One of the known factors of the universe states “God is love”! People hold on to this truth when they know and understand almost nothing else about God or faith.
There are multiple love statements about God in the Old and New Testaments:
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.
As a father has compassion upon his children so God has compassion on those who love Him.
They will know you are my disciples because of your love for one another.
My little children love one another for love is from God.
There is no greater love than this that one would lay down his life for a friend.
This kind of love is genuine, self-giving, self-sacrificing, stable and secure, dramatic and profound. This kind of love exists well beyond feelings and beyond classic human expressions. It goes deep into the core of human existence that some may never know. This kind of love is real; it is authentic love.
Karl Jung, an imminent psycho-therapist and contemporary of Sigmund Feud articulated four timeless male archetypes: Warrior, King, Magician, and Lover.
Each archetype embodies a set of unique strengths; each carries its own shadow when it is not lived out in strength. I have consistently been asked over the last 10 years which archetype I identify with most. I can and have operated in each archetype based on the role and function. However, when I operate in full strength and contribute at my highest levels, I am clearly a lover.
I have learned much of the joys and the deep sorrow of being a lover and a giver in the last decade. In going through the extended illness and death of my wife, Dianna, and the renewal with our family, this phase has become a benchmark of life for me. It is interesting to love and give when there is limited response in return. This qualifies love on a different plane and a deeper level than some may ever know. I was surprise at how many people, of both genders, talked deeply about their admiration for me and our family in the way we loved and cared for Dianna during her illness. But too many of these conversations ended with “I don’t think I could do that”.
From antiquity it appears that a primary human quest is to love and be loved. It takes very little research to uncover what a challenge loving may actually be in human relationships. And yet the quest continues…..endlessly continues to love and be loved. Loving and being loved is part of the image of God within every person’s soul. It is an idealized longing in the heart of so many, and love continues to be a challenge to find at a fulfilling level for far too many.
As for me, I am not ready to concede – in the midst of deep heartache, loss, loneliness, and aloneness, I still love love! And if I am given the opportunity I would love to articulate and model it for you.
I love love!