What is love?
I am repeatedly commanded by God to love, and I am terrible at it. Most of what we read and say and sing about love is in romantic terms, but God has very little to say about that, apart from the Song of Solomon.
God seems almost insane with his expectations of me. Yes, I am commanded to love my wife. But I am also commanded to love you. All of you. Even if I don’t like you. Even if you hate me and wish to do me harm. That’s crazy. I would scoff if it were anyone else expecting it of me. That means love is not a feeling. Or, at least, feelings may be the smallest part of love. It is not something that we “fall” into; love is not an accident.
Love is a decision; it is an act of the will. It is a choice we make every moment of every day to love each other. It is being patient and kind with someone when I feel like choking them. It is serving you and helping you regardless of that service ever being noticed or appreciated. It is never holding a grudge, ever. “God so loved the world that he gave his only son…) Love is something you do. Love is active.
Scripture tells me that God loved me before I knew him; before I ever existed. That means his love is unearned. I do not deserve it. It is free. He expects me to love the same way. It is as if he is saying “I am your father, if I can do this so can you.”
I’ve been trying to love for decades, and I am still so incompetent at it. Biblical love, true love, is miraculous. It is supernatural. I am terrible at it, but I think I am better than I was yesterday.
“Love is a battle; love is a war; love is growing up.”
-James Baldwin
“Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.”
-Peter Ustinov
“I have loved you with an everlasting love”
-God