That Word Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means
Posted by Marnie Burch on
All you need is love. Because love is all you need. Right?
All that's necessary for your well-being is a warm fuzzy feeling. A happy emotion. Pleasant thoughts and well wishes. Right? Because that's what love is? Right?
Right?
We've been told that love is a feeling, an emotion, a thought. How do you know you love someone? We’re told, “you just know,” or “it just feels right.” That’s great. Gut instinct and all that. So simple.
How can you tell when someone loves you? Do you just know that they do? Does it just feel right? Is it that simple?
When will I stop asking all these of these questions?! Hang on, just a few more to go.
How do you prove a feeling? How do you prove an emotion? By more feelings and emotions?
No. Rather by action. And inaction.
I’m sure you’ve heard this at weddings (and probably ignored it because what is she wearing?! Oooh cake!):
“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. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a, New International Version).
What is this passage describing? Warm fuzzy feelings?
No. Rather it describes action. And inaction.
So when I stamp the words “all you need is love; love is all you need” onto a piece of jewelry, know that I’m not simply stamping lyrics from a Beatles song. I’m stamping the full concept of love—action and inaction based on a firm foundation. THAT is true love. THAT love is all you need.
