Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
- Ephesians 2:17
Some people say that all there is, is all there is.
There's nothing but the physical, measurable world. Life itself and people specifically are merely particles and atoms, the products of random chance and a whole lot of time. Some people believe that there’s nothing outside of that which can be measured, dissected, and quantified. But if we’re honest, humans have these nagging immeasurables, we have these feelings that are hard to explain within the confines of what can be charted, graphed, or recorded.
Why do we feel things like hope, joy, and love?
Are they merely illusions?
Love and all the rest must be explained somehow in this measured orderly world. Many say that our feelings are merely the chemical responses in our bodies that help us survive and perpetuate our species. It’s a line of thinking that I’ve always had a hard time swallowing. How do you tell your wife that on your anniversary?
The kind of love I believe in is so much more.
I believe in a love that stands over and above the ordered physical world. It’s a love that actually gives that world meaning. The love I’m talking about is other-worldly, pure, and more profound than all the measured explainables in the world. I am not discrediting the importance of discoveries and laws, cures and progress. But, if they’re all that there is, then what are they for? If there is no love, do those discoveries not ring hollow? Are they not just perpetuating a meaningless, soulless system?
BUT...
If there is LOVE, then cures don’t just preserve humanity, they save our dearest beloved humans. Don’t you see? If there is love, then all of our progress is worthwhile. Love gives purpose to our projects and meaning to our lives. I believe in love.
Do you think our feelings are merely illusions or something more?
How does love give meaning to our world?
