It’s the greatest ethic that exists in the world. People have searched their whole lives for it; wars have been waged and kingdoms have fallen as a result of it; and countless people have given everything they have in hopes of obtaining love.
Today, Valentine’s Day, many choose to express love through songs, poems, jewelry, and CHOCOLATE (If you're a husband, give her chocolate...trust me!). But how do we define what love is? To most authors, love is described as this overwhelming, euphoric emotion that comes upon its host. And when one is ‘bitten by the love bug’ or struck by ‘Cupid’s arrow,’ they’re ‘infected’ with love. In addition, our verbal expressions at times describe this same belief when we say someone has ‘fallen in/out of love.’ But is love only an emotion? Is it only a feeling? Am I only capable of loving someone when I feel a sense of elation when they’re around? Or, can I only love people who love me back?
I believe for many years of my life I’ve missed the mark when it came to love. Too often in my life, I loved with conditions. In other words, as long as I had received love, I would give it. But if I didn’t receive love from someone, it was only a matter of time before I cut the strings of that relationship. Sadly, I went through a time in my life where I placed boundaries on my love. It was done in the attempt to guard my heart from being hurt. But when you close yourself off to avoid hurt, you also close yourself off from giving love and being loved.
Love is a risky business. You’re vulnerable because you’re open to future hurts. Think of a mother to a newborn. She's up all hours of the night rocking, feeding, changing, and soothing her child and never once does this infant say thank you or I love you. Why does she do it? The mother does it because she loves her child without condition. As well, she loves because she knows her child doesn’t understand that they’re being selfish and only thinking of their needs. It is true; there is a benefit as well. The mother looks forward to the day when the child begins to mature and when they'll run into the room and look up at her and say, ‘I wuv you, mommy!’ All of the sleepless nights and tireless work fades when a loving relationship blossoms.
Likewise, during our times of selfishness and immaturity, God loves us. He doesn’t wait for us to clean up our act, or get all of our issues worked out. When we repent, He forgives and loves us in spite of these shortcomings. And a new relationship between us and Him begins.
Afterwards, I see God requiring us as His followers to grow our love in the same manner. Too often, we surround ourselves with only those people who think, act, and talk like us. We have very little tolerance, if any, for someone who might be struggling with addictions, or appears to be ‘too needy.’ But God thinks differently than we do. Look at what Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount: 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. Matthew 6:32-33 NIV
How are we any different than the world if we only love certain people? Many people speak about love, but only show love to their family and close friends. They rarely give love to strangers or those who can’t give love back to them. God desires that our love remain active…that our love for Him and others grows from moment to moment.
How do you measure love? If you start to put a limit on love, when you say I will only love up to this point, you cease to love because authentic love never relents. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, “…love never fails.’ Don’t give up! God still loves you…and so do I. Make it your life's ambition to love people. The pay-off is spectacular!
