probably appropriate. Instead, we love our spouses, friends, relatives because of them…not because of us. Our expressions are based on what is important to them. We want to express our appreciation for them.

In this line of thought, is that how we want to be seen by Elohim? Selfish? Manipulative? I would guess your answer would be a resounding “NO!”. If that’s the case, then think about how you love God today. Do we love Him in ways that are easy or convenient for us? Do we expect God to take whatever we present to Him because we’re so great that God is privileged that we would throw Him a bone once or twice a week? Or are we like a spouse, working hard to love our mate, to no end. Are we working hard to love God but the things we are doing, although well intended, are not the things He desires?

Today, think about the “how”. Is it that important? Test the Scriptures and see just how important it really is.