Love Is Sacrifice

Most people don’t understand this. Far too many think love has to do with how you feel. Been to any weddings lately? As part of the exchange of vows (if they even do that much), many of them express a commitment to each other “for as long as our love shall last.” That's commitment?

Having just come off of another Valentine’s Day (I should have written this yesterday) I would hope that the expressions of love from yesterday are more than “sweets for the sweet” and are more meaningful than the box is deep. Alas, I’m afraid the very concept of “love” has been relegated to how we feel about an athletic team – as long as they win - as in, “I used to love the Eagles.”

I’m afraid it’s even affected the Church. We love to love those who love us. Beyond that… well… Good luck. The problem here is that Christians are even told that they not only know what love is but they know love… not just academically but experientially: We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 3:16 NAS) It’s not just that Christians know about love, Christians understand the experience of love because of what Jesus Christ has done. Christians, of all people, are supposed to be all about love!

St. John the Beloved (the follower of Jesus whom I just quoted) would go around to the various churches to visit them. When he would be asked, “John, do you have a word from the Lord for us,” he would always give the same answer, “My little children, love one another.” Tradition tells us that some got rather tired of hearing the same thing from John all the time. Someone finally asked him, “John, don’t you have anything else to say to us?”

John's reply? “When you’ve learned that lesson, we’ll move on to the next one.”

So when are we going to learn this lesson? Perhaps more pointedly... When am I going to learn this lesson?