Love
Love is a more amazing thing than we often give it credit for. Understandably, when love is defined by Hallmark cards, country music lyrics, and feel-good movies, love soon becomes tawdry, tepid, and temporary.
But when love is defined by God, the One who invented love, understands love, is able to love, and in fact somehow IS love, then we can see why God tells us, “yet three abide: faith, hope and love. But the Greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:13 ESV)
Part of the reason God says this is that love is what we will know, experience, and do for the rest of our lives, in heaven. We will not need faith in heaven. We will not need hope in heaven. But we will love there and then.
Because at the foundation of love is this statement from John. God is love. (I John 4:8)
That makes love the most important concept in the world.
That makes love the most important thing Scripture teaches us.
That makes love necessary, serious, and desirable.
So for the next few weeks, let us leave aside our silly human understanding of love. Let us see what God Himself says about love.