The best form of love

The month of February is noted, among other significant days, for Valentine’s Day (February 14), commemorated world-wide.  The day marked to celebrate love, has all married and dating couples basking in romantic love.

Romantic love, which is one of the many forms of love that human beings feel, is the most common form of love cherished by us. But unfortunately, in this love, people mostly love the experience of dating rather than the person itself. Thus, it does not last and dies once the ecstasy of courting fades.   

Another form of love exercised by us is referred to as utilitarian love. This is the love we have for someone because of his usefulness to us in our lives.  Here again, love ceases the moment the usefulness is gone. Yet another form of love that we feel for others is known as democratic love. Here, we love other people simply because they are our fellow human beings and are our equals in some way.  But in this case too, love ends when someone who is believed to be an equal is no longer an equal, as in the case of the members of opposing political parties in a democracy. 

There is one other noted form of love called humanitarian love, in which, we love humanity as a whole.  However, the drawback in this form of love is that, it seldom gives rise to individual love. The more the humanitarian love we possess, the less we are capable of loving anyone individually.  

In the midst of all these forms of love that is imperfect, a new love, which is the perfect form of love, was taught by Jesus Christ, as He said to His disciples: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). 

This love that Christ preached and practiced right until His death on the cross, is that love which we must nurture even towards an enemy.  It is the love that enabled Jesus to say of those who crucified Him, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

This new love transcends hatred and goes beyond the human nature
to love only those who are loveable. It is unceasing and makes us children of God.