Love

Today is the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the United States. More will be posted later this morning.

September 11

What is love? Most of us think we know. From the earliest age, we sense the warmth and tenderness and solicitous care of our parents, our grandparents, siblings and others who are deeply touched with a strong, sheltering feeling toward babies. We see those sweet babies reflecting the love they receive toward those who give it to them—and toward their puppies and kitties and stuffed animals.

Those who are reared in a cocoon of loving acceptance go boldly forth into other relationships that require an expression of mutual respect, kindness, and to some degree—depending upon the nature of the human interaction—love. Total strangers meet, discover mutual interests and ‘fall in love,’ experience that unique relationship that excludes all others.

But, do we know what love is? The reality is that the world has a counterfeit for every good thing God desires us to enjoy. There is also a counterfeit for love. We can see it touted in Hollywood movies and through the lives of famous people who go from one sexual affair to another without regard to commitment. We see it in parents who take pride in their children’s accomplishments but who don’t have quality time to spend with them. We see it in children who flagrantly disdain the wishes of the parents who want the best for them even as their cherished offspring pursue another way.

The only opportunity anyone has of experiencing real love is to have a relationship with Christ. The Word tells us explicitly that “…God is love,” I John 4:8. We know the ultimate act of love was Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself on the cross to wash us clean from sin as clearly stated in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have everlasting life.” When we appropriate that matchless love for ourselves, we begin to understand what love is and become able to truly give love.