What is Love?

What is Love?

Love is the greatest Commandment 

““Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.””
Matthew 22:36-40 NIV


So What is Love, what does it look like?

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 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 do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.....”
1 Corinthians 13:1-8 NIV

Why is it so hard to have this kind of Love?

Inanimate objects are easy to Love because they won’t disappoint, we have to be able to Love despite the disappointment.  I believe that was what Christ was saying to Peter at the end of the Gospel of John.  Not once but 3 times he asked him if he loved him....


“The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
John 21:17 NIV

Why?  Simon had denied Jesus 3 times, disappointing to a human Jesus, but the Savior Christ, Loved Peter “The Rock” and He loved him in spite of the disappointment of his actions in the courtyard, he saw beyond the disappointment and knew what he could and did become.  If we are to Love like Christ we Love the untapped potential not the human frailty.  We understand that through Love disappointment vanished. We must be ready to not only love others this way, but we must also be able to love ourselves the same way.


My prayer is that each day we all can open our hearts to the Spirit and allow ourselves to Love and be Loved like Christ showed us how to.

Love all of you.


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