Many people will agree that love is the answer to our problems. The challenge begins with defining what love is. The reason we have so much difficulty with love is that most of the time we think of love as a good feeling, a powerful emotion. That’s why the highest form of love presented in the media is sexual satisfaction.
The truth is, however, that our definition of love is usually self-centered; it’s getting what we want from someone else. We see the truth of that when the people we claim to love don’t do what we want. Suddenly, the loving feeling disappears and so does the loving relationship.
If love is going to significantly change our lives, it needs to go beyond selfish feelings. It has to be a commitment to something or someone bigger than ourselves. And that is exactly the Christian definition of love. Jesus Christ made it clear that love is the determination to do what is best for the other person, regardless of one’s own personal feelings or the sacrifice it might involve. The great theme of Christianity is that God loved us first through what Christ did on the cross and now we are able to love other people the way he loved us.
If you’re having a little trouble getting excited about all the love talk this Mother’s Day weekend because you just don’t feel very loving, that’s okay. The good news is you don’t have to feel it to show the most powerful love on earth – the love of Christ. And that is the heart of love.
Sunday Morning Worship – 10:00 am