25 Jan 2015 The ultimate definition of love
by Laurie Green
There have been a lot of loves in my life. When I was in elementary school, I had a love of Club Crackers. I can distinctly remember my granny secretly buying me boxes of them that I would keep stashed under my bed. Seriously, I am just now confessing this hidden secret from my childhood past. Okay, so looking back maybe that wasn’t such a good thing, but it was love, right?
Then there was junior high. My love interest shifted to The Police. Not the ones that are sworn to serve and protect — the music group. I had a poster that hung on my bedroom wall, and every day I would kiss Gordon Sumner. Only true fans, the ones who were really in love, knew Sting’s real name. Yes, I was most definitely in love . . . I think?
In high school, my loves were similar to other teenagers of my day. Cruising in Conway past the old R & R and parking in the Alco lot. (Come on, how many of you remember that from our days before Facebook?) I loved listening to the music stylings of such bands as MC Hammer, Culture Club and Huey Lewis and the News. Oh yeah, and I can’t forget the most important love of that time — Aqua Net hairspray! They don’t make it like they used to. Yes, I was completely in love with the late 80s.
As I grew older, it was the love of my husband and my children that became my central focus. I am quite certain that this is the type of love that Webster’s Dictionary refers to. And yet, there is still one love that is greater and surpasses even this — God’s love.
It can be a bit mind boggling to try and wrap your brain around God’s infinite and unfaltering love, but, as always, the Bible has the ultimate definition. It is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
Reading that scripture, I can’t help but think that none of the loves I have had in my lifetime are more precious than my relationship with God. Even when I was lost, He provided a way for me to be found and changed me. It’s important for you to know that it doesn’t matter where you are or what you may be going through, God has an ultimate love for you that is there for the taking — no strings attached.
May you be blessed and remember to make today matter.
