“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13
I love ice cream. I love to travel. I love spring. I love… (insert whatever)
In today’s lingo, the word “love” carries various meanings and has been trivialized with its frequent use for simple desires and quick happiness. Yet the reality of real love is something very different. First Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter and is one of the most cited references for weddings. The description it offers for love is all-encompassing. Verses 4-8 says:
Love is patient,
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
Love never fails.
You may have heard of the idea to substitute your name, or that of someone else, for the word love. Often we find ourselves and others falling very short of living this out. However, if you insert the name of Jesus everywhere you see the word love or its pronoun, you will see His very character. It is who He is.
Love is the complete opposite of evil. Viktor Frankl was a man who experienced the most vile evil of all of humanity. Viktor was a Jewish-Austrian psychiatrist during the time of Hitler’s terrible regime. He was sent to four different concentration camps in three years, including Auschwitz. He suffered the loss of most of his family members from these camps. In the midst of living in the evil, he held on to hope and he held on to love.
Truly, the ultimate picture of love, of course, is that of Jesus Christ. The simple Bible verse, that is often the first one we memorize as a child, sums up the entire message of the gospel and the ultimate definition of love. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
This type of love is unmatched by any other. It is so pure, so sacrificial, so limitless – and is offered to all who simply believe in the One that is Love. Scripture tells us that God is love (1 John 4:16). It is who He is; and no one can love Him or anyone else, until they experience the love of our Heavenly Father first. Receiving God’s love for us, enables us to love Him back which leads us to love others with His type of love.
Even as Viktor Frankl lived through horrendous acts of evil on humanity, he still understood the power of love. He said, “Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the beloved person; and even more, he sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized. Furthermore, by his love, the loving person enables the beloved person to actualize these potentialities. By making him aware of what he can be and of what he should become, he makes these potentialities come true.”
To love another is to see them, to bring out the best in them, to sacrifice for their good. It’s what the Father did for us and it’s what we are called to do for others. Love is the one thing that will never end. And it’s because that is who God is – He is love! And He will always remain!
May we continue to live…
Rooted in Him,
