Love

I seem to be seeing that word everywhere recently:  love

It's in our news headlines.  It's in my friend's Facebook posts.  It's in other blog posts.  It was even the topic of last weekend's Mass readings.

Love is everywhere, it seems.

Then why is everyone still so bitter and angry?

I think the reason is that we're talking about "love" these days, not "Love."

We've been talking about the feeling of love (and only the good feelings associated with love, at best) and not the Person of love.

Everything changes when you start talking about Love instead of love.

You see, in order to talk about Love....you have to have faith.  You have to have hope.  In order for love to be more than just a feeling....you have to know and believe and trust in Love, the Person.

Without Him, there can only be love with a little "l."  Without him, love is merely a chemical reaction in our bodies that feels good. 

But with Him, love becomes everything.  Love becomes all-encompassing.

Love becomes invincible.

Love becomes and action, a way of being....a Person.

With Jesus, we are shown what Love truly is:

- compassion and tenderness

-insistence on the return to Truth and God's commands

-a heart of service

-sacrifice

-wanting only the best for another

Love, with Jesus, becomes more than a feel-good emotion.  Love becomes a sacrifice of self for the good of another.

Without Jesus, "love" is merely a selfish concept.  It is a feeling one gets that feels good.  It is self-gratification at the hands of another person or thing. 

With Jesus, the concept of love is turned upside down.  It is no longer about self....but purely focused on another.  Love becomes a glance outwards, rather than a looking inward.  

All we have to do is look at the cross to understand that sometimes, loving someone else hurts.   Love does not always feel good.  But Love, first and foremost, always has the betterment of another at its core.  Jesus suffered for us because he loved us, not because it "felt good."   Love cannot be defined by a feel-good emotion if we trust and hope in Jesus.  Love cannot be a feel-good emotion if we know Jesus Christ.

Love can, however, become so much more when we build a relationship with Christ.

When we follow in Christ's footsteps, love becomes the most powerful action we can undertake.  Love becomes a chance to work towards another person's salvation.  When we love as Christ loved, we are helping our brother get to Heaven.  

Is it easy?  No.

Is it painless?  Not at all.

Is it what Jesus wants of us?  Yes.

He wants us to love as He loved - He tells us that time and time again.

He wants us to care about our brother's salvation.

He wants us to love....with a big "L."

He wants us to follow His lead.

So are we?