What constitutes love? Is it how much you are willing to pay for a meal? Or is it how much you are willing to sacrifice? It is dangerous to put our own definition to what love is. The idea of human love is often one filled with the warm and fuzzy feelings, or the feeling of being pampered. Is that what love is? I beg to differ. When we love, we shouldn't be thinking of ourselves and how much the other party can serve us. The very fact the the feelings mean so much is already revealing to us and others that we are more concerned about how we feel. That in itself is selfish.
So, what's love? Some Christians, without thinking further and considering the context, would quote 1 Corinthians 13's famous verses. "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV) Yes, that is love. That's the love that God shows us. It is the perfect love that only God can give. But, let's look at God's love in its context and the dynamics of it. What is the basis of God's love for us? Is it warm and fuzzy? No! It is for he loves us so much, that he sent his own son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. It was a bloody and painful one. For someone to die on a cross, he has to be a big time criminal. So much that being hung by a noose would be too light a sentence. To die on the cross entails humiliation, torture and a slow death. It could be one of the worst forms of execution or punishment available, not to mention how gruesome and bloody it is. This is love. God's love.
I will cringe every time I remind myself of how God loves His children. By his grace, I have heard the Good News. By His grace, He has forgiven my sins because Christ has died on the cross even before I was born. Through Christ, I'm confident of my salvation and I'm assured of eternal life.
Who can measure up to God's love? We as mere humans fall short of it by more than what I can imagine. It is wider, deeper and longer and has more capacity that one can ever fathom. But we should still always try to follow God's example of love, one that is humble and willing to put the interest of God first.
How will you love then? Are you still desiring to have the warm and fuzzy feeling to be the first and immediate outcome?
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