What is love?  How would you describe it?

 

Some would say love means having positive or happy feelings towards someone else.  Others would say love is being intimately connected to another person, whether physically or emotionally. 

 

Maybe you've heard people say that "God is love."  But again, what does that mean -- that God lets us do whatever we want?

 

Jesus Christ taught about love a lot, but one aspect of love that he highlighted often was that true love is about sacrifice.  He taught that those who love are willing to give up things that have great value to them, including their own lives.  That's not exactly a "positive" or "happy" thought, is it?

 

However, something about sacrificial love seems to resonate deeply with many people.  In movies or television shows, we see the heroes or protagonists of the story risk their lives to save others.  Members of the military put their lives on the line regularly, and many parents sacrifice their well-being daily to care for their children. 

 

What would be one of the hardest things in your life to sacrifice, and why?

 

There's something true and beautiful about giving to others, even when it costs us something.  That's the message of Christianity -- that God came to earth as Jesus and loved people so much that he sacrificed his own life, that they might have eternal life.

 

"Jesus said, 'Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' "

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his

only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 15:13

 

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

The Lovely Kind of Love

 

 

People love love

But is it the idea of love or love itself that we love?

If we really knew what love was

Would we be love sick 

Or sick of love

Like a promising marriage now on the rocks

We feel desperate for some form of love

Clinging to the word but not the definition

Slithering around in it’s self validating ways

Secretly polishing a thin layer of shine

Over corroded metal

On the trophy of self love

Promising high

Delivering low

Now a rusty monument of discarded trophy’s

In the trash heap of shattered expectations 

Reminding us of how shallow we really are

And coincidentally how deep true love really is

It’s a new kind of trophy that never gathers dust

Because its never put on a shelf

Being too valuable for any one person to claim

It’s always given away

Always lovely 

 

Next Steps

How does this fit into the bigger picture?  What might this mean for my life?