Written by Bert Kaempfert
and Milt Gabler
This is love, not that
we have loved God but that he loved us 1 John 4:10
L is
for the way you look at me
O is
for the only one I see
V is
very, very extraordinary
E is
even more than anyone that you adore
And
love is all that I can give to you
Love
is more than just a game for two
Two
in love can make it,
Take
my heart and please don't break it
Love
was made for me and you
Alfred,
Lord Tennyson writes in Locksley Hall, “In the Spring a young man's
fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” I have heard this
quotation since childhood and it certainly rings true. A corollary
to this fact is the designation of June as the wedding month (as of
2010 June was still the most popular wedding month).
Thoughts
and songs of love permeate our society. These thoughts can bring joy,
confusion and often disillusionment. Almost every novel, film or
television drama has romantic elements. Even entire genres are
dedicated to romance.
God
has made us in such a way that we need close and intimate
relationships. We trust our lovers and reveal our deepest selves in
these relationships. Love makes us vulnerable.
Almost
everyone has been disappointed and innocently hurt by someone who
doesn’t share the same intense feelings. But because these emotions
can be so powerful, some in our world, both men and women have become
adept at manipulating romantic feelings to their own ends.
Because
emotional romantic love is so fickle, the Bible seldom uses it as an
example explaining God’s love for us (The Song of Solomon being the
exception).
This
is why it is unsettling that some pop culture Christian song writers
have taken to creating romantic love songs with Christ as the object
of affection. One respected friend of mine has called these, “Jesus
is my girlfriend” songs.
Some
have even taken this idea to such an extreme that they talk as though
love of Jesus saves us rather than faith in Jesus. Of course nothing
could be further from the truth. One of the greatest truths coming
out of the Reformation is that faith alone saves us, not faith and
love.
It
is disheartening but not surprising that some Protestants are letting
salvation by works back into their thinking (under the guise of
love). This is our human nature. We want to think of ourselves as
adding to our salvation. It is easy to be seduced into thinking that
“I am saved because I love Jesus more than you.”
Yet
nothing could be further from the truth. We all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). No one does good, not even one
(Is. 53:3).
In
these confusing times it is important to stop and remember that we
are not saved by our love of God but His love of us. For while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). In fact the
Apostle John makes this abundantly clear when he declares, “This
is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us.”
(1 John 4:10).
