For centuries, even the most skilled artisans of prose and
poetry have been stymied in their attempts to define Love. Essays, odes, and epic tales of valiant honor
and swooning maidens can’t begin to put a finger on such an esoteric notion as
Love.
Listen to a teenager for fifteen minutes. First, talking to their girlfriend or
boyfriend, you’ll hear, “I love you. I
love you so much. I love you more. You hang up first. No, you. Okay, I love you.” “I love double cheeseburgers so much.” “I
love Mr. Soandso, he’s the best teacher ever! No homework all weekend!” “I love
that movie!” “I love this blanket, it’s so fuzzy.” “I love that eye shadow on
you!” We know that none of that even
comes close to what love really sounds like, but it is a series of feelings
about different things, and they’re all positive. At least, from the teenager’s point of
view.
Are we any different, though? We throw the word around without fully
grasping its meaning in many of the same ways.
We love our spouses, our kids, some peace and quiet and downtime. We love certain holidays, certain friends,
certain days of the week more than others.
We love a good, hot cup of coffee, a sense of accomplishment, and our
pets. But doesn’t even that seem trite
in comparison to what we were made for?
I’ve heard it said that love is a choice, not a
feeling. I don’t think that’s completely
true. I’ve heard it said that God is
love. I suppose that comes somewhat
closer, but still doesn’t capture exactly the heart of it. And, though I’m not going to come any closer
to grasping a single definition than anyone else in history, I’d like to offer
one more to the mix.
I think that Love is
God. We are created in His image,
yes? So we have a shadow of His feelings
and notions impressed upon us. I don’t
mean to say that we should worship Love.
I mean to say that, when we feel
Love – positive, overwhelming feelings of happiness, joy, peace, contentment,
affection – that is God inside of us. In
the same vein, when we choose Love –
forgiving someone even when they don’t deserve it, helping someone when it’s
taking up time we could be doing something for ourselves, giving to someone
less fortunate than we are – that is also God inside of us.
The word “Love” occurs 686 times in the New International
Version of the bible. The New Testament
words of Jesus reflect Old Testament notions, as well – “Love your neighbor as
yourself” comes from Leviticus 19:18, and “Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your mind and with all your strength” is from Deuteronomy
6:5. These were what Jesus called the
two great commandments – loving God, and loving others. “All the law and the prophets hang on these
two commandments,” He said in Matthew 22:40.
Love is the great cause.
Love is what should get us out of bed in the morning, guide our day, and
put us peacefully to sleep at night.
It’s not a melody, a single line of notes to be played alone – it’s a
magnificent harmony, in which we immerse ourselves into the lives of others and
they immerse themselves into ours, for the sake of the Kingdom. Listening to one musical instrument for any
length of time is tedious, but imagine a well-practiced orchestra playing your
favorite song…
Stephanie Jean
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