At the beginning of this year, I started a series on the three enduring truths: faith, hope and love. I have shared about the importance of faith and hope to endure the trials and tribulations we face in life. I now want to address the concept of love.
Love is one of the most written about topics of all times. Over the ages, books, movies, and plays have been written about this subject. Seeking an all-inclusive definition of love has been the debate of scholars throughout the centuries. But, sometimes it is easier to describe what love is not instead of what love is. For example, to hate someone is the opposite of loving someone. Love has been used to describe our attraction to objects, ideas, and other people. Love is used to describe a deep friendship, a long term commitment, or a romantic and sexual connection. It is described as a deep emotional attraction or reaction to someone.
I believe this is where we get the idea of “falling into” and then “falling out” of love. It is as if we have no control over this feeling. Honestly, just writing this accentuates the point of how confusing this concept is. So, I looked at one of my fundamental guides, the Christian bible. Love is used in over 600 passages in the bible to illustrate all the above examples. God is defined as love. So, I believe at the core, love is a spiritual concept.
Love goes beyond the borders of a simple definition and is too powerful to be experienced without intentional thought. Love is an intense emotional response. As Jesus has shown through his actions of loving all people, we can see how love is an action of unconditional commitment and self-sacrifice. Love is powerful and should be honored and respected and not taken lightly. But, love is good, and one of our greatest gifts to receive and give. So, allow yourself to experience and savor this great gift.
Will you allow yourself to experience and protect this great gift of love?