Christ’s Five Love Languages
In what ways does Jesus love?
In 1995, Dr. Gary Chapman wrote a book entitled The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate. Chapman’s book sold over 10 million copies and frequently ranks on the New York Times bestseller list. It has been used in marriage counseling and is even used in corporate training to better understand colleagues. In the book, it outlines five ways to express love that Chapman calls the “love languages.” These “love languages” include physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, and acts of service. This got me wondering, “Can the five love languages be applied to what Christ did while he was in human form here on Earth?”
Here are just a few of the MANY examples:
• Jesus showed love through physical touchin Luke 17by reaching out to lepers, who were deemed untouchable and made them clean.
• He showed words of affirmationin John 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”
• He gave quality timein Mark 6:34, “When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.”
• And he gave YOU the giftof life. He gave you the gift of your body and all the intricacies that go with it. He gives you the gift of resources to provide for that body. He gives you the gift of free will — to think, do, and express your thoughts and feelings. He gives you the gift of living in a place, time, and means of meeting with others of like-common faith to worship Him. He gives you the gift of being able to see the stories of old, learn from them, and apply these lessons to your life. And although you fail Him, He gave YOU the gift of HIS life. He gives the gift of grace so that when you fail, you can have forgiveness of sin. And He gives you the gift of salvation if you choose to diligently serve Him.
• And lastly, he showed acts of servicewhen all power had come upon Him and He humbly chose to wash the feet of his disciples.
Matthew 20:28 put it so elegantly: that He came “NOT TO BE SERVED but TO SERVE and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Jesus loves in every way we can possibly imagine. His love is unconditional and should be a comfort to us. When you feel that life is insignificant, remember that He left His throne (John 1:1-14)and came to earth and gave his life for you because of His love. While we can never love Him as much as He loves us, I hope this serves as a reminder just how much He loves you and you can sing with full confidence, “Jesus loves me! This. I. Know.”