“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13
A few weeks ago, the basketball world shockingly lost a legend of the game, Kobe Bryant. He and his 13-year old daughter, Gianna, were tragically killed in a helicopter crash, along with 7 other individuals, as they were traveling to his Mamba Sports Academy for one of his daughter’s games. For 20 years, he was a staple of the Los Angeles Lakers, winning 5 NBA championships, scoring over 30,000 points, finishing his career as one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game, and, needless to say, my favorite player. His was a lifelong passion, a true love for the game, and an intense dedication to excellence.
Of the many stories that have been shared in the weeks since his death, the ones that have moved me most are those highlighting his absolute devotion to his family, and particularly his love for his 4 daughters and how much he enjoyed being a father to 4 girls and being able to spend all his time with them in his retirement. The term, “girl dad” became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter at one point after a story relaying the time Kobe declared that “I would have five more girls if I could. I’m a girl dad.” This led to thousands of posts of people from all over sharing images of their daughters or their fathers, publicly declaring their love for one another.
Love comes in many forms. The Philia love of one friend to another. The Storge love of a father for his daughter. The Eros and Pragma love of a wife for her husband. And the Agape love – the perfect, unconditional, pure love of God for His people. Love is strong. Love is enduring. Love, as the apostle Paul writes, “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” (1 Corinthians 13:7-8).
As the world turns its attention primarily towards romantic love during this Valentine’s season, I would encourage us to consider and seek out love in all of its forms. Let us find love in our daily interactions with co-workers or in our phone conversations with lifelong friends who are there to laugh and cry with us. Let us give love to our siblings who know how to push our buttons, but who are also there for us when we need a listening ear or some wise counsel. Let us take time to spread love in our churches and our communities to those who are struggling with loneliness or to those who may have given up hope.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 tells us, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” May we embody what it means to love, for I believe it is what our world needs most earnestly during this tumultuous time. For the greatest of these is love.