"Those three words are said too much, but not enough"I love you. How often have you said that phrase and not meant a thing by it? Or, tried to say something so deep within your soul that words could never express it? What is love? Is it a feeling or an action? Perhaps both?
Living in this world we are surrounded by false illusions of love. The movies tell us that true love is found in the lips and body of your lover. Even the films that try to tell us to look beyond appearances always end in the 'ugly' girl being kissed passionately. The true sign of love is not being able to keep your hands to yourself. Sadly, this is not limited to films. Everywhere you look, there are boyfriends with their girlfriends who think that physical affection is the only part of love. They say I love you...and mean I want what you can give me.
Then, there is the other extreme. Husbands who batter their wives and children. Women who betray the trust of their families. Just as dangerous are the subtle vices of lovelessness...apathy, disregard, self-centeredness. The family that sees only themselves and desires nothing for the other people in their lives. Who say I love you...but mean nothing at all.
Where then is love? Clearly it is not in the two situations above...but how can we express true love? By being selfless. The center of our cultures problems with love is wrapped in ourselves. We look after our own desires, our own advancement, our own place. In doing so we end up either seeking love for what it can give to us...or abandoning the idea of loving someone altogether. The simple act of sacrifice is what love truly is. It is the loving wife of fifty years who day after day walks to the nursing home where her husband is dying but by her sacrifice, not alone. It is the mother and father who pour every dollar of their two jobs into the hospital bills of their child. It is the friend who refuses to give up even when it seems like to love anymore would too much pain to bear. It is even something as simple as walking with the girl next door and laughing together as you listen to her talk about her crazy uncle back home. The focus of love is not self. It is outward. It is Christ dying on the cross. It is God losing his beloved son. If we truly give of ourselves to others then I love you will mean all that it is meant to mean....and more.
