This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." You may recognize the opening line of the sonnet written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but chances are that you don't know her answer to this famous question. As the poem continues, Browning goes on to list some different ways she expresses her love: "I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach. . . . I love thee freely.. . . I love thee purely. . . . I love thee with a passion. . . . "

Browning associates love with feelings, and there is nothing wrong with that. If you have ever been in love, you know what a powerful emotion it can be. But if we leave love as only what we feel, something will be missing. It isn't enough to feel it or write poetry about it. To be complete, love needs to be put into practice.

THE WAYS GOD LOVES US

How long will it take to count the ways God loves us? Let's give it a try. He feeds us. He clothes us. He protects us. He invites us to come to him when we are weary and burdened. He encourages us to cast our cares on him because he cares about us, and the list goes on and on. It is impossible to add up all the ways God loves us, but we know that he does.

How do we know that God loves us? How can we be absolutely sure? "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us" (1 John 3:16). God's love for us takes many different forms, but giving up his one and only Son was the ultimate act of love. When Jesus willingly stretched out his arms on the cross, he showed us how much he loves us. And his selfless, self-sacrificing love motivates the people he loves to respond.

THE WAYS WE LOVE GOD

The apostle John knew a thing or two about love. Instead of referring to himself by name in his gospel, he called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. Love is the predominant theme of his letters. He is the inspired author of the passage about love quoted above, and in the verses that follow he describes the impact Christ's love has on the life of the Christian: "And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:16-18). Those words are meant to be encouraging. Yet they can also make me feel guilty. I can remember lots of times when I failed to show compassion to another human being in need.

We don't always act like the loving, caring Christians we claim to be. Sometimes we don't love with actions or in truth, but God always does. He loves unlovable sinners like us. He forgives our sins, and he gives us daily opportunities to put our love into practice.