SR • February 2016
19
Oh joy! It’s that time of year again! It’s the
time of year when you ask that individual
you’ve been obsessing over if they might
get coffee with you some time. It’s the time
of year when you surprise that special
someone with flowers and chocolates to
remind them how much you love them. It’s
the time of year where single people every-
where come together in opposition of the
ideas of emotional attachment and affection.
That’s right! It’s the season of love!
But what is love? If we look in a dictionary,
love is usually defined as “a profoundly
tender affection for another person.” When
I read this definition, it seems almost under-
whelming. While we grow up we are taught
that love is powerful — that love creates an
inseparable bond between two people (be
it husband and wife, familial love, or love
between two friends). We are taught that
love is an intense emotion used to demon-
strate our intense care for and desire to see
them, the person we love, happy. I can
promise, as someone who always tells my
family and closest friends goodbye by
reminding them that I love them, that every
time I say this, I say it because I passionately
care about that person. Now, as an English
major, I like to experiment with words and
their connotations. So, in my interpretation,
the phrase “profoundly tender affection”
doesn’t seem right. This phrase almost
seems to make love seem small and without
power. The word “affection” makes it feel
like merely an emotion, as opposed to an
incredibly powerful force and way of being
(and way of interacting with people). Even
if you don’t necessarily agree with my
conclusion that the secular definition of
love is underwhelming, I think you’ll agree
that the Biblical definition of love truly
demonstrates the power that love has.
First, I believe we can all agree that God is
all powerful, and the following two verses
confirm that. Romans 1:20a (ESV) says,
“For
his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal
power and divine nature, have been clearly
perceived…”
and Job 37:23a (ESV) says,
“The Almighty — we cannot find him; he is
great in power…”
I also want us to look at
another verse. 1 John 4:8 (ESV) says,
“Any-
one who does not know love does not know
God, because God is love.”
I know what
you’re thinking, “Okay Willy!
We know God is
powerful and
that God is love!
So what?” Well,
I want you to
think back to
your
elementary
school math
classes: you
might have
heard of some-
thing called the
transitive property.
Don’t remember
what that is? Let me jog
your memory. The transitive property is the
idea if A=B and B=C then A must equal C.
So let’s replace these variables with some-
thing more relevant to our discussion. If
God is all powerful and God is love, then
the transitive property tells us that love is
all powerful. Love is power and I definitely
think that defining love as all powerful is a
much more fitting definition.
So, use that power! During this season of
love (and throughout all of the seasons),
don’t fret too much about asking that
individual you’ve been watching from afar
on a date; don’t panic because this will
be yet another year that you don’t have a
valentine. Use the power that God granted
you to spread love to everyone, and use
that power of love to bring others to the
kingdom.
Willy Villalpando
Maranatha Community Church, Colton, CA
Young Adult
SR
What is Love?
