We spend a lot of time and effort on love: finding a mate, wooing a mate, keeping a mate! We spend countless hours watching movies about love, talking about love, dreaming about love. When we finally find the one we love, we spend every waking moment thinking about them and longing to be with them. The irony is, we often end up in conflict with the very object of our affection simply because we are unable to communicate the depth of our love in a language that our beloved can understand. We ought to be able to tell a person’s love language just by spending time with them, and we shouldn’t have to think too hard about it!

Just as we do, God has love languages, too. Only He doesn’t make us guess or try to figure out what His love language is. He tells us in PS. 45:10-11.

Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear; forget also your own people, and your father’s house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he [is] your Lord; and he desires your worship.

Jesus also made it clear in Luke 10:38-42.

10:38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest.   10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said.  10:40 But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.”  10:41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things,  10:42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”

So let’s take a look at two modern-day women and their love relationship with the Lord – the names are symbolic and not a reflection on any particular ladies – any similarity to women you know, living or dead, is purely the work of the Holy Spirit!

Our first girlfriend, Martha, rises early (usually) to get her Bible time in before the day begins. She schedules 15 minutes for reading, 5 minutes for praise and 5 minutes for prayer – 10 if the list is very long. At the end of her 30 minutes, she thanks the Lord, closes her bible, and gets on with the tasks of the day – which are too numerous to mention! She’s pleased with herself for making time for reading the Word, and loves to tell others they have to be disciplined and make time for God. Throughout the day she tosses a prayer heavenward as things occur to her, and when she can she listens to Bible teaching or worship music as she goes about her busy day. How does the Lord react to Martha? He loves her, of course. As she finishes her morning devotion, He hands the list to Michael – “here Michael, add Martha’s list to the “to be answered” database. Oh, and Michael, this third one on the list, this seems to have been here quite a while. Check into it, will you, and find out what the holdup is? She is a devoted servant. Let’s take care of her list.”

Girlfriend Mary, has a slightly different approach. She too loves her time with the Lord and wouldn’t miss it, so she sets her alarm to go off two hours before she has to wake, just in case she oversleeps. But that rarely happens, because the Lord loves spending time with Mary as much as she loves spending time with Him, so He wakes her — sometimes with love songs, or with soft words, or even their own private fragrance. She instantly arises, not even bothering with a lazy stretch. She knows people who rise, shower, and dress before they get to their Bible time so that in case they have to leave unexpectedly, they are ready. She’s tried it, but it doesn’t suit her. It interferes with her intimacy and communion with the Lord, so she just heads straight for her prayer closet. She picks up her Bible with a short prayer heavenward: “Lead me Lord”. She opens her Bible and begins to read. Some mornings the Lord speaks immediately, and they journey together through many verses and different books as He reveals more of His character to her. Sometimes she will read steadily for a long time before the Holy Spirit quickens a new revelation of Himself. But always, her time is spent with one goal in mind – to learn more of her Lord, to touch His heart, to express her adoration. After her reading comes prayer for more of Him – no prayer list, no plan – and prayer continues as the Holy Spirit leads, intermingled with a worshipful resting in His presence, waiting for Him to speak. When He does, she carefully notes it in her journal – she returns to her journals often in times of trial and finds great comfort in the words the Lord has spoken directly to her heart. Finally, after as much as two hours or more, she blesses the Lord and places her Bible next to her, giving it a loving caress as she rises. As she showers and gets ready for her day, her thoughts and prayers are for those on her ‘list’, and she prays and worships as she gets ready to face the world. She goes through her day sometimes offering short prayers heavenward, but mostly she offers praises and thanks as events in her day clearly show the hand of the Lord’s provision and protection. Her focus is on Him, and she sees Him everywhere.   How does the Lord react to Mary? He loves her, too. He is madly, passionately, in love with her, and there is nothing He would not do for her. He woos her continually, and keeps her surrounded with warring angels to protect her, ministering angels to encourage her, and messenger angels to respond to her prayers.

Both of these modern women love Jesus, but one is IN LOVE with Him.

Are you in love with Jesus?