By Josh Haycraft

All You Need Is Love

 

February is a month that reminds us of love. This isn’t an article about the famous song by The Beatles; instead it’s about love. Poems have been written about it, songs have been dedicated to it, relationships have been created through it, and the world was changed by it. Take a few moments and reminisce on a time that you felt this awe-inspiring feeling.

 

What did you remember? I remembered one moment in my life that I experienced an overflow of love. It was my wedding day and I was filled with happiness and joy, and also a lot of uncertainty. As a young adult that had started a new career and was in the process of building a new life, I was concerned about what the future would hold. This uncertainty made me question things like could we financially make it on our own, were we ready for this next chapter, could I be good husband, and was I ready to start a family?

 

All of these thoughts left when I saw my soon-to-be bride enter the church. In that moment, I felt God’s embrace and nothing else mattered—all that I could see was her. Everyone and everything else vanished from my sight, and I was tightly wrapped within a warm, comforting, and loving presence. His loving embrace removed my self-doubt, released me from the concern of the uncertainty, and focused my attention on my bride. I knew that everything would be okay.

 

As Christians, love is a central theme of our belief and we learn that it comes from our Father. John tells us, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God” (1 John 4:7). Our Father is not one of hate and disdain, but rather love and compassion. It is from His love that He sent his Son for us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

 

Love can empower us to overcome the uncertainty of the future, and also fortify our relationships. Recently, a very dear friend received a diagnosis of cancer. This friend is one of the few with a true servant’s heart that can always be counted on for care and support. We have all been rocked by this diagnosis. I can only imagine how it has impacted her. I am certain that she is left with questions and her own self-doubts about how bad this battle will be, what if the treatment is not effective, what if the worst happens, and what about her young son and husband.

 

What do we do when faced with similar situations? We can’t answer these hard questions, but one thing we can do is shower those we love with our love and take comfort in His love for us. Last night I witnessed just that. Several coworkers and close friends met at a restaurant to provide our friend with support, care, and most of all love. A life changing diagnosis was used to bring together several people as an outpouring of His love. The Beatles sang, “All you need is love, love, love is all you need,” and love is really all we need—His perfect love!

 

Let’s join together and live in His love. Keep in your heart the words of the apostle Paul:

 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

 

Through His love we know that everything will be okay.

 

Josh Haycraft is a counseling intern at Summit Counseling. He lives in Brandon with his wife, Heather, their daughters, Christa and Jada. They are members of Pinelake Church.