God’s Love Language

Posted May 31, 04:29 AM by Kay Camenisch

While singing, “My Jesus, I love you” at church Sunday, love for the Lord swelled in my heart. I was overwhelmed by all that Jesus has done for me.

In the midst of the song, the leader caught the eye of his six-year-old daughter and very discreetly motioned for her to come to him. All it took was a couple of twitches of his pointer finger with his hand down by his side. Immediately she jumped up and sprinted from the back of the church to her father’s side. (If she had run inside like that at any other time, she would have been corrected for it.) Her dad leaned over and whispered in her ear. She then scurried back to her seat. It was impossible to tell whether he spoke words of correction, of instruction, or of praise.

The singing continued uninterrupted, and God used the interchange between father and daughter to speak to my heart. A verse also came to mind, “if you love Me, you will obey My commandments.”

As we voiced our love for Jesus, He provided an object lesson in what it means to love. I finished the hymn with questions in my heart and mind: (1) What does it take for the Lord to catch my eye? (2) How quickly do I understand His intent when He motions discreetly? And (3) how often—and how quickly—do I jump and run to obey?

It’s easy to sing a song of love for the Lord, especially when I’m reminded of the things He has done for me. However, I’m afraid the depth of my love can be seen more clearly through the level—and the immediacy—of my obedience.

By the time I sang, “if ever I loved Thee, my Jesus ‘tis now,” I was praying that God would teach me to love Him—to love Him so completely that I express it in His love language—instant, cheerful obedience.