Love

By

B.J. Knefley

Love what does that word mean anyway? We love our pets, pizza, and ice cream, but do we love others the same way. We fall in and out of love as often as the weather changes. Loving children isn’t the same as loving our lover. Love takes on many forms.

Simon Sinek said, “My favorite definition of love is giving someone the power to destroy you and trusting they won’t use it.” Jesus, referring to love by saying, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13). But is sacrifice always about love?

There’s an interesting verse in scripture that has always puzzled me. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” That certainly speaks of self-sacrifice, but what happens if the person is in denial? In other words, how can one deny themselves if they are in denial about the very same things? I must first acknowledge myself before I can cast it aside. Sadly, I’ve met too many people who are in denial about a host of things to be able to take up their cross and follow Jesus. Denial about anger, abuse, rejection, and a other things can’t be let go of until one acknowledges that they are indeed real issues in their life.

Please understand I’m not against self-sacrifice, in fact I applaud it, but I’ve met too many who are self-sacrificing while at the same time totally unaware of the conflict brewing within themselves. It reminds me of the idea of the person whose mouth is saying “Sure I’d love to” while their heart is screaming, “NO!”

We need more love in our society. Self-denial and sacrifice are often missing because we’re caught up in ourselves. Social media is often the platform for getting attention. We might say we’re doing it out of love, but it’s self-serving. At the end of the day, love, if it’s going to be demonstrated at all, must begin when we as individuals make it so. Think about it.