Love Is ...

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37-40).

Every person has an innate, natural desire to be loved. From the time we are born, we're looking to be loved, whether we recognize and admit it or not. Our parents normally meet this need in the beginning. As we grow into childhood, other family members and special friends are also added to our group of loved ones. Later, we start dating, because we feel the need for a different kind of love than we've experienced so far, and we marry when we think we've found the mate we can love and who will love us for the rest of our lives.

But no matter how many people we find to love us on earth, our needs will never be completely satisfied with them. Lost friendships, divorces, and broken families all attest to this. Even if our relationships are solid, something is still missing. We were built with a love hole in our hearts that only God can fill, and we will never find complete contentment until we let Him fill it. He has the missing piece.

Jesus taught that the greatest commandment is to love. If we follow The Greatest Commandment in the way Jesus meant it, we will keep all of God's other commandments. Sadly, too many church members have trivialized this. With their selfishness and petty concerns, they show little love to each other. However, the love we show one another is the best testimony for Christ that we can give. It is the gift of the gospel message tied up with the ribbon of grace. It overcomes barriers of differences and forms a community of acceptance among believers. God is love, and He'll pour so much out on us that it will overflow into others if we'll let Him. Love should be what makes the world go 'round.

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