February is heart month. And love is symbolized with a red heart. But what is love? Love involves not only the physical attraction ( "a beam of light shining") or an emotion ("love aches"), but it involves a deeper commitment of the mind and a challenge to unite us to eternity. The song "Love Is" (with lyrics) gives us some answers, but so does 1 Corinthians 13:4 -8.
"Love Is"
They say it's a river
That circles the earth
A beam of light shining
To the edge of the universe
It conquers all
It changes everything
They say it's a blessing
They say it's a gift
They say it's a miracle
And I believe that it is
It conquers all
But it's a mystery
Love breaks your heart
Love takes no less than everything
Love makes it hard
And it fades away so easily
In this world we've created
In this place that we live
From the blink of an eye, babe
The darkness sets in
Love lights the world
And lights the lovers for eternity
Love breaks the chains
Love aches for everyone of us
Love takes the tears and pain
And it turns it into the beauty that remains
Look at this place
It was paradise, but now it's dying
I'll pray for love
I'll take my chances that it's not too late
Love breaks your heart
Love takes no less than everything
Love makes it hard
And it fades away so easily, oh...
Love breaks the chains
Love aches for everyone of us
Love takes the tears and the pain
And it turns it into the beauty that remains
Mmm...mmm...mmm...
1 Corinthians 13:4 - 8
English Standard Version
"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."
The love that is "patient and kind" is known by the Greek word agape. Agape is marked by a commitment toward a way of seeing and behaving toward others.
I think of it as "an unselfish love". Very few of us practice this type of love.
The minister Kate Braestrup reveals the meaning of this Corinthian passage with a deeper understanding and description:
"Agape is patient, agape is kind, it is not envious, boastful, arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; It is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice in wrongdoings but rejoices in the truth. It hears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Agape never ends."
When I listen to the song "Love Is" with Brian McKnight and Vanessa Williams, I think of romantic love. When I listen to the instrumental version with Nelson Rangell, I think of agape.
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