Left to Write: What Would Love Do
03-02-2007
by Brenten Gilbert

This ain't no ordinary love, this is extraordinary love
TobyMac - "No Ordinary Love"

February is sometimes considered to be the month of love because Valentine's Day and all of the attention that is drawn to the subject, be it through romantic movies dominating the cable channels and theaters or simply the full store press of roses, heart-shaped balloons and what have you. Perhaps that's why, when I went to Starbucks the other day for my occasional dose of caffeinated sugar water, there was a love-related message emblazoned on side of the cup in the "The Way I See It" spot.

As I read the side of the cup, I was intrigued, because my White Chocolate Mocha (extra hot, skim, with whip) was asking me the bold question, "What would you do for someone you love?" That's the first line. The quotation goes on to list a number of examples of ways to violate moral values, bend the governing laws, and give sacrificially of yourself even to the point of changing your own identity, before echoing the opening remark, "What would you do for someone you love?" (For those curious, it's number 214, a quote from Jodi Picoult, a novelist of whom I know very little beyond this quote.)

Certainly, love is one of the most talked about subjects - and not just in February - because it is one of the most powerful forces driving the actions of mankind. (Companies like Hallmark have also found it to be one of the most powerful forces driving their sales as well, but that's beside the point). And clearly as the clichés all tell us, love is blind, able to be manipulated, used deceptively for gain, and, as the quote implies, capable of convincing us that moral, social and other standards can justifiably be ignored in light of this noble pursuit.

As a Christian, this can become very tricky. The greatest commandment is to love. Love encompasses the whole of our existence. All of the laws that were dictated in the Old Testament, all of the addendums that were added by "religious folks" in the New Testament, and all of the legal principles that govern our society today can be summed up with one word: Love.

However, walking in love can seem to be a slippery slope when love itself is so confusing. And certainly our society has done a bang-up job of replacing real love with a number of emotions and activities. So, how then can we know what love really is?

As with everything, this confusion about love is certainly not a new concept or issue. In fact, when the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church of Corinth, he devoted an entire chapter (Chapter 13, known by many as "The Love Chapter") to this very topic. And I'd encourage everyone to memorize this chapter (it's really quite short) and consider it a blueprint of sorts to the character of love.

The first few verses explain the importance of love and explain that we are quite capable of doing wonderfully good things with our lives, but still be devoid of love. It speaks to our intentions more than our actions, our motives more than our results, the condition of our spirit more than the outward appearance of our bodies. And that right there is where most of us get lost when trying to understand love.

The next section (verses 4-7, displayed below in the NIV translation) detail some of the qualities that exemplify love:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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.

Sounds pretty amazing, right? Verses 8-12 explain that love never fails, even though the world itself passes away with all of our accomplishments and knowledge and gifts. When there is nothing else, love remains. This makes in context of scripture. Since God is love, love existed before time began, continues to exist today and will remain forever. The passage closes with the statement that love is the greatest of attributes.

Now, to get back to that question. What would you do for someone you love? I think it's clear how we are to act, when we are acting in love. Patience, kindness, humility, and seeking the truth. In light of this passage, the questions of breaking the law - moral or societal - become irrelevant because, as Paul says later (in Galatians 5:23), "Against such things [the fruits of the spirit], there is no law."

Now that we know what we should do for someone we love, I have one more statement to add to the quote.

What would you do for someone you love? Then do that also to your enemies.

Thanks for your time.

- bdg.