“Love is all you need.” Really?

Actually, a 75-year study by Harvard researchers suggests that love is indeed key to a happy and fulfilling life[1]. But what is love?  We “love” our new shoes; we “love” our favorite foods; we “love” walking in the woods. The word “love” is so over-used today that we’ve forgotten what it really means. It’s not about feelings.  Feelings come and go. It’s not something that comes and goes depending on our mood and the people around us.

Love is actually a decision. I remember the first time I heard that message at a Marriage Encounter weekend many years ago. It made a huge difference in my life.

When we decide to love someone, it’s long term.  It’s through better or worse as the traditional marriage vows have always described. It doesn’t mean we “like” or approve of everything someone does or wants. I’ve been known to say “I love you very much but I don’t like the way you are behaving right now”.

Love, real love, changes our perspective on many things.  Supporting, sharing, caring for someone over a long period is often seen and felt as burdensome. When these things are done out of love, it changes the whole story.

Jesus said “Love one another”. He didn’t mean that we need to be best friends with everyone we meet or that need to have warm fuzzy feelings about someone who has hurt us deeply. 

Rather, he tells us to pray for them, to ask blessings for them, to genuinely want good things for them.  Sometimes that’s easy. Sometimes it seems impossible! Love someone who hurt us? How?

Pray for the desire to want to forgive. It’s the first step. 

Jesus loved us so much that while we were still sinners, still people who didn’t know or follow Him, still people who hurt Him through our actions towards others; still He died on a cross to save us.

And He rose again….so that we could start over and learn to love others as He has loved us. 

I am not sure of the science behind the “one second without hope”, but the quote certainly made me think. What is hope? Where does it come from? Can we increase hope in our own lives? Can we share it?

So many people today are losing hope, especially during this Covid season. Have you found yourself losing hope"?  Have you experienced fear of illness, job loss, financial hardship? Where do you place your hope? Have you considered placing your hope in the love of God?

Fears about death, lost jobs, and slowed economy dominate the news and people’s minds. Loneliness heightens those fears. Often people are “hopeful” that a vaccine will come soon, “hopeful” that live sports will return, “hopeful” that their situations will improve. This kind of hope is only wishful thinking.

True hope is something quite different.

I can honestly say that I live a life filled with hope. I may get a little discouraged occasionally, a little frustrated when things take longer than I want, but I remain filled with hope.  My hope comes from my trust in the promises of God through the resurrection of His Son Jesus. Saint Paul said “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13 NIV)

Hope is not a feeling. It’s a decision to trust God. Ask Him for hope. Trust that He, the creator of the universe and all that is in it, has a plan for your life. Know that He loves you and wants a relationship with you.

This is the good news for everyone. Hope is a free gift from God, available to you, right now!  Not next week, not after you have changed your ways, or prayed more, but right now!

We can increase that seed of hope by recognizing how God has already helped us through the many daily struggles of life. Think about the miracles of daily life, sunrises and sunsets, flowers growing, babies being born, the circle of life continuing.  And think about what joy will come with eternal life spent in union with God, who loves us.

And yes, we can share hope! Martin Luther wrote “Everything that is done in this world is done by hope.”  When we reach out to others to share our lives, support them in their grief, feed them when they are hungry, we do because we have hope that it will make a difference.

The good news is that hope is alive!