I think we all seem to have a sense that love is the axle around which all the universe turns—and yet I’d wager that most if not all of us have too small an idea of what love is. Some of us may see love simply as romance, or as a basic feeling toward things that please us, or even a sign of emotional weakness, or perhaps just whatever we want it to be. Yet somehow, I dare say that all of us are trying to find a world where love flourishes as it’s supposed to. And rightfully so; because by God’s perfect design, every good thing that exists boils down to love.
This is no mere accident; love is in fact the very essence of God. Literally and emphatically, God is love. What a wild thing to say, but it’s true! God is a Trinity of three eternal, infinite, perfect persons who are eternally, infinitely, perfectly pouring themselves out in love for one another—a beautiful triad so full of love given and received that he has from his very nature the greatest possible happiness forever. Even if we can’t fully understand it, we can be awed by the Trinity’s beauty and recognize how God’s nature drives everything else that exists. In love God created us and is redeeming us, and through love and love alone, we have the greatest enjoyment that humanity could ever possibly encounter.
But sin is a bigger deal than we think, and has blinded us from that perfect love more severely than we realize. The world’s entire narrative is backwards. By default we are self-serving creatures, only caring for others when it benefits us. But life at its finest is, and has always been, acquired only through loving others and not self. Jesus did not speak lightly when he said that “whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” And in fact he demonstrated this perfectly by laying down his very life for us whom he loved! To love rightly is to abandon every selfish ambition and replace it with desire for the good of the one you love. That may feel like dying. But tell that to the crucified Christ.
God is love. And what the world needs is the selfless, sacrificial love that is God. Again, we are all trying to find a world where love flourishes as it’s supposed to. That occurs when we, the church, love one another the way God loves. In our marriages, in our families, and in our church families, let us all put our normal, self-serving selves to death; let us love one another with our very lives and everything in them. This kind of love is the supreme ethic of heaven and earth, the sole source of good everywhere. And wherever we love with our lives, God is there.
