Held Together by Love
In the first devotional in this series on Galatians (Click here to read it), we discussed the question of motives. Why are we motivated to submit to, honor, and serve God?
Paul and David teach us is that it is God’s love which motivates us. In each case, love was not just an idea. It was something that David and Paul experienced daily. It was what they depended upon and ran to, even when they were confronted with the darkness of their own sin (Psalm 51). Like Paul, when we recognize what we would have been without God’s grace, we are drawn to His love and become a normal outflow of it.
How do we get to the place that Paul and David came to, a place of being motivated by Gods’ love alone? As an example, let’s use the critical and bitter old man in the back of the church who holds grudges.
Who is he and why does he do what he does? Of course, only God knows his story. But by asking some questions, we can reflect upon ourselves. Do you think he has any idea of who God really is? Do you think he has recognized the truth of God’s love expressed to him? Has he followed Christ and the Father’s commands to cleanse himself and forgive others? Has he gone through the process Jesus lays out in the beatitudes?
Blessed are
The Poor of Spirit;
Those who mourn over their unrighteous actions;
Those who have learned meekness;
Those who have hungered and thirsted for righteousness;
Those who have experienced and learned to give mercy.
Jesus says that the result will be someone who is pure in heart; in other words, someone who has recognized the deep, deep love of Jesus and abides in it (John 15:9). It is a life motivated by gratitude.
Now let’s build a little larger picture of the love of God. In many places, Paul says God’s love is his motivation for doing what he does. But, in 2 Corinthians 5:14, Paul says:
“For the love of God controls us...”
In checking the meaning of the Greek word, I found it was a compound word which literally means “held together.” What is it that the love of God holds together?
First, God’s love holds the universe together. We get this from two points:
God created the world with love in it – Psalm 33:5 & 119:64 “...the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.” This earth, this universe, is held together by the word of Christ’s power (Hebrews 1:3). We ourselves, our physical being and all around us, is held together by God’s love.
Second, we can say the same for our mental and emotional lives. We see this especially in people who have lived through terrible trauma but find healing through God’s love. The fact that God cares deeply for the broken indicates that he cares and holds all of our emotional lives together.
Third, we can also see God’s grace riddled through our choices. How many times have I been spared from getting what I deeply desired, but what could have deeply harmed me? God constrained even my broken desires in His love for me.
Fourth, we can say this for our hearts. Although broken, we are held together until we make the choice to give up idols and let Jesus heal our hearts. God’s love is what holds us together.
Finally, we can easily say this for our spiritual lives as well. God patiently waits for us to turn to Him. But He also directs us and gently draws us to Himself in love.
As we heal mentally, emotionally, in heart, and in spirit, the love of God becomes more evident. As we grasp more of His love, we see it expressed in mercy, grace, forgiveness, and wholeness. We become thankful for the love that controls, constrains, literally holds us together. This is how we are motivated to die daily to ourselves.