What is love exactly?

Meander with me for a few moments.

I know it’s a lot of things.. but what does it mean to tell someone you love them? We take the meaning of words for granted a lot, and I have been pondering what it is in my heart that follows the word ‘love’.

What do I mean when I tell Ian I love him? What does he understand when I say it to him?

I don’t always feel like I love him, but I still say it. Is this then an empty statement? Is it just feeling? Is it more than 1 Corinthians 13? Can I still love someone even if I’m not acting like 1 Corinthians 13?

It seems to be a fullness. A rich, warm something that can fill a life, fill a soul. To truly love is more than just lip service, of course. It is day in, day out. If I tell Ian I love him even when I don’t feel it, maybe it’s not such an empty statement because of yesterday, or five minutes ago, or an hour from now when I’ll start making him a delicious dinner. Maybe love isn’t always just in the moment, maybe it’s a collection.

A collection of moments in which we catch a glimpse of something bigger. A whisper of something worth more than we understand. Maybe it’s an acquisition of perspective, the ability to reign ourselves into a place where we find patience, kindness, generosity, humility, peace, forgiveness.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

A tall order.

But, it never fails.

What if I could find myself in a place of such love? What difference could I make in the lives of other people? What if I had the presence of mind to seek the love first and then see what follows?

These three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

It is love.

May I be so bold as to say that there is nothing mysterious about why someone might want to be a Christian? Perhaps there are mysteries within Christianity, but in my pondering of love at this moment and in my experiences, I can’t believe that it is anything other than love that draws people to Christ.

To read 1 Corinthians 13.. To see what it is that Christ is offering in a way that is perfect, how could you resist? It never fails. It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It always perseveres. And it will always remain. It is not limited by the things of this world, by the people in it, by the mistakes we make. It is big, and it is freeing. To love and to be loved. Christ and by Christ. People and by people. What a thing to soak in.

I think my ideas are getting bigger than my words. But thanks for meandering with me.. I think I’ll continue this path for a while..