Love is...

Love is caring so much about someone that you are willing to deal with their quirks, their imperfections and their mistakes.  You allow them to be who they are, but also encourage them to grow as a person through their walk with the Lord.

You are there when they need someone because you care.  You want to help, because you understand that you would want someone to do the same for you.  Whether it's through a hug when the day is long, or a meal when they're sick, or just listening, you're willing to do those little things that make the world seem like a much friendlier place.

And no matter how difficult they are, when they mess up, make you cry, or just aren't in a great mood, you still stick around.  You understand that disagreements happen, and you might have to talk through them to fix things.  And bad moods don't last forever.

It's stooping down to do the tasks that you think (or even know) are below you, or aren't necessarily your responsibility.  Whether that is cleaning up someone else's trash, or comforting someone that you didn't hurt, you become the hands and feet of love.

You stick around because God does the same for you.  You take the time to care because God cares about you.  You do the tasks that are beneath you because that's what God does.  When Adam and Eve sinned, God personally sacrificed the animals to cover for their sin, and hand made clothes for them.  Jesus came and took our sin upon himself so that we could make the choice to accept God's love and his plan for us. 

'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.' John 3:16 (NIV)

'We love because he first loved us.' 1 John 4:19 (NIV)

It's that simple.  When you are able to understand even just a fraction of the love God has for you, you want to share it. 

Imagine the person you love the most in this world.  Close your eyes and think about how much you love them.  It's an awful lot, right?

Now imagine that love multiplied hundreds and thousands of times more.  I get kind of lost!  God loves us so much more than we can possibly love anyone.  His love is perfect, without any ulterior motives, greed, jealousy, hurt. 

As imperfect humans, we can never love like that.  But the more we learn about God's love, the more we'll want to love others. 

~Moriah