Dr. Karl Menninger, the famous psychiatrist and founder of the Menninger Clinic, once said, “Love is the medicine for our sick old world. If people can learn to give and receive love, they will usually recover from their physical or mental illness.”
Ah, the big “IF”… “IF people can learn to give and receive love…” “IF” is always a problem.
Another problem arises when we try to define love.
Ask a hundred people “What is love?” and you will get a hundred different answers.
- “Love is a wonderful, magical feeling.”
- “Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him to make sure the taste is OK.”
- “I don’t know – but I love New York!”
- “Love is a verb – not a noun.”
- “Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.”
Then there’s this one as stated by Dr. David Jeremiah in his book, The Power of Love:
- “The power of love is bound up in its actions – its choices, day in and day out, to seek the very best for another person without the expectation of anything in return.”
That sounds the most like love to me! To choose, to be, to put into action and to practice the behaviors and attitudes of love listed in 1 Corinthians 13.
It is not always easy to do! Sometimes choosing to love is so difficult, so opposite to the way you feel it seems like a crazy thing to do. The good news is, when we choose to love, our feelings will eventually catch up with our choices. That’s the guarantee of 1 Corinthians 13: “Love never fails!”
Choose to love and have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
