God's Love Language

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Deuteronomy 6:5

Have you ever read the book entitled, The Five Love Languages, by Dr. Gary Chapman? It is a very insightful book and helpful in building healthy relationships. Dr. Chapman lists several ways in which we communicate love to those closest to us. There is physical touch, acts of service, words of affirmation, gifts, and quality time. Each plays a significant role in every relationship we have, but he shares how we all have one or two particular languages that speak love the loudest to us.

I often use this to evaluate how I am expressing love to those around me in order to ensure that I am communicating love to them in the most effective way possible. We all desire for our relationships to be rich and refreshing, and we know that in order for this to happen it takes diligence and dedication. It isn’t something that just naturally happens, but rather it requires that we be intentional in cultivating these kind of relationships.

Have you ever stopped to evaluate your relationship with God? Not just where you stand with Him, but how you love Him, and more specifically, how you communicate that love to Him. I cannot help but think that even Jesus has a favorite love language. Don’t get me wrong, just as in my own marriage, every love language is valuable, however, the reality is that we each have a particular love language that, when expressed, it shouts loud and clear, “I love you!” I believe we express love for God when we serve Him, when we sing praises to Him, and when we give our gifts and offerings to Him, but I cannot help but think that His primary love language is quality time.

Think about the story with me of Mary and Martha. You remember the account in Luke chapter 10 when Jesus is being hosted in their home. Martha is serving Him, preparing a luscious meal for her Lord. Mary, on the other hand, is simply sitting at His feet, giving Him her undivided attention. Jesus didn’t reprimand Martha for serving. He knew she loved Him and was attempting to express that love through her service, but what He did do was clearly express that which He felt was best. I am sure he enjoyed lunch that day and I can’t help but think that he expressed gratitude later for the meal. However, what brought Him the most joy and expressed love to His heart the most? What did He say was most valuable? Take the time to check it out for yourself. You will find it was the quality undistracted time that Mary offered Him at His feet.

What about you? Are you busy serving at the expense of just sitting at His feet? Are we stuck in the whirlwind of acts of service, that are fueled by a deep desire to express love to our Savior, and all the while He is quietly whispering to our spirits, “I just want some time with you”? Are we offering Him our talents and our treasures materially, but withholding the time He so passionately seeks with us?

He is God and He knows our hearts, but as we express our love to the One who is Love, let’s take the time today to make the necessary adjustments in our schedule that we might meet with Him. Give Him that which He most enjoys. Speak His love language, if you will. Sit at His feet, hear His heart through His word, and then, out of an overflow of that precious time, we will find ourselves speaking the other love languages clearly and they will be heard by the world around us as our life exclaims, “I love the Lord”!

Lord, enable me today to speak Your love language. Help me to remember that it is TIME that you desire most from me and that all the other love languages will come as a natural overflow of that. I deeply love you, Jesus, and want to communicate that love to you in the way that speaks it loudest to Your heart! Thank you for the story in your word that displays clearly that which you most desire from me.

In Him ~
Tammy…

You can read more from Tammy at Steps in Our Journey