爱

Love is perhaps the one thing people seek after and prize above all else—above even money, fame, or success. Mother Teresa once said, “There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.” Benjamin Disraeli, a British author and politician, once wrote, “We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end.” And Franklin P. Jones, an American businessman, once quipped, “Love doesn’t make the world go ‘round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”

Love is the thing that we crave, the thing that gives our lives meaning and makes our lives worthwhile. Without it, we feel incomplete, lacking, and somehow lost. Where can we find it?

Like most people, we probably first experience love from our parents and siblings. When we get older, we experience the love of our friends. Then when we marry, we experience the love of our spouse, and then of our children. Indeed, the love of family and friends plays a very important part of our lives.

Although wonderful, however, such love is limited by time and circumstances. Parents pass on. Siblings get married and move away. Friends grow apart. Children grow up to live their own lives. In addition, the love we receive from others is often conditional. Sometimes friends are too busy to listen. Siblings provide help only when you’re on good terms. Couples divorce when they feel they are no longer receiving love from each other. At one time or another, we may have felt “let down” by our loved ones. This may lead us to wonder, is there anyone that can love us with an unconditional, limitless, everlasting love?

The answer is yes.

There is someone who has loved us when we’ve been most undeserving. There is someone who loves us so much that He gave up everything for us. There is someone whose love for us will endure from this life until the next. His love for us is so great that it surpasses our knowledge and understanding.

This someone is Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ loves us so much that He gave up His life on the cross so that we could be saved from our sin (1 Jn 4:9-10). Our love for others is usually limited and based on comfort or convenience. But Jesus Christ gave His all—His own life—so that we might enjoy eternal life together with Him.

Jesus died for us not because we are good or deserving, but on the contrary, He did this while we were in opposition to Him, while we were still in sin (Rom 5:8). Our love for others is usually confined to those we like or whom we deem worthy; we rarely love our enemies, those who are unthankful, or those whom we deem unworthy. In Jesus’ eyes, though, we were the undeserving ones, but He sacrificed Himself because of His great love for us.

Jesus loves us with an everlasting love. One day, our love for others will end either because of a change in circumstances or because we will leave this earth. But nothing can separate us from Christ’s love—not problems, not force, not the passing of time, not even death (Rom 8:35-39). The love of Jesus Christ surpasses all human love because He is God in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16).

Human love is a wonderful thing, but sometimes we may still feel that something is missing in our lives. Jesus Christ wants to fill that empty part of our hearts with His perfect love—He is drawing us to Him so that we can truly find fulfillment and joy (Jer 31:3, Hos 11:4, Zeph 3:17). He has promised that if we seek Him with all our hearts, we will surely find Him (Jer 29:13).

If you want to experience perfect love, come to know Christ the Lord, for He Himself is love (1 Jn 4:16). Open a Bible and read about what God has done because of His great love for you. Contact a church and get to know others who have experienced God’s amazing, transforming love. Then get to know God personally by talking to Him and praying to Him.

Soon, you will experience the perfect love you have been waiting for all your life.

(Source: TJC.org)