This article is continued from Ellie Lofaro’s article “All You Need is Love (A Biblical Remix)”
So where is genuine love to be found? Isn’t that what most people say they’re searching for? Reality television, psychic hotlines, personal ads, and the like are all straws in the futile grasp to reach Nirvana. A line from an old song by a no longer famous rock star expresses his desperate search for the real thing. “I’d give everything I have—all that I own— for one whole minute of pure, true love.” If, as a Christian, your heart does not break for those who have felt shortchanged in the economy of pure, true love; then maybe you need a heart transplant. May the Lord have mercy on believers who have ceased to be merciful.
I am far from being an expert in matters of the heart and I do not claim to be one who always loves purely, but I do know where to go to find this ever elusive, often fabled, poorly imitated treasure called love. I have discovered a deep well that never runs dry and it is my thrill (as well as my purpose in life) to tell others where to find it. Look out the window, down the office hall, into the next car, and around your kitchen table.
There are a lot of love-starved people nearby. You may be one of them. Hurting hearts abound and there are many imposters who are more than happy to step up and wreak havoc on these fragile lives. Sure, there have always been false prophets at every turn but there has also always been a remnant of God’s people who refuse to be silent about “the well.” How grateful I am for the cup bearers, the torch carriers, the prayer warriors, and the burden sharers. They are not many in number but they are mighty in stature. I took a lifetime membership with this group just a few years ago. The dues are quite high but the perks are fabulous. I am learning what real love is and I will never again settle for cheap imitations.
Turn to the very familiar but infrequently modeled “love passage” in 1 Corinthians 13. Read it. Read it again and substitute the name Jesus for the word love. Encouraged? Jesus is synonymous with love. Read it a third time and substitute your own name for the word love. Discouraged? Don’t be. You have the rest of your life to become a great lover of God and of people.
So, send out those Valentine cards and give flowers to special people while they are still on this earth. Sing your favorite love song, enjoy a piece of chocolate, and allow your heart to smile. And don’t forget to tell everybody where that amazing well is and what it holds. After all, what the world needs now is Jesus, sweet Jesus. Jesus is always the answer. All you need is Jesus. Jesus will keep us together and it is only Jesus that makes the world go ‘round’. God’s love is absolutely perfect because, um, well—He’s God.
Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give shall become a well of water springing up to eternal life. John 4:14
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