Is Love Enough?

I have always found it a mystery how the English language has only one word for love. It seems like one word is just not sufficient enough to express the true feeling of love.  You can 'love' a lot of things. You can love the way it smells after it's rained, or the taste of ice cream. You can love the look of trees budding in the springtime. You can love the way you feel when you walk barefoot across a grassy field. You can love the thrill of being kissed deeply and passionately for the first time, or the feeling you have when you hold someone's hand. You can love holding a little baby in your arms for the first time, and how warm they feel, cuddled next to your heart. You love your boyfriend or girlfriend or fiancée or spouse. You love your children more each passing day. You can love being in love. And, we love God.

And, there is one, single word to describe all of those different feelings. If you have ever fallen in love with someone, then you know that that feeling is entirely one of it's own, and is in no way close to the feeling of eating your favourite food, or the feeling you have about your dearest friend. I have never been a mother, but I know if you ask one they will tell you that the love they feel for their children is yet again totally of it's own, and very unlike the feelings of love they have for their spouse. If you ask any Christian, they will tell you they love God above all, but they use the same word to describe their feeling toward the Almighty God as to tell you about their favourite dessert. Love.

I was thinking about this the other day, and pondering how seemingly unfair it is that our vocabulary is so restricted in this way. I also thought that, if our language provided only one word to express all these feelings, then is it wrong to use it so freely? I mean, people always say, "hate is a strong word.", but is love not even stronger? So, shouldn't we be more careful about how we use the word love, then how we use the word hate? The more I thought about it though, I realized something else. Maybe it isn't all that unfair after all. Maybe it is just right.

Here's what I have concluded... We do not need hundreds of words to describe the hundreds of different feelings we have towards many, many things. God is love. If that is true (which I believe it is), then we cannot have love without God. That means that everything we 'love' is a reflection of the love that God is. We need to love everything then, right?

Really though, our lives are meant to reflect and shine the love of God, and the best, most successful way of doing that is by loving. Think of the most truly joyful person you know. Chances are they love everything. Literally.That is because they have the beautiful ability to see God in absolutely everything. They may not even know that that is what they are doing, but the love of Christ is so deeply rooted within their souls that they cannot help it. We need to love loving, and we need to love even when we hate.

So, maybe, just maybe, love is actually 100% accurate.

-Emily xo