As Christians we are called to love like God (John 13:34). If we are to love each other in the same way that God loved us we need to ask how God shows His love? People claim that there are generally five love languages that every person relates to:
- Words of Affirmation
- Quality Time
- Gift Giving
- Acts of Service
- Physical touch
Each one of us feels love in different ways. Your love language may be different than mine, and your spouse’s love language may not be the same as yours. God has shown His creation that He loves us by speaking and interacting with us using all five languages.
Words of affirmation. When we use words of affirmation we think of phrases like: “You’re the only one for me baby” or “You mean so much to me” or even “Let’s go get Krispy Kreme.” We use words of affirmation to show our love to our significant others. God has done the same for us. In showing His love God said to us, “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you” (Isa. 54:10). God uses words of affirmation and has told us that His love will never depart from us. Even when we deserted Him and chose to live a life of sin, God still kept His word. He loved us even when we were corrupted by sin (Rom. 5:8). Words of affirmation are a way to tell someone how you feel. God opened up to us through His word, and He revealed that He loves us more than we will ever be able to understand.
Quality time. God desires nothing more than to spend quality time with His creation. In the beginning God spent quality time in the presence of Adam and Eve. He longs for this to be the case again in heaven. Sin ruined any chance of spending quality time with Him. But God showed that He loved us. And He looks forward to the day when He can dwell with His children for an eternity. 1 John 4:16 says, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” I can’t think of a better way to spend quality time with God than by having Him abide in me. He loves us and He desires to spend quality time with you and me.
Gift giving. God has clearly expressed His love to us through gift giving by giving us someone that is invaluable. “God showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Want to see God’s love? Look at what He has sacrificed for you. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God expressed His love by giving a gift that has the power to eternally change our spiritual outcome. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). There is no denying that God has expressed His love to us through gifts.
Acts of service. A person that feels loved through acts of service enjoys acts such as: cleaning out the garage, washing the car, doing the dishes, or folding the laundry. They feel loved because they recognize that their spouse cares enough about them to make their life easier. It’s love that is felt when a spouse sacrifices their time and energy to do something for you. God has shown His love to us through several different acts of service. Christ took on the sin of the world so that we wouldn’t be condemned by it. Christ illustrated this in the flesh when He washed the disciples’ feet (John 13). What does this say about God? It says that He loves you more than you love yourself. It says that the God of the universe is willing to place Himself below His own creation. It says that God’s love is so perfect and strong that He will grab a rag and wash the feet of imperfect men. There’s no denying that someone loves you when they are willing to humble themselves and serve you. This is exactly what God has done for us.
Physical touch. A person that feels loved through physical touch is looking for connection. They feel love when they are close to their spouse, they experience love through the physical side of their relationship. While God doesn’t physically touch us today to show His love, He has done it in the past. Mark 1:40ff, “And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.” Leprosy was a disease that immediately made you an outcast. If you had this disease you were considered unclean and you were forced to live in isolation from everyone else (Lev. 13:45-46). The leper was forced to live alone because this disease was spread through physical touch. This is what makes what Jesus did even more incredible. Jesus didn’t have to touch the leper, but He went above and beyond by physically touching him. God expressed His love through the physical touch of a compassionate Savior.
We serve a God that has displayed His love to us perfectly. He has shown it to each one of us, and we will never deserve the love that He gives. Thank God for His love!
Carl Pollard