And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:13
Love, true biblical love, is an amazing and powerful force. It spans all ages, races, and languages. It can be felt by everyone on the planet, regardless of that person’s level of verbal or non-verbal communication. It cannot be bought, stolen, or sold, only given. It can reconcile families, friends, and enemies. It can melt even the hardest heart.
Love is defined many times in the bible. Paul writes, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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 13:4-8a) Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,” as recorded by John. (John 15:13) Later, John writes, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” (1 John 3:16) Also, in the same letter, John states, “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)
The biblical definition of love can be very challenging for all of us! And yet everyone who has made the decision to become a disciple, or Christian, MUST love! The two most important commandments in the bible are “’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 22:37-40) Jesus says that the two commandments that sum up all the Law and Prophets, all of the bible, are loving (or obeying) God, and loving people. In fact, Jesus says that our love for each other is to be so strong and distinctive that “all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) This is truly a radical concept! As Christians, we are to love each other to the extent that everyone who sees us, regardless of age, race, or language, will know that we are a Christian, that we are following Christ! This type of love is not just what we do, but who we are. It is our identity!
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” (1 John 3:16) From this passage, we understand what love is because we see Christ’s example of love, the laying down of his life for us. Also, we follow him in that self-sacrifice because he laid down his life for us first, and he calls us to follow him! I believe it is very easy to say that we love each other, and yet fall far short of the example set for us by Jesus.
In every scripture which defines love, whether defined by obedience, patience, forgiveness, trust, kindness, or physically dying for another person, the common theme is self-denial, or self-sacrifice! I propose that, in conversation, we use the phrase “I sacrifice myself for you” or “I lay my life down for you” instead of “I love you.” And instead of saying “I love God,” we say “I obey God.” This will help us keep in touch with what it truly means to love people and love God. When making such a statement, we are forced to ask ourselves, “Do I really love others? Do I really show myself to be a disciple by my love for people? Do I really sacrifice myself for others? Do I really lay down my life for my friends?” And, of course we must also ask similar questions about our love for God. “Do I really love God? Do I obey God?” The great news is that love is always defined by an action following a decision. I f we realize that we aren’t loving God or people the way that we are called to, we can simply make the decision to repent and love; and then we can follow that decision with action. We do not need to rely on feeling a certain way, we simply need to do the right thing.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.” I believe this statement is correct. Saying “I love you” is very easy to do. Living out a life of self-sacrifice for each other is much more challenging! I believe we must do it, though, and we will truly see that “the greatest of these is love!”
Luke Speckman
Campus Minister
