One of my very favorite people in this world is my roommate Kristen. You can read more from her over here, but I wanted to share something with you that meant a lot to me. Kristen is a youth pastor and as she was working on something for a lesson, she ran across this quote from John Piper about love:
Love is the longing that labors and suffers to enthrall others with that which is eternally and infinitely satisfying.
As if that quote wasn’t amazing enough on its own, Kristen took it a step further by defining it in a deeper way. Here’s what she came up with:
Love is the strong persistent desire that exerts one’s power or body or mind with painful or strenuous work and endures pain or distress to charm or hold others spellbound with that which is endless, having infinite duration and immeasurably or inconceivably great, exceeding beyond any preassigned value no matter how great, fulfilling desires, expectations, needs or demands to the fullest extent.
Wow, right? If you’re like me, I had to read it a few times to truly grasp everything in there. It blew me away, and I can only hope everyone can experience love in this way. A few blogs ago, I wrote about rekindling relationships this Christmas season and intentionally loving my friends and family. When I first read this quote, I was encouraged to love them even more. Love is work and it can be painful. But true love is endless. It is inconceivably great and it does fulfill all needs. I’m not just talking about boy meets girl love here; I’m talking about loving everyone in your life!
We are able to love because Christ first loved us. He is the example, and I hope you find satisfaction through loving those around you. It’s not always easy, and it rarely fits in a 90-minute fairy tale box. But to love someone is always worth the work and the effort. To love the people in your life will be eternally and infinitely satisfying. Of that, I am sure.
Turns out, Kristen and I are on similar pages. She wrote THIS BLOG today, and you really must read it!! (Plus, she calls me out so there’s that.) And in case you miss it, here the link to a book she recommends: Love Does by Bob Goff. I’ve read it, and it is fantastic. It really is as simple as loving the people around you.