In 1965, when asked to come up with a song containing a simple message to be understood by all nationalities, John Lennon wrote "All You Need Is Love." It was so simple in lyric but understood by everyone around the world with its incredibly poignant message.
Love is also one of the central themes in the Bible, the best-selling book of all time. In 1 John 4:8, the author writes, “Whoever does not know love, does not know God, because God is love.”
In 1 Corinthians 13:4-13, Paul asserts the importance of love and ranks it as the most important of the emotions in life. The verse reads: "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…And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Countless movies, songs, books and poetry have been written on the topic of love, giving credence to Paul’s assertion that love is the greatest of emotions. The assertion that the Creator of the Universe not only embodies love but actually is love should stop us all in dead in our tracks.
The importance of experiencing love cannot be understated. Regardless of the recipient of our love - whether it be our God, spouse, friend, pet, child or self - there must be an object of our love. Hopefully, as you think about potential recipients for your love, you realize this very important fact: In order for there to be love in the world, there must first be a giver of love.
Many people focus their attention on getting love. Everyone wants to be loved to some degree. Whether by those we care about, people at work or by God, we are always waiting for love. There is an expectation inherent in waiting for love from our spouse, our co-workers or our God. This waiting presupposes that not as much effort will be put forth on the part of the recipient, rather that the love will shower over them and that such a sensation will create the fulfilling emotion of love.
In order to truly experience love in its fullness, we must be active in its pursuit. But it is not necessary for someone to love us in order to feel love. In other words, love given is love experienced. If we actively show love to someone, we experience the emotion of love.
Focus not on the love you get, rather put greater effort into the love you give. Love given without expectation always fulfills. But the minute we place an expectation on the amount or quality of affection we get in return, we compromise the gift and set ourselves up to feel sadness, disappointment or even anger. This is where love can go wrong.
Increase the amount and quality of the love you give, then you will realize the gift of increased love in your heart. Joseph Addison recognized this when he said, “The grand essentials to happiness in this life are: something to do, something to love and something to hope for.” His essential for happiness regarding love was focused on giving love, not on getting it. For he knew that if a person found something to actively love, they would experience perfect love.
So we must stop waiting for love and simply start loving!
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