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The snow is melting. I hate to say that too loud for fear that Winter will hear my delight and make his white and cold snow pile up again. I also know when the warmth is even sneaking into our area, I begin to see bare legs in shorts, mostly younger males shopping in the same aisle as me in Walmart. As a mother, I find this time of year challenging to keep my helpful comments to myself. I see youngsters leaving school; it is still chilly, but the parade of unjacketed students challenging the elements is painful. If their mothers only knew. It seems none of us can wait for the sunnier days and Spring warmth.

I often think that we do not realize what love is. Yes, I understand that we think of the word “Love” as on a Valentine card, or that a romantic movie may give us our concept of Love. To be honest, these are types of Love that we are very familiar with, but they are not a full understanding. The root of Love, when we get right down to it, is sacrifice. Sacrifice is the deeper understanding of what Love is. Sacrifice is the essence of Love. We give our focus to what we love, be that a child, a neighbor, a concept, such as deep studies and ideas we are pursuing, or a value, such as compassion, that moves us to choose the ultimate gift of our very life.

Soren Kierkegaard (1813- 1855), the great Danish Theologian/Philosopher, has noted this about, “The unhappy man is always absent from himself, never present to himself.” The point here is that Love must have a direction; it can’t lie dormant within us. For us to feel our full humanity, we must allow our attention to be given to and our recognition of those around us. It is our human nature, our social instincts that seek the “other”. Simone Weil (1909-1943), a French writer of the last century, wrote similar observations about our connection to others and our human need for community that springs from attention to others. “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity”. Jesus tells his apostles at the Last supper, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13). Note the direction and depth of true Love. Love must have a direction; if it stays inside us, it does not allow the fullness of our humanity. John Donne (1572-1631), the great English poet, made this observation: “No man is an island”. We are all connected.

In our current culture, we have created a technological world in which human communication has increased. Most of us have cellphones these days and rely on them to stay connected. This is a good thing; it does have a downside. We are using texting and social media to connect with our neighbors, friends, and others in our lives. Is this a bad thing? NO. But for many, it has become the ONLY way they communicate with the world around them. It has allowed the development of a virtual world. A world that exists only on our devices. There are children in our time who understand what a picnic is, but they have never been on a real picnic. This is just a simple example of virtual reality. There are people who post on social media a person that is completely made up; it’s not a real person; it’s a make-believe persona that they control. Obviously, they do not see themselves as being good enough to participate online or as worthy of friendship or attention. What does this do to our interactions with others, community, or family? Does this hurt or damage our self-image in the long run? Love must have a direction; it must be seen in real time. It must be honest and grateful for who we are. Each of us is a unique creation. Each of us is capable of Love that can sacrifice for others, our neighbors, our community.

As Christians, we are aware of Jesus’s love for each of us. As we have just celebrated Easter, we know how His love manifested itself in his horrific death. In that pure sacrifice of love, He saved each of us. Love must have a direction; it flows out of us and connects us to others. As a popular song says, love is the gift we give ourselves.

What have you done today to connect to others? Even if they refuse the gift, the offering, It is what makes us deeper as human beings. It provides us with an event that teaches us the direction of love, even if not received, and educates us about our soul’s path to peace. God is love, and Love must have a direction. God’s direction of love was Jesus, His son, to us, His children.

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)