My Translation

What do we mean when we say, “I love you.” You would get a variety of answers to that question if you were to take a survey of 100 different people some evening at the mall. I would venture to say that most people you would survey would describe some kind of emotion they experience when the person they love comes to mind.

The problem with our modern-day understanding of love is that it has evolved into being primarily an emotion. Love’s primary expression is not to feel, but to do. I know “doing” rather than “feeling” appears to rob the romance of love for many of you, but let’s stop and think about it for a moment. The kind of love put on full display in the media and desired by our culture today thrives on emotion, feelings of euphoria, and experiences that send that tingly feeling up our spine.

We’re shown pictures of Hollywood stars and starlets sitting on some exotic beach enraptured as they gaze into one another’s eyes. Inevitably, the same couple is put on full display just a few months later with daggers shooting from their eyes as we’re told about their split. Love that is driven by a desire for emotional euphoria just will not last, cannot last, but love that is a conscience choice to love can and will endure the test of time.

The most convincing case study for the point I’m trying to make is found in the life of Jesus.  The most powerful picture of His intentional love for you and me is found as we gaze upon the cross. The very ones He came to save had turned against Him, arrested Him, beaten and mocked Him, nailed Him to a cross, and hoisted Him into the air for all the world to see His supposed defeat