A Response of Love

Love is one of the most precious words that we have in any language. There are many nuances to this precious word. There are many times that I wish that rather than English, we spoke Ancient Greek. There were multiple words to distinguish between these nuances. That way when a person stated that they ‘loved’ someone, it was clear what type of love that might be.

Just as there are nuances in the meanings, there are nuances in the applications of this word. People express love — or feel that it should be expressed — in different ways. What one person determines to be a clear expression of love might be completely different to someone else. (See Dr. Chapman’s Five Love Languages for more on that topic.)

As I was reading my Bible today, I found myself reading in the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. I had encountered an interesting place along about chapter 40. In Isaiah 39, you read about how King Hezekiah gave in to his pride and exposed the entire kingdom to Babylon. Isaiah 40 seems to be written from within the exile that the Israelites found themselves to the Babylonians.

As these prophecies from within exile began from Isaiah, an interesting tone and message come out first. The Israelites were in exile in the first place due to their own rebellion and willful disobedience of God’s ways. This exile was a punishment for this disobedience.

At the beginning of what Isaiah shares from within the exile, there is an interesting message. Isaiah 40 is seen as these beginning words. Isaiah 40 also starts with the words “Comfort, comfort my people” (CSB). This prophecy also goes on to talk about the coming Messiah and the deliverance that He will bring.

This goes to show that God did not get some giddy kick out of punishing His followers. It broke His heart to do so. But this feeling did not keep God from doing what was necessary. That is the true mark of love. Love does not give everything one wants, but it will give what one needs. What God’s people needed was a wakeup call that they were not God. They did not have their best interest at heart. As they listened to their own hearts, it simply took them further away from the One that loved them most.

Love does not give everything one wants, but it will give what one needs. Tweet This

I don’t get why so many believe that if you love someone that you will completely go along and agree with them. That reasoning just does not work in real life. Imagine that you have a small child. Now imagine that this child wants to play in the middle of a busy highway. It doesn’t take much to realize that though the child wants to do this act, the most loving thing is to say “No!” to this request and/or do whatever possible to keep the child from harm’s way. We don’t block off the highway because one child wants to play in that spot. We show the child that what they desire is not best and try to move them to what is best.

This is the same thing that God does with ‘punishment’ at times. It is not that He is looking to make us suffer for His amusement. He is trying to love us and point us away from impending danger. That attempt to turn us away from our sinful and destructive desires cost the LORD a great deal – even His own life.

Whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, I hope that we can see the response of God’s loving reach towards us to draw closer to Him where there is the peace that our hearts so desperately desire.