This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Must we objectify someone or something in order to love it?

Can we love without action?

Can we love from afar?

If love is an emotion, must it have an object to attach itself to?

When love is just an emotion, just what exactly are we loving anyway?  When we feel an emotional feeling of love or charity toward someone, we are simply loving our concept of them. Unless we are talking about our emotional reaction to the way they look, we aren’t loving the actual, concrete being. We are loving all the mental and emotional concepts and definitions we have attached to them.  We are loving the object we created in our own mind.  This creation of ours may or may not be them at all.  We could have them all wrong.  In this way, people are not objects that can ever be fully known.  They are infinite with infinite depths and cannot be pinned down so easily.  Thus, we may be loving someone that doesn’t even really exist. 

And so it is with love for God.

So if by objectifying others, or God, I end up loving something that may not even exist, how then do I love?

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

 You might think at first glance that the simple equation is that love is a verb that requires an object to give to.  However, love can only truly occur when it is a verb applied to a non-object.  When it is  given freely in action form to another person without making assumptions about who that person is or what they will do with our gift.  Without objectifying.   

Feed his lambs. 

Who are they?

How can we know?

Are we feeding a lamb?

A sinner?

Someone blameless?

Someone trustworthy?

A con artist?

A devil?

An angel? 

God?

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