The basic motivating
force in love is a desire to give.
Billionaire investor
and philanthropist, the late Sir John Templeton, is well-known for devoting
millions toward increasing our knowledge of unlimited love through scientific
research and education.
Agape, he says, is “love that gives you joy and helps you grow by
giving love. You don’t grow much by getting love; most growth
in life is by giving love.”
Everyone, Templeton
adds, should give more thought to how to be more loving. He honours Mother
Teresa, the first winner of the Templeton Prize in 1973, as the greatest
example of lifetime love.
Let’s now consider
several scenarios to see whether love is truly evident or not.
ACTION BUT NO WORDS
Recently I visited a
grieving couple whose teenage son perished in a car accident. What do you do
when you set out to comfort someone in grief but your mind draws a blank?
All I could do was
look them in the eye while grasping their hands. For a few moments, the gaze,
touch and silence “spoke”, as if in empathy.
Words did not
matter; what was important was being there for them when they needed
emotional support.
Looking back, I wish I
had some comforting words. But then again, when love is the motive, are words
necessary?
WORDS BUT NO ACTION
One cannot love
without giving one’s time, energy or resources. This is because love
requires action, not mere words.
“Suppose a brother or
a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in
peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs,
what good is it?” (James 2:15-16).
FEELINGS BUT NO ACTION
Some may think that loving
God is that wonderful feeling we experience when we are caught up in heavenly worship.
But it’s more than that. Jesus makes it plain:
“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching” (John 14:23). Love me? Then obey
me.
Wonderful worship without obedience is not
love.
LOVE WITH ULTERIOR MOTIVE
One may give something precious to someone but
love is absent because of tainted motives (1
Corinthians 13:3).
A casanova woos a lady with a promise of
marriage. He showers her with expensive gifts and whispers sweet nothings in
her ears. Then, after gaining her trust, he asks her for money to settle his
debts. Completely besotted, the naïve lady, thrilled by the imminent sound of
wedding bells, gives him half her life savings.
LOVE PERSONIFIED
If love is difficult
to grasp, we have to admit that God made it so much easier for us through
Jesus. Fleshed out in a person—the God-man Jesus—love is no longer a vague
concept.
We see love personified in
Jesus who, while dying at the cross, entrusted Mary to John’s care (John 19:26,
27). He was selfless, thinking of his mother, even at the lowest point of His
life.
And His last words, Forgive
them for they know not what they do, can only come from One completely free
from bitterness towards those who whipped, ridiculed and hung Him at the cross.
This is the perfect example of love: A God who gave of himself. He
loved us so much that He became man and died on the cross for our sins. To
those who believe in Him, He offers a new life — our sins forgiven, the right
to become a child of God and a secured place in heaven when we die.
When man's examples of love fail us, we just have
to look to Christ at the cross.
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THE JOY OF GIVING
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