The Greatest of These is Love

"It don't take money and it don't take fame

don't need no credit card to ride this train

Tougher than diamonds and stronger than steel

you won't feel nothin' till you feel

you feel the power, just the power of love

that's the power of love"

- Huey Lewis & The News

Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen, one of the most profound truths embedded within the movie score of a 1980's teenage-time-travel saga.  Who knew?  This song is definitely a hit in my book but I doubt Brother Lewis and his news crew intended to make any Bible references when they wrote it. So, I'll help them out with that.  ;) 

Amazingly enough, what most of the world describes as the "power of love" is just a drop in the ocean.  It hardly scratches the surface, especially when we are talking about God's love.  President Uctdorf said, "Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love for you."

Such love is hard for me to fathom because the "purest, most all-consuming" kind I have experienced in my life is already breathtaking and overwhelming. I am certain that I would not be able to stand in Christ's presence were I to see Him today.  I do not doubt that being near Him, I would lose all physical strength within me and I would fall at His feet, His beautiful feet.  Perhaps that is why the people in Lehi's dream "fell down" when they partook of the fruit of the Tree of Life.

Associated directly with this love is "joy" as the angel describes to Nephi, "Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! .. it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things... Yea, and the most joyous to the soul." - 1 Nephi 11:22-23

When I think of joy, I think of the sun and the warmth of its rays on my face.  You know that feeling when you are out in the fresh open air, when the light of the morning breaks over the horizon... You cannot help but close your eyes and soak in every stream of warmth and radiance. There flows in you a sensation of new energy and that energy fills every part of your being.  It puts a spring in your step, an excitement for life, and you begin to feel that light of the sun bursting through you.  It's incredible!

We do not keep these glimpses of Heaven to ourselves.  They are meant to be shared.  When we come to understand "the power of God's love" so deep that it changes our heart, our very nature, there does not need to be any command to share it because it will happen so naturally.  We cannot restrain ourselves from doing this because it is in "the sharing" that the joy becomes magnified and infinitely limitless.  In return we feel a greater measure of His love and thus it propels us to grow "brighter and brighter until the perfect day."

Yes, "What the world needs now, is love, sweet love... it's the only thing that there's much too little of."  But Jackie DeShannon, I don't think there's "much too little" of it, I just think most people don't know where to find it.  And how do we help them find it?  We feast on the sweet Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Here pure love infuses joy, and pure joy creates light... enabling us to SHINE!  This is how we help others discover it... Shine so everyone can see what they so desperately need, shine so they can find the Tree for themselves and partake. There is plenty to go around.

In the entire world there is nothing that is greater. Yet one of the biggest lies ever told is that "you can buy anything in this world with money."  I refute that lie with this truth: Love "don't take money, it don't take fame, don't need no credit card to ride this train."  And Mr. Lewis...It's not that it "might just save your life", it IS LIFE and it's the ONLY way to save ours.  It has saved mine.

"Love.. ought to be at the center of all and everything we do in our own family, in our Church callings, and in our livelihood. Love is the healing balm that repairs rifts in personal and family relationships. It is the bond that unites families, communities, and nations. Love is the power that initiates friendship, tolerance, civility, and respect. It is the source that overcomes divisiveness and hate. Love is the fire that warms our lives with unparalleled joy and divine hope. Love should be our walk and our talk.

When we truly understand what it means to love as Jesus Christ loves us, the confusion clears and our priorities align. Our walk as disciples of Christ becomes more joyful. Our lives take on new meaning. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father becomes more profound. Obedience becomes a joy rather than a burden." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf "The Love of God"

-Alicia