Have you ever read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman? If not, you should, because it is phenomenal. It can transform your marriage, friendships, and even recognize things you never knew about yourself. I read it a few years ago, after already knowing about the 5 love languages. I love talking about this stuff because, it is living tangible proof of how different everyone is and how one thing can seem insignificant to one person and the exact same thing can make a person feel as much love as their "love tank" can fill. When I ask people, "What is your love language?" I am really asking, "How do you feel the most loved?" There are 5 main ones: words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch.
For me, words of affirmation can take me the distance. For example, Zane rolled over in the bed the other night and looked at my face for a moment and said, "You are so beautiful." Then he proceeded to turn on the television and we watched another episode of Boy Meets World before falling asleep. But after he said those 4 words, my heart felt like it grew and there was so much I was feeling for that man. He didn't expect anything in return, he just wanted to show me how much he cared about me. And that is just one example.
Anyway, I started thinking about Jesus and the 5 love languages. They are probably two of my favorite topics. As I was thinking about this a little light dinged on in my head, that Jesus is the absolute fulfillment of each of the love languages. He expresses each at 100%. I just love that about him. And this is not just some, ah Jesus is the one true King so he is able to do everything, and I'm just going to blindly believe that. No. Scripture is filled with how the Lord gives his people 100% of the love they need, no matter what it looks like. I can give some examples.
1. Words of Affirmation: Basically the whole Bible is one big love letter from our Prince to us. He calls us worthy, he calls us children, he calls us loved (Psalm 139, Ephesians 2, Matthew 6, Galatians 3, John 3, All of Song of Solomon). There is so much written in that book that tells us what he truly thinks about each and every single one of us
2. Quality Time: This one is cool. Quality time means you feel loved when someone takes time out of their day to spend time with you. All of their attention is on you, and you could sit and talk about nothing, or go to the park, or watch a movie, or other things. The Bible says "Come to me" (Matthew 6), or "Draw near to me and I will draw near to you" (James 4). Jesus went up on the mountain to spend time with God. That is what He wants, to spend time with you.
3. Gifts: This one is hard for me to comprehend because its not one of mine. I've gotten used to it, because Zane loves to receive gifts but he also loves to give gifts. I think this one is really clear. You feel loved with someone gives you something tangible. I think Abba loves this one, or rather, I think this one has a special place in his heart. The Bible talks about how the Lord is the "giver of all good things" (James 1). 1st Corinthians talks about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, meaning the Jesus will give US those gifts. They are for us and they want us to be used by him. But I think the greatest gift of all, is the blood shed on the cross for our sins. Christ went there for us, gave his life, so that I could hang out with God the Father forever. (Romans 6)
4. Acts of Service: Acts of Service is interesting to me. I grew up in a church that encouraged serving. Serve and serve well and Jesus knows that you love him. It has opened my eyes and slowly moved this one up the chain (as well as learning to be a wife) in my own personal love languages. While that's fine and dandy, Jesus was the ultimate servant. He says, "I came to serve, not be served" (Matthew 20). He washes the disciples feet (John 13). And most importantly, he took the cross on our behalf.
5. Physical Touch: I left this one for last because it intrigues me most. This is last on my list, mostly because I am perfectly content with going a whole day or more without touching anybody (except my husband). But Jesus, he is different (obviously). He welcomed little children into his arms (Matthew 19). When he healed people, he almost always touched them. And perhaps one of my favorite passages in scripture, truly showed how personal and loving Jesus is. John and Jesus are the final supper and they are just hanging out on the couches talking about Jesus' upcoming betrayal and this tiny scene takes place. If you are looking for it, you possibly have missed it. "The was reclining on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom he loved. He leaned back unto Jesus' bosom and said..." (John 13:23,25) Hold up for one minute, John (who called himself the one who Jesus loved... but that's for a different day) was so comfortable and so loved by Jesus that he just SNUGGLED UP TO HIM. And Jesus let him, like this was so causal of him.
All of these can be experienced today. I for one have experienced all of them. Often times, it is in unconventional methods, but that is who Jesus is. He is unconventional, but he also loves us. There undoubtedly more in scripture that will illuminate more of this love he has for us. I barely scraped the surface, but if we ask, we will receive. And that is a promise.
