When I think about “love,” I realize that it’s in great demand but short supply. Bonnie Raitt’s popular song “I Can’t Make You Love Me” captures this sentiment with the lyrics “I can’t make you love me if you don’t, you can’t make your heart feel something it won’t.” It seems every faction of our society is being plagued by lovelessness. Some people in my own circle seem to be on edge, quick-tempered, and increasingly impersonal. More than ever, they seem to be struggling to show love. Whether the problem is due to jealousy, dysfunctional family dynamics, or plain evil, I believe there is a definite remedy for making your heart feel something it won’t. That remedy is not found in a therapy session, medication, or even the next romantic conquest; I know firsthand that it’s found in someone who demonstrated His love for the whole world.

Perhaps at the core of the loveless situation lies the age-old issue of not knowing the one who is love — God. When I googled the word “love,” I found many definitions, but surprisingly none of them mentioned God. This is in stark contrast to a search for the word “love” using a Bible application. Not surprisingly, “God is Love” appeared in the search results. As a believer, I was already aware that love is personified through the co-eternal persons of the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son [Jesus Christ], and God the Holy Spirit). However, after further delving into the Bible to find more about God’s love, I was immediately led to 1 John 4:16 (NLT), which reads “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”

Society has apparently gone off the rails where love is concerned because people don’t understand that God is love. I think about how this world could be transformed by simply knowing how much God loves us, despite our sins and shortcomings. The difference is that as a Christian my sins are forgiven by God for merely accepting the sacrifice that Jesus made for us all. His death on the cross purchased eternal life for those of us who are willing to accept the love He expressed by surrendering His life. God clearly shows and proves His love for us as John 3:16 (NKJV) says “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  

My devout mother often said, “actions speak louder than words.” As I’ve formed relationships throughout my life, I’ve always gauged a person’s feelings for me by their actions toward me. If someone said that they loved me, but they never made a sacrifice for me, they never gave me anything that brought me joy, or they neglected to spend time with me, I wasn’t convinced of their love for me.

I would be hard pressed to find anyone in the world today who would be willing to lay his or her life down to save humanity, and understandably so. Jesus forewarned us about the times in which we live in Matthew 24:12 (NLT), by saying that “Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.” Although this prophecy has already come to pass, it’s not too late for anyone who wants to improve their quality of life to embrace a relationship with God.

Because God desires to have a relationship with me, I think it’s in my best interest to reciprocate. If the Lord thought enough of me to put me on this earth and give me access to Him each day through His word and prayer, then it is worth my effort to try to understand His will for my life. Reading God’s word reveals His will for how I should navigate this life, and prayer is an open invitation from God to communicate with Him regularly. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (AMP), God admonishes believers to “be unceasing and persistent in prayer.”

As I see it, the only cure for what is ailing many of us is to begin to grow closer to God, and in turn allow God to grow near to us. If we do this, the expressions of love have to follow.

If I live in God and He lives in me, I can show my neighbors kindness and consideration whether I know them or not. After all God says to us “love your neighbor as yourself,” in Leviticus 19:18 (NLT).

If I live in God, and He lives in me, I can pick up the phone and call a sibling who may have hurt my feelings through something he or she said or did.

If I live in God and He lives in me, I can forgive the co-worker who was rude in the staff meeting.

Of course, there are many more possible scenarios to taking the high road, but you get the idea. Even as a Christian, it is still easy to sin in a world full of imperfect people. It is in the times when I’m aware that I may have said or done something wrong that I’m able to call on the Third person of the Trinity to help me. Jesus knew that our sin nature would rear its ugly head from time to time, so He left us a Helper, who is the Holy Spirit. His role is to empower the people of God to walk in His ways when our humanity leads us to act in ways that do not exhibit the fruit of the Spirit which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22 NLT)

As someone who has experienced God’s loving-kindness in so many ways, I count it a privilege to be in relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, through His Son, Jesus. The wonderful thing is that this privilege is not limited to people who were born into the Christian faith. God still offers the privilege of living in His love to anyone who is willing to accept it.