In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I was of course thinking about love today. The love I was thinking about was not the kind typically associated with the holiday though. It’s not of a particularly romantic nature and it doesn’t involve flowers or candy or little red hearts. I’ve been thinking about the love of our Savior, and our Father in Heaven.
John 3:16 (one of the most commonly quoted scriptures I think) says
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
And in John 15:13 we are told
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ love us more than we can ever comprehend. In thinking about that love, it occurred to me that they also understand every emotion that we associate with love here on Earth. They know the love of a parent for their child. They know the love we feel for our friends, both in times of joy and times of trial. They also know unrequited love–many, many people in our world today have rejected the idea of God and Christ’s role as our Savior and Redeemer, and yet despite this rejection, the Lord still loves those individuals very deeply. He suffered in Gethsemane and gave His life for them. He did so for each and every one of us.
Alma 7 teaches us
And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
Christ bore our pains, sorrows, and sicknesses so that He would know how to help us endure those struggles. He knows everything that we are feeling, because he too has experienced it for Himself. That is a thought that is really comforting to me. It is easy, oftentimes, to think that we are the only ones who can understand what we are going through, because no one else is in our specific situation. That is true for the friends, family, and acquaintances which surround us. Yet at the same time, we are not alone in having to deal with trials, because the Lord is always there for us. He is there to console us when we need comfort, and He is there to give direction when we feel lost and alone.
I am eternally grateful for my Savior, my Lord, and my Redeemer Jesus Christ. I know that He lives, and that He is the Son of God. I know that He atoned for my sins, and that He gave His life so that I can live with Him again if I follow the commandments which I have been given. I am so grateful for the relationship I have been able to develop with my Savior. Every time I read my scriptures and study His words, my testimony grows. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has brought peace, comfort, and joy into my life.
I love my Heavenly Father. I love my Savior, and I am striving to show Him by doing as He bids in John 14:15:
If ye love me, keep my commandments.