All You Need Is Love.

After reflecting on some verses in 1 Corinthians this past week, I felt the need to post about love. All kinds of love.

1 Corinthians 13:2-3 states: “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

We, as humans, can have the best of intentions, but if we do not have love in our hearts, then we have nothing. Many times, love is mistaken for lust or infatuation. Lust and infatuation give you a temporary high, but in the end leave you hurt and/or broken. I don’t know of anyone who likes either of those things. The kind of love that is represented in the verses above is agape love. Agape love comes from God and is non-partial, sacrificial, and unconditional. This kind of love is rare in the world today, which is a sad but true statement. Many people today, including myself, have loved or love one another conditionally. But this is not how God intended us to love one another. Conditional love expects something in return and is based on how we act towards each other. Unconditional love is the complete opposite; it sacrifices much and does not expect anything in return.

In all my relationships, whether that is with friends, family, mentors, enemies, etc, I strive to love them all unconditionally just as God loves us. True love is how God loves his children, not the butterfly feeling you get from a boyfriend/girlfriend. My hope is that we all can love each other just the way God loves us. It would save us from some serious disappointment.