How To Love

By Chaplain (Col) Stephen W. Leonard, USA, Ret.

Many Valentines and the card buyers who send them really amount to nothing more than noisy gongs and clanging cymbals. Is that too harsh? Well, 1 Corinthians 13 essentially defines them as such, because the love of that beautiful chapter is beyond exquisite. It is like unto seeing and knowing Jesus Christ himself.

But, I am so grateful that Paul gave us such a full definition of true love as this 13th chapter of Corinthians.

Of course, the most complete definition of love is that “God is love.” And you must exhaust all the Scriptures with comprehensive and eternal appreciation to come anywhere close to understanding “God is love,” for you must know God.

1 Corinthians 13 is the finest Valentine you could ever send. But you cannot really approach this perfect model to then tell your Valentine, “This is the love I have for you.” But on the other hand, there is nothing wrong with saying to him or her, “This is the love I aspire to have and show toward you.”

We creatures, who always practice sin, cannot fulfill the love of Chapter 13, but we can take it as our genuine goal and cling to Philippians 4:13 to reach that goal, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

You should never say, “1 Corinthians 13 is beyond attaining, so I am not even going to try!” No, you need to commit your body and soul to making this a daily goal. Because, only this is genuine love. If you fail at it, your ONLY choice is to get up and try again; not abandon trying.

If you can fulfill “love is patient and kind,” you are on your way to completing the rest, only if it were possible to do it all the time.

And, these characteristics of love pertain as well to family and friends relationships. Neighbors ought to love neighbors, sons ought to love fathers, mothers ought to love daughters, regardless if there is no reciprocal love from the other. In troubled relationships due to no reciprocal love, we must remember and trust that “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” And keep at it.

We are told that love never ends. Apparently, it survives death, it passes with you from this life to eternal life. In other words, you take love with you. Love is a permanent part of who you are.

Should you not then seek in this life to love fully, to truly work at it, to perfect it from partial love to full love? It will be worth it all because your own joy and happiness is the assured result.

When you once see face to face, and know as you are known, love will be perfected in you. This perfected love truly blooms in you as you cross over into Emmanuel’s land.

Encouragement