Love One Another

Valentine’s Day is coming up in just a couple of weeks and there are lots of marketers aiming for your wallet. They hope to convince you that spending a few dollars to purchase their product will touch the heart of your true love.

Showing your love for others is important—and not just to those whom you might expect to return the affection. Jesus says a lot about love: love for God, love for our neighbor, even love for our enemies. And when you think about the love Jesus demonstrated, you begin to understand that Jesus is not just talking about having a positive regard for others. He is talking about doing something practical to improve the quality of their life. Jesus fed people who were hungry. Jesus healed people who were sick. Jesus people welcomed people who were left out. Jesus restored the hope of those who were drowning in despair. Furthermore, Jesus says that the way everyone will be able to tell if we are really committed to faithfully following him, is when we love each other (John 13:35).

John Wesley found a slightly different way to talk about how important love is: “In a Christian believer love sits upon the throne which is erected in the inmost soul; namely, love of God and man, which fills the whole heart, and reigns without rival.” For Wesley, too, this love had real world ramifications. Reflecting on Chapter 13 of Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, Wesley writes, “The love of God, and of our neighbour for God's sake, is patient toward, all men. It suffers all the weakness, ignorance, errors, and infirmities of the children of God; all the malice and wickedness of the children of the world: and all this, not only for a time, but to the end. And in every step toward overcoming evil with good, it is kind, soft, mild, benign. It inspires the sufferer at once with the most amiable sweetness, and the most fervent and tender affection.”

This kind of love goes way beyond stuffed animals, bouquets of flowers, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, or frilly cards. It is also much more costly. But without this kind of love, all the other is just claptrap and garbage that will be discarded in a few days. Loving others the way Jesus has taught us will make an everlasting difference in us, in those we love, and in the world.