What is Love? pt. 2

"Forrest, you don't know what love is."  - Jenny 

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

In October, this blog reached the conclusion that God is love, and that love is God (1 John 4:7-12; see What is Love?). In this post, I want to delve further into the idea of love and explain what that Bible verse means to me. 

Nowadays, it seems the phrase "I love you" is thrown around in a very casual sense. We hear it said in movies and in books(albeit usually with more complex lingo) with increasing frequency.

For me, the person I love most in this world is my mother. When it comes to love, it seems there is nothing greater than a mother's love. But, I do feel for those who did not grow up with a mother(single father) or was not raised by a caring mother. 

My roommate and I once described our mothers' hands to each other. Being both raised by Korean moms(Korean moms are the best, hands down), we agree that we would not have gotten to where we were without our mother's hands.

Have you ever looked at your mom's hands? Do they have scars or calluses? Do they bear the marks of cooking, cleaning, and dishwashing? My grandmother showed me her battle-scars once: the products of working in the kitchen for 30-some-odd years. 

Have you ever cleaned your room and thought, "My mom could do this better?" Or thought about the fact that someone keeps your house clean? That a certain someone cooks food for dinner and eats little at the dinner table? That a certain someone also works to keep you in college? That you would not be alive without a certain someone?

Perhaps that someone for you is you, or the previous paragraph doesn't really resonate with you. I would not judge you if a mother's love does not mean to you what it means to me. 

In November and December, I wrote about two ideas that are pertinent to this article: 

1) Sacrificing (read: dying) for others is one of the most dignifying things one can do in life. 

2) Manhood is not about becoming more masculine. It's about morality, and it's about sacrifice. It's about giving up the things you love most and giving them to those you love most. It's about giving up one's life to stand for something greater than oneself. 

Who has sacrificed most in her/his life to make sure you would have a happy life? Have you sacrificed as much to love this person? 

I want to leave you with a line from Death Cab for Cutie's song "What Sarah Said":

Love is watching someone die.