DAY 22 CHRISTMAS GOOD NEWS: WHAT IS LOVE?
Love is…
An old song serenaded its time with the words, "I want to know what love is, I want you to show me. I want to feel what love is, I know you an show me." True enough, a poll made by itv.com in 2012 showed "What is love?" topped Google's most searched query that year. Be it about love life or loving difficult people, the topic of love somehow always finds its way into discussions.
Love is a constant theme in movies, written into songs and poems, even painted into famous works of art. As we usher in Christmas, we surely have heard the line, "Why don't you give love on Christmas day?" Despite all its fanfare, do we all truly know what love is? What does the Bible say about love?
"4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
1 Corinthians 13, the most famous chapter on love, enumerates what characterizes love. It gives a clearer picture of love rather than a vague idea or a fluttering feeling. The misconception about love begins when oversimplified or having one part of it highlighted rather than seen in entirety. As we move from this year to the next, a good point of reflection is if we grew more in demonstrating love than the previous year. A good gauge is to check with our loved ones if they see us live out 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 more now than in the past. However, the best way to measure our growth in love is to ask people if they see us trying to be more like Christ every day.
"16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
God provided for our reconciliation, and the only prerequisite was not anything we could perform but to believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus gave His life not only for a few, nor only for those who are good, and most certainly not only those He felt like loving--He loved imperfect ones like you and me. This truth transforms us to love better because Christ loved us at our darkest and unloveliest. A pastor describes love this way: “True love is an unconditional commitment towards imperfect people to seek their highest good which may require sacrifice resulting in His glory.” That's how God loves us. That's how we should love too.
This season, may we not only be known by the gifts we give or the carols we sing, but more so for the love of Christ that we share to those around us (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). May His love continue to transform us to love even those we deem difficult, remembering that we difficult too! Love is never about trends, it’s about God and His work in our lives.