What is love?

As a child, I would endlessly watch "The Little Mermaid" and "Sleeping Beauty," convinced that my prince would find me and we would live happily ever after. How could you not believe in that after witnessing Disney magic? While I am still waiting for my prince, the Lord has utilized this time to deepen my understanding, revealing His heart and broadening my perspective. Primarily, I have observed the contrast between the "love" the world suggests and the love God embodies and created.

Human love is conditional and relies on performance. In other words, our willingness to give love depends on whether our needs and expectations are fulfilled. We only love someone if there is a benefit for us. I am sure at its core it is connected with our need to survive, furthermore reiterating that humanity's version of love is untrustworthy and not something to glamorize like all the movies, books and songs do.

All the grand gestures, dialogues, and melodies about love set up expectations that humans can't fulfill. I believe we create these expectations because our hearts yearn for genuine love. We all have a void and a longing for true love, but we often settle for imitations because they are easier to grasp. I have realized that real love doesn't make sense. What Jesus Christ did on the cross for us so many years ago defies logic. He was nailed to a criminal's cross by the very people He chose to die for. He willingly endured torture for people not yet born and for those who would reject Him. From a human perspective, why would anyone do that? We often don't even stop to sincerely ask how someone's day is. Yet Jesus offered us the grandest gesture of love by sacrificing His life for us. It wasn't just because of God's love that we received free will; we also have the choice of salvation. Deliverance from the problems we created and the sins we choose. Jesus lived a life of love, and from His actions, we can learn what love truly is. It is not a feeling, but an action, a choice.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

John 3:16, "For God so love the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him. Shall not perish, but have everlasting life."