There seem to be two questions that have always been on the minds of mankind: “why am I here?” and “what is love?” Naturally, “why am I here?” has always taken precedence, but “what is love” has never been fair behind. Many ideas of love have been proposed; many have failed. So far, it seems we have done a better job of finding what isn’t love than pinning down any actual idea of love.
But then the problem isn’t that all of the ideas have been inaccurate but rather incomplete. Love is a multitude of virtues. It is as a multifaceted jewel. Paul realized as much in his description of love. And yet, the one thing that love has never been called is boring.
And yet, this is what love has become for so many. So many have sought only the stability of love and by extension marriage. Stability has been sought at the cost of love itself. It seems so rare to see the passion that ought to characterize love. It is like a flower. A flower will not last long without water, needing to be sated to retain its vibrancy. But if you dry that same flower, you will achieve some level of permanency. At what cost, though? The very thing that makes a flower wonderful has been stolen from it.
So often within churches, we see this kind of “love”. If our love, our marriage, is supposed to be a shadow of that which is to come as Christ’s bride, how can it seem so passionless? Clearly we weren’t made to marry for utility. Maybe because our love of God has taken on this same impotent nature. Either way, this is not the love God wants for us, neither with our spouse nor with Him.
Love is exuberant and beautiful. Love has been often been described as fire and for good reason. Love is not a pit of coals, roiling embers. Love rages with passion.
Love is hearing the harmony to the song-in-your-heart within another person. Love is a snowball on a summer day, an innocent imprisoned, a lie told true, a fire at the bottom of the sea. Love is the impossible and illogical. Love is many, many things but certainly not boring.
A Story, A Symphony 