Ugh! Coffee! The taste was awful! I was out on my own, newly graduated from high school and working my way through college and trying very hard to be an adult and drinking coffee went with being an adult, I thought. Well, add cream, oh no, even worse. Then add sugar and that made it taste like medicine. Try both, triple ugh! I worked at it. I set my mind to it. Finally, I learned to like just plain old coffee to the point of loving it.
I came to the conclusion that you can to learn to love most anything, if you want to. When God tells us that we are to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength in more than one place, it carries significance. We are also told to love others as we love ourselves. Husbands are told they are to love their wives as Christ loves the church in Ephesians 5:25 as a command. A command is something you do, not feel. God is telling husbands to make up their minds to choose to do love. These are statements we are to do and no mention of feelings is made.
Being 'in love' is totally different from loving. Being 'in love' is irrational and is emotional and will only go so far because emotions fluctuate, you can't trust them to stay. Love is based on knowledge and interest. The reference made to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength encompasses more than a feeling.
My sister and I were about eighteen months apart. I was the elder. We shared a double bed until I left home and sometimes it wasn't a loving atmosphere. I remember yanking the covers off her on cold winter nights, not concerning myself with her comfort, only mine. I can't remember any time of going out of my way to please her, yet, we were sisters. I had an affection for her, but I will have to say that I did not love her. I have greater knowledge about her today. I have listened to her and watched her and learned how she thinks and in this process I have learned to love her. When I think of her I get a warm, cozy feeling around my heart.
So, it goes with learning to love God. We put our minds to it and study Him. There are so very many places in the Bible where knowing is stressed. God wants us to use our minds. Our mind has a far greater impact than our emotions do. Our minds should direct our wills. Our soul is made up of mind, will and emotion and the mind should be in charge. The picture of the train moving forward shows the engine pulling the train, not the caboose. The caboose is the emotions and emotions will follow when the mind and will pull them along.
The whole of the person becomes involved when one learns to love. Paul, writing to the Ephesians in chapter 3 shares his prayer for them and us. He asks that God will enable us to understand how enormous God's love for us is and that we may experience that love, tho we may not be able to totally comprehend it in our minds. He asks God to help us understand and understanding comes with learning and putting what we have learned into practice gives us experience. All this is more than an academic exercise and Paul states that then, when we have gone through that process, we will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
I encourage us to get a PhD or even a Master's Degree in the subject of LOVE.
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