LOVE: unparalleled greatness

What exactly is this thing called love? I am not so sure the smartest people in the world really grasp what true love entails. It is tricky. I am curious as to whether different people have different capacities for love. By that, I mean can people give or receive love to a limit. Can my parents love for me be more than another parents' love for their children? Love is a topic that baffles me. I believe people, Christians in particular, have a certain "trait" that they relate to more so than another. For example, I know my sister relates well to the subject of forgiveness. That is something that speaks to her more than any other thing. I don't know what other peoples' may be...faith, hope, grace. All of those are fantastic to me in different reasons and on different levels, but nothing speaks to me more than love. It might be the sappy song musician in me, but I think otherwise. As much as I love a sappy love song or one that even breaks your heart, I think I am so intrigued by love because so many people can't seem to find it or have never really felt it. That kills me that some people may have never had this feeling of love. People search for it in so many ways, that their view of love is tainted sometimes (sex, porn, etc). They want to relate to others on this particular subject. That's why people love music. Music is a release to feel that someone else feels like you do. My sister makes fun of me, but I truly believe the reason I love sad songs is that it speaks to a certain human condition which is love or lack of it. I say it again, but when people listen to a song about heartbreak or loss and love, they understand. They feel like they have company on the same boat.

Love is a tough thing to practice on a continual basis. As much as I want to love people, it just sometimes does not happen because I am human and I am flawed. To be honest, a lot of people out there are annoying and tough to love a lot of the times, but those are the ones who need it the most. About a year and a half ago, I got a tattoo on my right wrist that says "mathetes" which in Greek means "disciple". I got this tattoo for one reason only, and that is to remind me as Christ's disciple (which we all as Christians are) I must love. I got this tattoo based off of John 13:34-35 which says "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Do you see a pattern in these verses? I think Jesus was trying to get something across to these fellows. He reiterated the importance of love in these 2 verses. He repeats himself so that the disciples got the picture. He paints a pretty blunt picture by saying unless you love people, people will not know you are a follower of mine. It is a great practical statement, but heavy at the same time. Without love, people will be completely oblivious to the fact that we are Christ's disciples. I think Jesus thought loving all people was pretty important for the cause of the Gospel.

I read a book recently called "The Road" (if you have not read it, do read it). It was a great book. The book paints a picture of a world that has gone to nothing. It has been demolished, destroyed, and any other catastrophic term you could use. The world is bad. But...in all of this, it follows a man and his son. They fight for life, food, and each other. The book, pretty wrenching at times, shows that throughout all of this, the only thing keeping these two together is love. They are the only thing each other has in the world worth anything. The book was a great reminder of love and a world that is devastated. Our world is devastated to a point that the only thing that can save it is love...Christ's love.

I do not understand love or claim to. I do love the idea of love, if that makes sense. It holds things together. It is a sort of glue in a world falling to pieces. I am not perfect, I wish I were. I do not always love like I should, but I try. We are to strive to be Christlike. That does not necessarily mean I will match up perfectly with Christ, but I do strive to match up with his standards of loving others. In a world where true love is rare and hard to find, what's so hard about me asking a total stranger about their day with a smile? If people can see a little glimpse of Christ's love through my love for them, I have succeeded.