People’s definitions of love:
- ‘Love is a sacrifice’
- ‘Love is blind!’
- ‘Love is a commitment’
- ‘Love is a hard work’
- ‘Love is bitter-sweet’
- ‘Love is crazy’
- ‘Love is an expression’
- ‘Love is a language’
Love is a “thing/energy/force” that has made:
- Mother Theresa kissed and hugged the sick, abandoned, the reject, the lepers.
- A father to work hard for a family.
- A mother to love beyond anything, beyond your mistakes, rebellion and stubbornness.
- People to willingly fall in love though they know it hurts.
- Each of us in this community who stays and serves in this community.
- Our Father in Heaven to send His only son to die.
- Jesus to pick up the cross, take the whip, wear the thorn crown, climb the hill and die on the cross (John 15:13 ‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’)
Love is built, restored, stocked up, activated in the Heart. Our heart is the container for love to grow. It is the only place where love can be built, activated, nurtured, expanded and restored. When it is corrupted we will be unable to become a blessing to others (Proverbs 4:23 ‘Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.’) It is us, not others, who are fully responsible for shaping and guarding our heart so it can continue beating for the right purpose and the right reason. We have to ensure that we direct our heart to God so that love can grow and multiply. Otherwise, if we leave our Love Tank empty for a long time, it will eventually render us helpless and unable to love. It is only GOD that can fill up and nurture our Love Tank, no one else – though He ought to use people around us as instruments of His love and mercy.
If love is a language then we actually can learn it. The more committed we are in learning love languages, the more fluent we’ll become. Just like learning to walk or learning music, learning love languages doesn’t happen overnight. it requires effort and practice (and failures along the way), but we must practice it every day. As we grow we need to be able to understand our and other people’s love languages.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 – “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour 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.”
(Riri Augustine, summarised by Fanny Sutantio)
No responses yet