The way that we express ourselves depends upon many factors, including our backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and values.

Through his many years of counseling, Dr. Gary Chapman has concluded that five primary love languages exist with varying dialects or subdivisions within those love languages.

Dr. Chapman spoke of these languages at a marriage conference that we attended. Learning our primary love languages and how to speak in my husband’s love language changed our marriage for the better.

I was intrigued when I learned of his updated book, God Speaks Your Love Language: How to Experience and Express God’s Love. 

Because God’s love is divine, Dr. Chapman writes that God speaks all five love languages. He speaks each person’s love language, and believers express love for God in their primary love language.

Each love language has a variety of possibilities for creativity in expressing love to God, and Dr. Chapman encourages readers to experiment with the different “dialects” within their primary love language.

Once readers are comfortable in various dialects within their primary love language, Dr. Chapman encourages them to step out of their comfort zone and express their love for God in another love language.

5 Love Languages

The five love languages include:

1. Words of Affirmation. Words of affirmation include praising God, writing Him notes, telling others about Him, writing poems, or singing.
2. Quality Time. Quality time might be the traditional quiet time, walking and praying, running and memorizing Scripture, or praying.
3. Gifts. We understand monetary gifts or physical gifts like donating wheelchairs for veterans. Gifts of time serving others was included in this language as well as in the acts of service.
4. Acts of Service. Cooking for others, mowing grass for neighbors, serving as a volunteer, and Mother Teresa’s work in India were a few examples of this language.
5. Physical Touch. Touching a person’s shoulder while praying, hugging others as appropriate, and praising God in song exemplified this way of expressing love to God. Praising God was also given as an example of words of affirmation

The book is filled with anecdotes of people whose lives were changed once they became aware of their love languages and others’ love languages. They began to understand others more fully and to react to them in ways that better expressed their love.

While God speaks my love language, I think that it is more important for me to understand the fullness of God’s love language, which cannot be limited to numbers.

God reveals His abundant love to me, and it is beyond language as well as beyond my understanding.
Yet, He is gracious to take me by the right hand and show me His great love day by day.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Moody Publishers for my honest review.

How is God revealing His love to you?

How are you expressing your love to God?

About Dr. Gary Chapman

Follow Dr. Chapman on Twitter @DrGaryChapman