Love: a Creative Power

Image Courtesy of Pixels

"Let all your things be done with charity."--1 Corinthians 16:14 (KJV)

“…never having to say you’re sorry.” (from Love Story) It’s been almost five decades since the novel and movie, Love Story, exploded onto the U.S. pop- culture scene. The tragic drama of star-crossed young lovers starring All Macgraw and Ryan O’Neal kept us crying for decades. The beautiful theme song, “Where do I Begin?” enchants us even today.

Truthfully, that saying, the “meme” of those low-tech times, had some of us scratching our heads. Could love really be that that uncomplicated? Aren’t accepting responsibility and apologizing essential aspects of any healthy relationship? Yes, we need to accept each other as we are, but there’s more to love than that…right?

Valentine’s Day will arrive before we know it.  That’s a celebration of romantic love. The next few articles will explore various aspects of this important, complicated topic.

We have one word for love in English. That’s not always the case with other languages.

Greek is the original language of New Testament. It includes about seven words for love. Totescute.com lists the four main types of this emotion:

• Eros—sexual passion
• Philia—deep friendship; warm and tender platonic love
• Storge—family (parent/child); friendship
• Agape—(unconditional; Godlike) self-sacrificing love for everyone

Developgoodhabits.com lists some quotes that clarify the divine emotion. I have grouped them into categories:

Life-giving

“Where there is love there is life.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Active, not Passive

 “Love is not only something you feel, it is something you do.” – David Wilkerson

Focused

 “The most desired gift of love is not diamonds or roses or chocolate. It is focused attention.”– Richard Warren

Felt with the Heart

"The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard but must be felt with the heart.”– Helen Keller

​Selfless

“In order to be happy oneself, it is necessary to make at least one other person happy.”– Theodor Reik“

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Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” – Robert Heinlein

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“Love does not dominate; it cultivates.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

​Persistent

 “The art of love is largely the art of persistence.”– Albert Ellis

Essential to Happiness

 “Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

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“One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life. That word is love.” – Sophocles

Stronger than Death

“It is love, not reason, that is stronger than death.” – Thomas Mann

Mutually Beneficial

“This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love; the more they give, the more they possess.” – Rainer Maria Rilke

Inspiring

“Love in its essence is spiritual fire.” – Seneca

My Conclusion

Love is meek, yet powerful. It is a resource for living right. 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, probes deeply into the characteristics of charity/love/agape. Please enjoy this slide show set to instrumental music by Keith Washo: