The topic of love

Today I opened up an old podcast from Ravi Zacharias "Just Thinking" on the topic of love. Ravi travels to university campuses and interacts with students on various topics relating to Christianity. If you've never listened to one of his "Just Thinking" podcasts, I recommend it to challenge your thought processes in regards to faith in Christ and how that plays out in this world. Although ultimately, my faith in Christ is something even a child could understand, I enjoy being challenged to think about my faith critically.

On this particular podcast, he was talking at Kansas State University and a student asked Ravi why he holds the opinion that God alone fulfills the human need for love and defines love. Why can't we find it amongst our fellow man or in other sources?

Ravi answered that if a person loves his fellow man, obviously that can be a good thing but if it's left to this, there is no "rationally justifiable basis for everyone else who chooses to go a different route". Basically, Ravi is saying that when you come to that conclusion to be loving or not loving on your own basis, as a rational human being, then love becomes relative. Ravi used the example of the Third Reich who came up with their own conclusions on human worth. There will always be racism and the thought that some people should be wiped out. Obviously, there is no unanimous definition among human beings on human worth and love. For some people love is not defined the same. He talked about when you just hold to an autonomous view, based on your personal perspective, it leaves room for the atrocities we've seen throughout history. Religious groups that are fighting or believe that other groups should be eradicated based on certain things and on and on. (And yes, as I was listening, this made me think also of the atrocities that were done in the "name of Christ" throughout the years....Obviously the understanding of love and being a Christ-follower was not being expressed here either).

But Ravi went on to say that when you love from a non-theistic point of view, when you leave God out of the equation, people are just living above what they can legitimize and bring to the table. I guess you could say that's humanity living to legitimize love according to what's comfortable for them.

As Ravi says,
"Their conclusion may be right but their reasoning is only self-driven. And if that is the case than a person who comes to a different conclusion by being self-driven and reasoning, actually the world views will collide at some point. What is love? Love is when you treat a person with intrinsic worth, not only when they serve your purpose. There is no intrinsic worth in a naturalistic framework. Peter Singer has gone on record interviewed again this week that if a child is born with down-syndrome or whatever, you know, that maybe he should be eliminated, no more value than a pig. You know, wipe these creatures off the face of the earth. My goodness, me! Can you not see where this leads and where this natural selection actually becomes unnatural selection and transcends other cultures. What I say to you is that the only way you can be a creature of intrinsic worth is if God has fashioned you and God has created you, a transcending moral order. And I love you, even when you choose not to get along with me or not to agree with me. That love is the bequest of God."

Although Ravi was answering this student's question of why God needs to be in the equation for a love definition, honestly, I was convicted even in my own world. I don't always do the best job at living out authentic, genuine love and I was convicted.

I was also reminded that in the midst of a historical record full of mistakes (including mine) and full of human conclusions on the issue of love, we have a savior who transcends all of these accounts. It was his death on the cross that was the greatest expression of authentic love based on nothing more than the fact that each individual walking this earth is a creature of intrinsic worth. And from his perspective, Jesus took all the hostility, all the animosity, all the naturalistic beliefs about love and pounded them into the ground. Instead, he said "Forgive them. They don't know what they're doing."

I know I don't love like Jesus loved. I know I have personal preferences, judgments, attitudes that are the furthest thing from Christ's point of view and sometimes I wonder how this amazingly loving and powerful God still puts up with me! Sometimes I just wish there was a washing machine where the only ingredient was God's pure love. I wish I could put myself in there and turn on the wash cycle, get off all the crud and come out with only God's pure love. Those moments when I really know that I am living out that kind of love seem to be few and far between sometimes, yet I won't give up. I find it happens most when I sit in a quiet place and reflect on Him, His nature, His qualities, His attributes. Then I ask him to change my heart to be more like his, because frankly, my heart sucks. I know He's doing it but some days it's more obvious than others.

As I finished writing this blog, Seal's song "Love's Divine" came on and I found myself singing along.....

Then the rainstorm came, over me
And I felt my spirit break
I had lost all of my, belief you see
And realized my mistake
But time through a prayer, to me
And all around me became still

I need love, love's divine
Please forgive me now I see that I've been blind
Give me love, love is what I need to help me know my name

Through the rainstorm came sanctuary
And I felt my spirit fly
I had found all of my reality
I realize what it takes

'Cause I need love, love's divine
Please forgive me now I see that I've been blind
Give me love, love is what I need to help me know my name

Oh I, don't bet (don't bend), don't break (don't break)
Show me how to live and promise me you won't forsake
'Cause love can help me know my name

Well I try to say there's nothing wrong
But inside I felt me lying all along
But the message here was plain to see
Believe me

'Cause I need love, love's divine
Please forgive me now I see that I've been blind
Give me love, love is what I need to help me know my name

Oh I, don't bet (don't bend), don't break (don't break)
Show me how to live and promise me you won't forsake
'Cause love can help me know my name

Love can help me know my name.