What Is Love?

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the great of these is charity (love).”  I Corinthians 13:13

I just “love” your hair my friend said to me.  I just “love” my new car, I said with much glee.

Can this be real love, I pondered that thought.  Can these things bring the love I have sought?

My knowledge is fairly vast, my faith quite strong; I give of my abundance, to help the poor along.

I speak words of wisdom and do what I think is right, but it all seemed for show until I saw the light.

The light of compassion, the light of God’s love.  What useless efforts without the love that comes from above.

This love that is longsuffering, kind, humble, perfect and true, is never jealous, boastful, or mean; it will never fail me or you.

Love is not a feeling; it’s a decision that we make.  That’s how we love the unlovely:  we love for Jesus’ sake.

When I was little there was so much I didn’t see.  Now that I am older, for clarity I wait patiently.

While waiting on that final call, being blessed abundantly; living by faith, believing in hope, basking in God’s love for me.

I wrote this poem back in 2010 not long after my son had died.  It is based on I Corinthians, Chapter 13, what is known as the “love chapter” in the New Testament.  We are all guilty of claiming to “love” things.  Some things can make us happy, for a while, but then the new wears off, and we find that we didn’t really love that inanimate object after all.  Sometimes we use words too casually, words that have a much deeper meaning than in the way that we use them.  Real love is putting others first, making sacrifices in order to please or help others, and making time for others.  In other words, love involves relationships, not cars, or hairdos, or outfits, or food.  In His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus presented His listeners with a whole new way of thinking and behaving.  They had been taught to love their neighbor but hate their enemy.  Jesus said that those in His audience and us, as well, who desire to be godly must love their enemies, to bless them even as they curse us, to do good to those who are hateful toward us, and to pray for those who use us for their own benefit and/or persecute us.  He went on to say that if we only love the folks who love us back, then we haven’t done anything special.  Even ungodly people can love each other.  And then He said that loving the unlovable makes us more like what God expects His children to be–more like Him (Matthew 5:43-48).

I think that love is probably the most definitive element that separates the true followers of the Lord from all others.  I hope everyone has a blessed and happy Valentine’s Day.