Colleen Orchanian

God is love. Perfect love.

Love is a great tool in our spiritual arsenal. If the attack is fear, we know that perfect love casts out fear. If the attack is discouragement, we know that God makes all things work together for good for those who love Him. If the attack is temptation, we know that God is faithful and won't let us be tempted beyond our ability, because He loves us.

When we know with certainty that God loves us in a very personal, individual way, the devil's attacks become harmless.

So why are we still dealing with Satan? Why is he still bothering us?

Maybe we don't know God's perfect love. Maybe we are resisting, holding back. If that's the case, this tool is not battle-ready.

Two passages from Scripture can shed some light on this.

In the parable of the prodigal son, the Father loved his son perfectly, yet the son took his inheritance and squandered it. Then he was miserable and finally returned home, humbled. His father greets him with love, giving him sandals, a cloak, and a ring, and hosting a feast in his honor. There was joy because the one who was lost had been found. The son was loved perfectly when he left and when he returned. He refused love when he left. He returned, not because he realized his father's perfect love, but because he was miserable.

After returning, I wonder if the son was open to the perfect love of his father. How did the son feel the next day? Was he waiting for the other shoe to drop? Surely the father would tell him how disappointed he was and expect him to grovel for some time. I wonder if the son held back his love for the father, even when the father was showing perfect love, because he didn't trust the goodness of the father.

That's what happens with Joseph and his brothers in Genesis. The brothers sell Joseph into slavery, and many years later he becomes the one to save them from a famine. Joseph has forgiven them completely, saying that what they intended for bad, God used for good. He had no ill will toward them. They all lived together in Egypt, and Joseph was happy to be with his family again. And then his father, Jacob, died. His brothers thought, surely now Joseph will get his revenge. After all, the only thing holding him back was our father. Now that Dad is gone, Joseph will make us pay. That's not what happened. Joseph had forgiven them, but they didn't receive his love because they didn't trust it.

We can be that way with God. We have sinned, sometimes big sins, and we know the Bible says we can be forgiven, but we don't really believe it. It's just a matter of time before God punishes us. So we hold back. We don't trust. And when we don't trust, we don't receive the full amount of love God has for us. Not because He is holding back. We are the ones holding back.

God wants to love us perfectly, which is the only way he can do it because He is love. And we resist. What a shame. Why do we resist God's love? Here are three possible reasons:

1. We have a distorted image of God, and we don't trust Him. This is the rich young man who was told to give away all he had and then follow Jesus. He couldn't do it. He didn't trust that Jesus would satisfy all of his needs. When we have a distorted image of God, we can't receive his perfect love.

2. We fear that loving will make us vulnerable, and vulnerability is weakness. Like Charlie Brown and Lucy. Lucy assures Charlie Brown that she won't pull the football out when he tries to kick it, but she does – every time. And Charlie Brown looks like a fool. Maybe we resist God's perfect love because we fear looking like a fool to others in the world. Our need for human approval overcomes our desire to receive God's perfect love.

3. We fear the demands of love. My sister Mary, a teacher, had a student who wanted to talk about Jesus. The student said that she feared that if she became a Christian, she would have to change. Mary's response was, It doesn't work like that. If you become a Christian, you will WANT to change. God demands our whole heart. It's like getting married. You are making a commitment to that one person, and that's different from any other relationship you have. More is expected. Some never marry for that reason. Some never fully embrace their faith for the same reason. They resist the perfect love of God because He is too demanding. And the devil has a field day with them.

The spiritual tool of perfect love is about receiving God's perfect love and responding with our imperfect love, because that's all we've got. Our response to love has two targets. We love God, as Jesus said, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and we love our neighbor as ourselves. The two greatest commandments.

This spiritual tool is battle-ready when I believe without reservation that God loves me, that I am His beloved child, that He cares about my life, that He would not allow anything to happen to me unless it was good for my soul. When I can say that with confidence, I am receiving God's perfect love. When my self-image and my God-image are distorted, I am not battle-ready.

There's another consideration. If I receive God's perfect love, am I passing it on? The answer to all the hate and violence in the world is love. I'm not talking about holding hands and singing Kumbaya. That might make you feel good for a couple of hours, but it doesn't bring people closer to Jesus. I can post all the feel-good messages about how I love others on social media, but that's not enough.

Loving another person is listening to them. Asking them about their story. Telling them that God loves them and why He loves them. A friend of mine sits and talks with homeless people. Several friends volunteer in prison ministry, sharing the love of God with the men who live there. Letting them know that they matter.

We are called to be the light of the world, sharing the light of Christ with those put in our path. We aren't supposed to hide that light under a bushel. How can someone know the love of Christ if no one tells them? We are the ambassadors of Christ.

God is perfect love. He offers it to us. We respond by accepting His love and then passing it on. When we do that, we are battle-ready. The devil's attacks are nothing.

It reminds me of a story told by a priest friend. He had a dream about the devil shooting arrows at him, but every arrow went right through him like he was invisible. That's how we can be when perfect love is active in our lives. Fear doesn't work. Lies don't work. Division doesn't work. Hate and bitterness are gone. Love conquers all, and the devil is defeated.

Questions for prayer:

1. If you aren't battle-ready with love, why not? Ask God to show you what obstacles are in the way of receiving His love. Then work to remove them.

2. If you aren't battle-ready to love others, why not? What is holding you back? Ask God to show you and then make a plan to love others better.