Perfect Love

 (During 2022, these bi-monthly posts are exploring various facets

of the beautiful diamond that is our holiness doctrine and heritage.)

“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have

confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like him.

There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear.”  (1 John 4:16-18)

“We believe that entire sanctification is that act of God,

subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from original sin,

or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement to God,

and the holy obedience of love made perfect.”

(Manual, Church of the Nazarene, Article X)

There are at least three kinds of love: if love, because love, and anyhow love. Some people will love you if you are worthy, or because you are good. God’s kind of love is anyhow love. This is the kind of love to which Jesus calls us. To follow Jesus means our unconditional love will be evident. This anyhow love is how the world recognizes we are people of God. 

 A bit of doggerel underscores the challenge of anyhow love:

 To love mankind, to me’s no chore; My problem is the man next door!

 To walk in love with saints above, Oh, that will be wondrous glory. To live below with those we know— Well, that’s another story!

When Jesus tells us to “be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect,” the context is his command for us to love God, love neighbor, and love enemy (Matthew 5:43-48).  Perfect love is loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and loving neighbor as self. Neighbor-love seeks the well-being of others. It is benevolent, kind, and genuinely concerned. Love for neighbor becomes the fruit of our love for God.

Perfect love does not imply perfect practice or ideal expression or flawlessness. Rather, it means that such love is not self-seeking, or mixed with carnal motivations. Wesley understood the root of all sin to be self-will, or love turned inward. Wynkoop asserts that the essence of sin is love locked into a wrong center. In sanctifying grace, our inward-focused desire is replaced with an outward-focused love.

If the negative side of entire sanctification is the removal of sin, the positive side is the renewal of love. To be entirely sanctified is to be made pure from sin and perfect in love.

Today, more than ever, the world needs to see this kind of love at work.  If people are to be convinced of the reality of transforming grace, the evidence that will turn their heads and hearts will be the love shown by fully-committed followers of Jesus.

Holiness without love is no holiness at all. Hearts made holy display entire devotion to God and genuine concern for neighbor. This is “Love divine, all loves excelling,” as Charles Wesley phrased it. This is perfect love.