When you hear the word “love,” what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Is it your mom, dad, grandparents, a friend, one of your animals, or your favorite food? Many people have watered down the word love so that it no longer has the powerful meaning it was meant to have. Love is not just a word; it is something that cannot be described. When you think about your mom, dad, grandparents, or a special person in your life, I imagine you have thoughts of fun trips to the zoo, playing ball, running around in the yard, playing games around the table, birthday parties, and trips together. But, do you remember the times when the special people God put in your life took care of you when you were sick, hurt, or just having a bad day?
God has a special lens or camera that we can look through to see what love really looks like. Have you ever picked up a pair of sunglasses and looked through them only to see a foggy image of what was in front of you? Those glasses were probably streaked with fingerprints and smudges. But God gives us a lens that can take us from dirty to clean in record time. Who do you think demonstrates the kind of real love that cannot be faked or watered down? The lens to see real love can only come from the heart of the One who is the Creator of love—not the kind of love that can be faked or watered down but the kind of love that cannot be altered.
I remember one summer when my husband surprised us with four rescue calves that were about a week old. They were very sickly and needed to be bottlefed. We went to the farm store and bought bottles and calf formula to feed our newly acquired baby calves. Immediately, my two daughters took over the job of taking care of the new additions to our family. What is important to note is that this was no easy task! We put together a feeding schedule that went around the clock for weeks. The girls took the day shift, and my husband and I took the night shift. I must say those little calves were hungry all the time. Since these little babies did not have a mommy cow to take care of them, we became the mommy. As the days went on the baby calves started to bond with us in a very special way! The girls named the baby calves Love, Joy, Peace, and Patience. What a special time that was for our family! God created the little baby calves, and He allowed us to help Him take care of His creation! What a joy to be part of God’s plan.
Day after day our family poured much love into those baby calves. You could not put any words to how we all felt about them. There was nothing to describe it! But through our actions and sacrifice, our love for them was obvious to anyone who saw us care for the baby calves—day after day and night after night!
The love we had for the baby calves does not come even close to the love Jesus has for us every day and night of our lives. There is no greater love than the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross when He gave His life for you and me. So, when we think about real love and who is the creator of love, there will be no doubt in our minds—the creator of love is JESUS! He can change our hearts to have the kind of love that cannot be explained.