I Believe in Love
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you,” a verse in the Bible, which can be found in John 15:12. This one verse sums up the entire Bible on how we are to act towards God and all our relationships here on earth. God has shown you and me his ultimate love when he sent his one and only begotten son to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. I did not quite realize the depth of this inconceivable act of sacrifice until I had a child of my own. While holding my newborn son and feeling instant love, I became painfully aware on just how hard it would have been for God to send his own son to be slain. It was at that moment that gave me the ability to know and truly believe in God’s love.
From that point on in my life, I not only started to accept the love of the Lord, but I became aware of the type of love I needed to share with strangers, acquaintances, friends, family, and God himself. This type of love needs to be selfless and displayed through actions, not just words. My previous way of showing love was simply telling a person I loved them but I did not want to do the sacrificial aspect love requires. The type of love that is required from us from our Heavenly Father is putting the needs of others before your own and to lay down your life for them, if need be. This is still a work in progress in my own life but the Lord is moving me towards this biblical description of love. I believe with all my heart that I could lay down my life for my wife and children, but many of you would do the same thing for your own families. The true test would be laying your life down for a complete stranger. I would love to say that I would lay down my life for a stranger, but in all reality, would I truly be willing to give up my own life? I hope I never have to be tested in this way and face that inconceivable sacrifice, but if I did, I hope I would not fail the test.
To conclude, I hope and pray that the Lord will continue to work in each of you, along with myself, by opening our eyes, mind, and heart to the love we must share, not only to our families, but to all people we come in contact with. Love is the key element that brings all humanity together, just as love brings the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together.
