“There is one and only one possible road to joy: selfless love.” – Peter Kreeft

On a snowy night in January of 1980, I had a crisis moment.

The crisis came after reading the response of Jesus to a question regarding the greatest commandment. According to Jesus, the greatest commandment is to love our God with all our being, and to love others as ourselves.

I was overwhelmed by the realization that I did not love my God or anyone else as much as I did myself. Our God had opened my eyes to who I really was, a self-willed, self-preoccupied person.

I left where I was staying and went out to walk and weep in a snowstorm.

The love we need. What our God desires from each of us a consuming love toward Himself characterized by intimacy and communion. A selfless love that is unfailing in its focus upon Him daily.

On our own we are not capable of this love for our God and others.  It is not possible to love with this kind of love apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in us. 

Romans 5:3-5 “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

This selfless, humble love is completely dependent upon His grace working within us.  As Billy Graham once stated:

“Only God can give us a selfless love for others, as the Holy Spirit changes us from within. This is one reason we must receive Christ, for apart from His Spirit we can never be freed from the chains of selfishness, jealousy, and indifference.”

The opposite of love is self. True love won’t become a reality in us until we begin to live in humility and abandonment of self-living. The self-willed, self-oriented, self-seeking person cannot begin to comprehend true love. 

“What is ‘grace’? It is God’s own life, shared by us. God’s life is love. ‘Deus caritas est.’  By grace we are able to share in the infinitely selfless love of Him Who is such pure actuality that He needs nothing and therefore cannot conceivably exploit anything for selfish ends. Indeed, outside of Him there is nothing, and whatever exists does so by His free gift of its being, so that one of the notions that is absolutely contradictory to the perfection of God is selfishness.” – Thomas Merton

Finding love. If we would find this selfless, humble love, we must love our God above all other loves. We must do so seeking nothing for ourselves. And in that attitude we then pursue Him as the source of the love He seeks, the love we need.

Only by His grace-gift of love will we be able to love Him (and others) with His selfless, perfect, steadfast love.