The Dimensions of Love

UV 1430/10,000 The Dimensions of Love
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

I Corinthians 13 v 4

Often one needs to explore the many opposites of a word in order to understand and grasp its full meaning and its nuances. The trained and logical mind of St Paul under the control of the Holy Spirit does exactly this in the famous Chapter 13 of the first epistle to the church at Corinth. Love is the perfection and consummation of our faith while hope is a by-product of faith. Love is not envy. It does not prosper through strife or contention. It is goodwill or finding pleasure in the rise, blessing and prosperity of others. It is not pride or arrogance or conceit. It is laying down our ego. It is considering others better than us. It is looking at the interests of others before or along with our own. It is humility or realizing how much one owes to others and recognizing one’s smallness in comparison with the glory or perfection of God.


Love is certainly not hatred. It is not selfishness. It is not greed. It is a willingness to share what is good, beneficial and wholesome with others. It is not rudeness or harshness or impoliteness. It is kindness and compassion not pity. It is empathy and not mere sympathy. It is thankfulness or gratitude to God and man. It is not harbouring anger, hatred or a grudge for a real or imagined wrong done to us but it is forgiveness or releasing people from the penalty of their faults, mistakes and misdeeds. It is a refusal to be bitter and a determination to be better despite whatever life throws at you.

Love is not carnal lust. It is neither expressed in hypocrisy or partiality or bias. Love is not fickle or temperamental or moody. It is consistent. Love is patient and tolerant. Such manner of love was manifested in all its dimensions of what it is not and what it is in the life and work of Jesus on earth and His continuing ministry to us seated at the right hand of God Almighty, the Father of love. When Jesus asked us to be the salt and light, the salt stands for the negatives or what is “non-love” that we should avoid, abhor and uproot from our hearts and minds while light stands for the positive dimensions of love that we should be. Salt is made up of two poisons- sodium and chlorine that counteract each other and it is made useful and necessary for our very existence and metabolism. Love implies we should neutralise the poisons that exist in each of us, in our nature, conduct and character.

Prateep V Philip