Why do we love?

What’s love got to do, got to do with it? Okay sorry, easily sidetracked by Tina Turner jams sometimes but seriously—what DOES love have to do with anything? What’s the purpose of loving when a majority of the time it can be purely selfish? What’s the point when you don’t feel that love reciprocated? A verse that has been on my mind a lot-- Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates is own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” This is a verse that many have memorized, but what does it really mean? Yes, Christ died for our sins, this is one of the basic principals of Christianity, but where does it come into our everyday walk with Christ? When I try to determine what love actually means, what it looks like, how it serves, I think of Christ. He is our ultimate example. How are we loving compared to this man?

I think back to Jesus’ last days on earth knowing that these were his last. Who did he choose to spend His time with? His disciples? No. His family? No. He was spending His time with those who were neglected, unloved and alone. Jesus KNEW His time was coming to an end and he still CHOSE to be with those that needed love the most. I can honestly say that even not knowing when my last breath will be, I probably wouldn’t choose to spend my free time with the homeless or even those poor in spirit. That is one picture of love that I cannot comprehend, a love unbounded.

When this topic was put on my heart I thought, “how do I even write about love?” It’s a topic that I have very little experience in. Well, I think maybe we all are still learning what it means to love unselfishly-it’s a daily process of denying ourselves and putting others above ourselves because that’s what our example, Christ, has done. Search and try to find out the reasons you love. Is it because you like the way it makes you feel? Or maybe because when you love, USUALLY you get some sort of reciprocated response? How about just loving solely because we were first loved? We know what love is because we know WHO love is.