For thousands of years, philosophers, suitors, admirers and even spouses have questioned the idea of love. On this Valentine’s Day, when commercials advertise buying jewelry, flowers and sending cards to our sweethearts, which is all good by the way, some of us want a deeper, more durable love which will last a life time.
As a teen, one of my favorite Beatle’s song was All You Need is Love. I always thought that the song was a bit tongue and cheek, not really a true statement but nice words to sing along to. But after living forty years with a spouse, children, and dear friends and family members, I think this statement might be truer than I realized.
What can we describe as a love? We can surmise from all relationships that love means tenderness and kindness. It means to treat those as you would want to be treated.
Spiritually, Christ tells us: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matt. 22:37–39).
But what is that love? Compassion? Devotion? Sacrifice for another? I think all these would fit the description.
Personally, I know that love has been around even before we came to earth from our heavenly parents and siblings. I really love what Mother Teresa said on the topic: “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” This yearning for love is innate within us because of our divine nature.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said: “Without love … there is little else to commend the gospel to us as a way of life.”
Most people might think the reality of life is that we need to watch out for ourselves only. It’s a cruel world and the only important person is them. Some people care about others but forget to tell them so. Some might feel the need to physically hurt another to receive love but those are all worldly forms of love.
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Yes, as humans we need physical nourishment, but as far as our emotional state, all we need is love and that love comes in many forms. To get to the heart of the matter, as Don Henley would say, love is forgiving someone who is close to you. Love is sacrificing what you want for something that another wants. Love is kindness, tenderness, devotion, friendship, respect. Love could be an open door from parents who accept their children and friends into their home. Love could be a many splendored thing between man and wife. Love is what we need for a lasting relationship and what we can give others who are special in our lives. All we need is love.
Valerie Steimle has been writing as a family advocate for over 25 years. As a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she promotes Christian living in her writings and is the mother of nine children and grandmother to twelve. Mrs. Steimle authored six books and is a contributing writer to several online websites. To her, time is the most precious commodity we have and knows we should spend it wisely.
To read more of Valerie's work, visit her at her website, The Blessings of Family Life.
