One of Tina Turner’s greatest hit songs was, “What's Love Got to do with It?” The song tells the story of a man who is trying to seduce her. In is own slick way he is telling her that he “loves” her. Her response, built up by years of superficial relationships, which has turned her into a cynic is, “What’s love got to do with it? What's love but a second hand emotion.” It’s a sad song because it takes something as wonderful and precious as love and turn it into just another “emotion” – just another feeling among millions of others, of no more or less value than any other feeling. So, in the song, Tina Turner decides to go through life without love -- not realizing that without love, she really doesn’t have a life.
Do you know that the shortest sermon on record was given by a priest back in 1974. He walked into the pulpit, looked out over the congregation, and said, “Love.” and then went and sat back down. Later asked what led him to give that particular sermon, he responded that he had done a lot of praying that week and had come to find that love is the very essence of life.
Once asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus answered by saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love is the essence of life and faith – without love, we cease to truly live
Lois Cheney, in her book, God Is No Fool, tells about a man who tried to keep love and at arm’s distance. Listen to her tragic words: “He saw people love each other. He saw friends love friends. He saw mothers love children. He saw husbands love wives. And he saw that all love made strenuous demands on the lovers. He saw love required sacrifice and self-denial. He saw love produce arguments and anguish. He saw it bring disappointment, pain, and even death. And he decided that it cost too much. And he decided not to diminish his life with love.
“He saw people strive for distant and righteous goals. And he saw that the striving was frequently mixed with disappointment. He saw people serving others. He saw people give money to the poor and helpless. He saw whole groups work to build, cleanse, and heal others. And he saw that the more they served, the faster the need grew. He saw large portions of money freely given to people they didn’t even know. He saw ungrateful receivers turn on their serving friends. And he decided that cost too much. He decided not to soil his life with serving.
“And when he died, he walked up to God and presented him with his life. Undiminished, unmarred, and unsoiled, his life was clean from the filth of the world, and he presented it proudly to the mighty God saying, “This is my life.”
“And God replied, “What life?”
How about this today: Love.
Love every single person you meet today.
Love yourself.
Love God.
In so doing, you might find you have just hit upon the very essence of life itself.
~ God bless, Dan