What is love? I’ve been pondering this question a lot lately. Sometimes I say it without considering its meaning or implications; it becomes mundane and ordinary. But in a world of hurting people, love is glue that mends even shattered souls, and yet, love, as it’s so widely portrayed has become less and less about service or making more of others than ourselves. It has become a currency with us using people’s desire to be loved as a way to get our wants met. We’re all guilty of reducing it to something it’s not.
If God is love, then we can draw from His character to determine what love truly is. Because God loves, he does not watch people living in their errors, nor does he endorse them; he instead draws us out, always at a cost to himself. He disciplines, he shields, he provides, and no matter how far we fall, he picks us up and never forsakes us. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills but is willing to give it up for our sake. 1st Corinthians, talks of love, and in all it says, you see Godlike-ness.
Love is long suffering, is kind, has no envy, does not boast, is not proud, does not dishonour others, doesn’t seek its own way, is slow to anger, doesn’t keep a record of wrongs, nor does it delight in evil, but rejoices in truth, bears, believes hopes and endures ALL things.
That is love! Not the temporary commitment that walks out when irreconcilable differences arise, or the kind that walks out on family when it comes to terms with its sexual orientation, or the love that raises children to be “mini-me”s. Loves meets the needs of others and is not selfish and self-centred. I realise that I have not reached my full potential for love; I am selfish, self-centred and proud, and forgiveness is not my strongest trait. In our humanity we are flawed, but there is always hope for us, and even as we have failed in our expression of love, God gives us grace to do better, but also makes provisions for where we fail, picks us up and always walks things out with us.
Blessings on a hill 