God’s Love Through The Five Languages

The languages of love are quite special and unique, but the God of the universe has the capacity to love us through all five.

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The five love languages categorized by Gary Chapman—Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, Gifts, Physical Touch, and Acts of Service—are a wise means to show others you care for them. Each is characterized by specific goals and can come in various shapes and sizes.

Words like “You mean the world,” “You’re beautiful,” or “I’m so proud of you” can send shivers down my spine. Gifts like a journal from someone who acknowledges my love for writing turns me gooey inside. Someone who serves me and says, “No, don’t worry. I will do it” makes me feel like a pampered queen. And physical touch through hugs, kisses, and hand-holding remind me that I’m such a hopeless romantic.

But there’s something about undivided attention that sends my heart to cloud nine. I never feel more loved than when I’m having set-aside time for an uninterrupted conversation and eye-to-eye contact with someone dear to me—unless that person is also bringing me Chick-Fil-A and/or chocolates (I’m convinced food is the sixth love language). That’s not to say, however, that I don’t appreciate the other ways someone may express love for me.

What fascinates me the most about this topic overall is how much God enjoys communicating through these five love languages for every single one of us. Even Scripture shows us His desire to make us feel cherished, seen, heard, and doted upon.

It’s common for people to quickly reference 1 Corinthians 13 when discussing love. This passage gives us straightforward ideas of what it looks like. If you are patient, kind, not envious, enduring, hopeful, not boastful, etc., you are practicing love. These concepts are intricately woven into the Fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The fruits following love are the vehicles through which that love is shown, and God possesses all of those fruits. I mean, He is love! The Fruits of the Spirit are His DNA. So, of course, this passage is important (isn’t all of the Bible!?), but I also enjoy seeing the love of the Father through verses that well-represent the five languages.

Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that God knew us before we were even knitted in the wombs of our mothers. His desire to intimately connect with us is so strong that He couldn’t even wait until we were born into the world to love us. And ever since our first breaths, God has been fervent in showing us His passion.

Let’s look at the ways God reveals His passion through each of the five love languages!

 

Quality Time:

Daily quiet time with the Lord is a pertinent part of a relationship with Him. You wouldn’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend and neglect seeing them or spending time with them, would you? The same goes for our relationships with God. He desires to have our undivided attention to speak to us and to also hear what’s on our hearts.

We can see this quality time with the Lord in Psalm 23:2-3. David says, “He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. That’s where he restores and revives my life. He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to his name” (TPT).

When we spend time with the Father in the secret place, He also rewards our fervent prayers and faithfulness to Him. Matthew 6:6 states, “But whenever you pray, go into your innermost chamber and be alone with Father God, praying to him in secret. And your Father, who sees all you do, will reward you openly” (TPT).

God elevates those who are willing to humbly submit themselves to Him. He gives us a chance to find rejuvenation while also allowing us to encounter deeper portions of His love. He reveals paths to us and offers us peace for the journey as we draw closer to Him.

 

Words of Affirmation:

The Lord does not waste words; none of them return void (Isa. 55:11). All throughout Scripture, He has made promises, has comforted, and has uplifted through His words.

David was inspired by God’s workmanship and reminds us in Psalm 139:14 that we are incredible beings: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (NIV).

1 Peter 3:4 tells us that God finds our inner beauty—a gentle and quiet spirit—of great worth and value.

Not only does God affirm our beauty through His Word, but He also affirms our purpose on the earth.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us we are God’s handiwork and that He has created us to do work, too.

Psalm 23:5-6 affirms we are victorious in the Lord: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (NIV).

Deuteronomy 31:6 reminds us that we don’t have to live in fear and that God is always with us: “‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you’” (NIV).

The rest of the Bible is full of God’s affirmations for our lives. And He is always true to His word (Num. 23:19).

 

Gifts:

The Heavenly Father loves to give gifts to His children. Every good and perfect gift is from Him (James 1:17). While He may bless us with natural gifts (relationships, financial prosperity, a new car, etc.) these are not the only gifts we acquire. God also gives supernatural gifts, ones that may even make us feel like superheroes.

1 Corinthians 12 is a passage on some of the gifts God bestows. They are:

  1. Word of wisdom
  2. Word of knowledge
  3. Faith
  4. Gifts of healing
  5. Miracles
  6. Prophecy
  7. Distinguishing between spirits
  8. Tongues
  9. Interpretation of tongues

Other gifts are discussed in Romans 12:6-8, Ephesians 4:11, and 1 Peter 4:11

Furthermore, the greatest gift the world ever received is the Savior: Jesus. John 3:16 is one of the most well-known verses in history, and it tells us that God loves us so much that He sent His only Son for our salvation and everlasting life. What better gift could we get than freedom through the Way, the Truth, and the Life?

 

Physical Touch:

God is not a feeling. That is a very important point to remember. However, Jesus left His Holy Spirit to encounter us and embrace us. The presence of the Holy Spirit can be so strong that it’s tangible. We almost feel as if He’s wrapping us in a big Papa Bear hug. Another beautiful way to feel the Lord’s touch is through the weather.

Leviticus 24:6 expresses God’s provision via nature, “I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit” (NIV).

Hosea 6:3 says, “Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth” (NIV).

Healing is another way we can encounter God’s touch. All throughout Scripture, we see healing miracles performed, especially during the ministry of Jesus. His blood was shed for us so that we can experience wholeness in Him. Many times, healing miracles are recalled as bouts of warmth on the afflicted areas. And plenty of healing miracles have righted bones and closed up wounds.

Lastly, we can experience God’s touch through our neighbors. God commands us to love Him first and then each other the way we would love ourselves (Matt. 44:37-39). One of the best ways to love God is by loving one another. Relationships and community yield hugs, meaningful touches on the shoulder, pats and back rubs in moments of comfort, and more. If we are the hands and feet of Jesus, then I can’t help but trust He is the one administering this physical contact.

 

Acts of Service:

It’s crazy to think that the Lord God Almighty would “stoop down” and serve us. Why would someone so sovereign get His hands dirty?

He loves us, that’s why.

All four of the Gospels share an account of Jesus feeding the multitudes with five loaves of bread and two fish. Despite the fact that the disciples suggest relieving the townspeople back to their village to retrieve food, Jesus has a different approach to their hunger. He gathers all that they have and breaks it. It far exceeds its limits and miraculously feeds five thousand mouths.

In the Gospel of John, there is a celebration of marriage. Mary, Jesus’s mother, approaches Him with a concern: the wine is gone. He stops and has water poured into jars and turns this water into wine. His heart toward the newlyweds and the party is shown—He encourages the joyous festivities.

John 13:1-17 covers the Passover meal and Jesus’s service to His disciples. He removes His outer clothing, wraps a towel around His waist, and washes His followers’ feet. That’s right, nasty, smelly, worn out feet.

Not only did Jesus’s kindness wash the disciples physically clean, but His kindness on the cross washed us all spiritually clean. That’s the strongest act of service—laying down one’s life for someone else. I’m so thankful for this beautiful act of service.

 

The languages of love are quite special and unique, but the God of the universe has the capacity to love us through all five. His love transforms hearts, breaks chains, casts out fear, builds us up, and even calls us out of our comfort zones and into the will of the Father. He will always meet you where you are and speak the language you need to hear. May you experience this love in a new way, and may it fill you with peace and joy like you’ve never known before.

 

 

Featured Image by Rodion Kutsaev

The views and opinions expressed by Kingdom Winds Collective Members, authors, and contributors are their own and do not represent the views of Kingdom Winds LLC.

About the Author

Becca is a gentle soul who seeks the best in the world and in others. She is easily touched by the beauty of books, music, and art. Though she aspires to write as eloquently as Emily Dickinson or Lang Leav, she hopes to make her own mark on the world one day. She dreams of leaving behind a voice that sparks creativity, imagination, hope, love, joy, and faith.