All you need is love … dat ta dah dah dah. All you need is love… dat ta dah dah dah. All you need is love, love. Love is all you need.

What a fun, catchy, feel-good tune. Not sure whether The Beatles knew they were paraphrasing Scripture or not, but if the love being referred to is the God of Agape Love – then they were spot on. He is our greatest need. If on the other hand what they were most likely singing about was its more diluted form – warm and fuzzy unpredictable and unreliable human affection, then I’m afraid they’ve missed the mark coz we definitely need more than that.

Human affection can be great when it shows up. The thing is a) It doesn’t always show up and b) it isn’t love. In fact its distorted perverse forms are often spawned from fear and can actually be equated to hate. Yet those words and even the simple tune do so register with something inside us … that part of us that was crafted from true love, real love, and longs always to commune with that love – even if not always perceived that way.

But The Beatles as much regard as I have for their musicianship, are not alone, there are so many “Real Love/True Love” Songs with verses that ultimately ring hollow and hopeless: A couple spring to mind

Real Love (Mary J. Blige)
Chorus
“Real love (Riff) I’m searchin’ for a real love, someone to set my heart free …”
…”I’ve been searching for someone
To satisfy my every need
Won’t you be my inspiration
Be the real love that I need …

…So I try my best and pray to God
He’d send me someone real
To caress me and to guide me
Towards a love my heart can feel
Now I know I can be faithful
I can be your all and all
And give you good lovin’ through the summertime
Winter, spring and fall …”

Great rhythm, nice beat, and I can dance to it. I Give it a 4.
The quest is there, the need is obvious, but the solution and resolution totally miss the mark …

True Love – Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly
Yea – super throw back old school. “I give to you and you give to me true love, true love (so far so good. Honeymooners at last alone – at least the idea is sustained marital commitment and love).

Here’s where things go off the rails: “For you and I have a guardian angel on high with nothing to do, but to give to you and to give to me – love forever, true.” Are there guardian angels who’d be sitting around idle save for the sole purpose of dispensing marital love to honeymooners. Let’s just says its not merely marital love, but general feelings of goodwill and affection and its not restricted to honeymooners. If angels are just dumping out showers of love on each of us all day long – why do we still need to be bothered with giving and receiving love to and from one another?

Still, it sure is nice to think about sprinkles of love like confetti pouring down on us from angels all the time. Makes for another warm, feel good song about love. And in our Western society there’s a landfill’s worth of them often focused on the more superficial or perverted aspects of romantic love.

Don’t get me wrong, romantic love in all its virtuous expression is a gift as are all other forms of love (brotherly or parental for example). They are indeed generous gifts from the very source of love – God.  And as such, I’d be interested to know what He has to say about them – especially in these dark days. How is love to be approached and expressed in the this hour? What is its role? Is there one form that supersedes the others?  Fortunately for us Scripture supplies answers.

A couple of weeks ago – in fact it may have been on the very day that the Capital was stormed, I was reading and meditating on the book of Luke – decidedly one of my favorite books for how it reveals Jesus and places me in constant awe of His pure devotion to The Father, His epic single-mindedness and commitment to His purpose amidst duress and persecution;  His compassion, courage, brilliance, His unfolding divinity and power. He’s so worthy of admiration, of honor, discipleship and obedience …

Anyway, in Luke 6, after having been in prayer all night the night prior, Jesus selected His twelve apostles from among His disciples and descending from the mountain to “the plain” where waited a great multitude – many with unclean spirits, and He healed them all (A practice that was not unlike Him. On a prior occasion after a day of casting out an unclean spirit and rebuking devils in the synagogue, and healing Simon’s mother-in-law, at sunset crowds show up with the sick and diseased and Jesus “…laid hands on every one of them and healed them.” and then silenced a few more devils Luke 4:33-41).

Back to Luke 6: well after selecting The Twelve and healing the multitude including more with unclean spirits, “he lifted his eyes upon his disciples and…” speaks what it often referred to as The Sermon on the Mount or The Beatitudes. To me, it appears those remarks were especially meant for disciples. They’re the ones upon which He fixes his gaze. At the conclusion of his remarks to the disciples, I have to surmise that He turns His attention to the entire crowd and first admonishes sinful self-absorbed excesses in riches, frivolity, and over-indulging in the accolades of men. Then he offers a remedy much like that which John offered the crowd in Luke 3:11-14 when he admonishes the crowd coming to be baptized to repent and extend love one to another. But Jesus escalates the love command when He addresses the multitude in Luke 6 saying “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies and do good to them which hate you (wait a minute – or to coin a phrase from the phenomenal Judge Judy – “just a second” – love your enemies???). Bless them that curse you and Pray for those that despitefully use you.” Then Jesus goes on to cite several “impossible” conditions under which He expects the listeners (us) to turn the other cheek, and extend ourselves to others beyond our comfort zone. Hang on – this ain’t no tuty fruity warm ‘n’ fuzzy kind of love – No, this according to the Lord is … real love, true love (Sorry MJB. Sorry Bing).

Yes let’s be clear true love is twofold: It fulfills each requirement of the dual commandment: 1) by loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind and 2) loving our neighbor as ourself (Matt 22:38-39). Now should it turn out that our neighbor turns out to also be our enemy, then relating to our neighbor will demand more of us. Yes love in this context is not the overly romanticized Western concept, or the superficial piling on of affections – although if have the kind of generosity of spirit capable of smothering your enemies with hugs and kisses, chocolates and flowers to God be the glory. Generally the call is more gritty. In Luke 6:35 Jesus says Love your enemies (don’t seek to mistreat them bearing in mind that they’re probably taken a pre-emptive strike), do good and lend without seeking recompense. He says that treating others this way affirms us as children (image bearers) of “the Highest;”  who, He notes, “is kind to the unthankful and the evil.”

He proceeds in Luke 6:36-42, admonishing us to extend mercy; reject judgmental attitudes (condemning motives or intent vs. merely assessing actions); to abandon finger pointing, fault finding and hypocrisy.

What Jesus paints is an uncompromising picture of Agape. It is an all in, all the way commitment to putting the needs of others – particularly those less fortunate and those who mean us harm (also the less fortunate), ahead of our own selfish desires; out of our abundance, lack, convenience or inconvenience. Yes, real love is powerful, strong, next level, Christ-like agape. It’s neutral impartial to friend or foe, extending itself based on another’s need. Hopefully we find it expressed within relationships with friends, family, loved ones, neighbors. Still Jesus challenges: what’s so special about “love extended to the lovable, to those likely to return the favor when we forgive, show mercy or lend – even sinners do that He says. Not sufficient to set us apart as image bearer priests and to glorify The Father.  Not sufficiently impressive to be considered good fruit.- Yowzers!.

And again there’s the reference to fruit. In Luke 6:43: “A good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit: neither doth a corrupt tree bringeth forth corrupt fruit.”  In verse 44 Jesus says that “every man is known by his own fruit,” and then goes on to explain in verse 44, how a man’s fruit reveals him.

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45

The take away for me is that self-sacrificing acts of love – they are the considered good fruit He expects from us who call Him Lord. They are herculean spirit-filled deeds only produced by a power accessible proximity to the source of love (“I am the vine and ye are the branches…, apart from me you can do nothing…” (John 15:), (and obedience to His Word (Luke 47). We might note that many of Jesus’ extraordinary decisions, miracles and acts of mercy were accomplished after spending substantial amounts of time before The Father. The most desirable acts of love then must reflect The Father. They must express His aroma by virtue of our proximity to Him. They are those acts which warrant the esteem and the reward of structural integrity described in verse 48

“They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built,” Luke 6:48

The alternative assessment is not nearly as gratifying …

But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. Luke 6:49”

Surely The Good Lord must be encouraging our hearts in this direction. This theme of repenting over our sinful self-centered, self-absorbed ways seems visible all around.  Have mercy Dear Lord be our very present help. Grant us Your strength and fortify our will that we may take heed in these dark days preceding your return.

This from Ministers Othell and Lynette, leaders of The Abundant Life Family Worship Church prayer call this morning: Isaiah Chapters 58 and 59

Photo by R. Monahah