The Gesture of Love

The other day my daughter took a “love language” test and then had Joe, and I take it too. Each of us had very interesting results. The gesture(s) that signaled love to her was spending quality time together. My husbands was physical touch, and mine was acts of service. Buying me gifts doesn’t signal love to me; it is when you do something for me that shows me love.

When you think about it, the gesture we consider as showing love will be the gesture you use to show your love to others. I am always trying to be helpful and do things for Joe. I’m trying to make his life easier, which is how I show my love. When we went to Scottsdale with our friends, I said something about packing Joe for the trip, and my friends said, “what??? You pack his suitcase and toiletries?” She said she never packed her husband’s things and thought it was crazy for me to do that. I realize that her love language is different from mine, so she doesn’t understand that is how I show my love.

Joe’s love language is physical touch. So for him, a kiss or a hug signals his love. One of my favorite gestures he does is that when I’m asleep, I will feel him reach for me and lay his hand on my thigh. Sometimes I swear he is still asleep, but the feel of his hand on my thigh makes me feel loved.

The other morning, I was reading my devotional and started thinking how nice it would be to physically feel the Lord’s presence. I would love to feel His arms around me when I’m hurting or a loving caress to let me know He cares about me.

Then, I looked out the window, and the sun was shining on my face. I could feel the warmth, and it made me feel happy. Later that day, as I took my dog outside, the wind started blowing against my skin, and I realized that I could feel the Lord’s touch, just not in the way I had wanted.

Since today is Palm Sunday, it wasn’t hard for me to figure out the Lord’s love language. It is sacrifice. It is denying what you want for others. It is giving all that you can, and it is putting others before ourselves.

John 3:16

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The most famous Bible verse shows the Lord’s sacrificial love. It shows how the Lord gave all that He could for us. His love for us is inconceivable, indescribable, and all-encompassing. It can be overwhelming when we think about the depth of God’s love for us. We often focus on our shortcomings and failings, and it’s easy to feel like we don’t deserve God’s love. But the truth is that God’s love for us isn’t based on what we do or don’t do. It’s based on who He is.

God is love. It’s something He demonstrated in a very real way by sending His Son to die for us. Jesus willingly gave up His life on the cross so that we could have eternal life. That’s how much God loves us.

This coming week, I’ll be thinking a lot about God’s sacrifice for us. I’ll be reading about how Jesus gave His life willingly for us. And every ray of sunshine and gust of wind that I feel will be a physical reminder of how much I am loved!

To God Goes The Glory!

Have A Blessed Day!