The Greatest of All

Walking through the woods recently, I found myself thinking about the forces at work in nature. Physicists tell us that there are four fundamental forces: the strong force, the weak force, the electromagnetic force, and the gravitational force. These build the foundation of everything from the subatomic to the vastness of the universe. While I fully embrace these concepts, I believe there are other things at work in our world that are just as powerful and significant. If we had to take a vote on what is the most important, I would choose love.

Poets, philosophers, musicians, and greeting card creators have given us a lifetime of thoughts and insights on the mysterious force of love. Researchers debate on how to define it; is it an emotion, an action, a state of being, or a mindset? No matter which direction we lean, love is hard to nail down into a succinct box. However, like the physics forces, we can see the impact and influence love has on each of us in its purest forms. Lives are transformed and relationships are empowered when love is given full rein. While we as humans often minimize and hinder the full integration of love in our lives, any interaction with love has the same effect as light in darkness. A little can change everything!

I like to define love as a commitment to the good of the other. I believe that love encapsulates all emotions. For me, life has no meaning without love. Maybe one of the best descriptions of love comes from I Corinthians 13:

Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen… in this life we have three great lasting qualities—faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.