We heard it so many times. Love is a verb. It is an action word. It is not just feelings and emotions, but a decision.

Indeed very true. But reflecting on love deeper, I see now that it is all of the above and much more.

Love is displayed in action. That is true. But that can be misleading and a perhaps a dangerous oversimplication of what love is. If we only focus on the acting part, we might miss the source.

You see, we can talk about loving but without really loving. You can act loving without really loving. I remember the Pharisees in the Bible, always scorned at by Jesus because their right actions are done with the wrong motivation.

Hence, before love is a verb, it has to be a noun first.

Love is a person. Love emanates from the person. Take this biblical verse for example, “God is love”. This points to a person who is God. And from that person comes out the source of that love.

Love is not merely an action of meeting others’ needs; it includes the motive of the action. True love points the one who is loved to the source of that love through the loving action of the lover.

Now, how do we translate this to our love for our spouse, children or special someone? Firstly, we need to recognize Who love is and allow Him to love us and make his love the very source of our love. All love comes from God and He is love.

With God’s love, our actions will now have the right motivation. We can now be patient, kind, not jealous, not boastful, not rejoice in the wrong, be romantic, be caring, and all other manifestations of love with the desire to share that love from God.

Godless love is sin. Is that possible? Many times we appear to act lovingly but without us recognizing the source of love and getting immersed in that love first and foremost.

So, while we do the Verbs let us look at the Noun first. Let us dive into the first commandment, “Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”, and then get consumed by the second, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” To me, there is no better prescription to love than this.

And so, let us all go and make love. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

P.S. To our Elementary pupils at Bohol Child Head Start, congratulations for an outstanding stage play. We are all very proud of your efforts…and we all love you! (By Kit Nemenzo Balane)