The Way Of Love – Part 1
About ten years ago, I encountered a young man who, with a tone of deep frustration, insisted that love is not the only way to communicate the gospel. He argued that a church focused solely on love—love—love would be powerless, and that at times, conviction through the force of God’s word was necessary rather than love alone.
Ten years have passed, and his argument has remained my companion in thought, pressing upon me in moments of stillness. Yet, I cannot yield to the notion that love might exhaust itself—that it could reach a threshold beyond which it no longer mends, no longer calls forth redemption. I remain unconvinced that love could ever falter in the face of woundedness or prove powerless before even the darkest, even evil, heart.
The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 introduces what we read in 1 Corinthians 13, “And yet I will show you the most excellent way.” – But we will come back to this a little later.
In 1962, Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote a song called, ‘What the world needs now is love sweet love.’ In 1965 the song was recorded by Jackie DeShannon. The lates production was by Ronan Keating in 2011. Below is a sample of the song’s lyrics.
“What the world needs now
Is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now
Is love, sweet love
No, not just for some, but for everyone
Look, we don't need another mountain
There are oceans and rivers
Enough to cross, enough to last
Until the end of time”
It was in this atmosphere that the Jesus Revolution emerged in a world weary of war and hatred. Yet its deepest longing was not merely for peace among nations, but for a peace that could settle within the soul—an unshakable love that could bind humanity together. Though some were drawn into excesses and indulgences, beneath it all was a movement that awakened hearts, leading millions to faith and spreading the love of God in ways both unexpected and wondrous.
This was my time, my generation—the season in which I came to realise that long before I ever sought Him, Christ had already found me. And now, some 56 years later, I still find myself telling the story of God’s love, carried by the unshakable conviction that it is through love, and love alone, that true peace can take root within hearts of men and women, within communities, and within the world.
And so, I write of God’s love, not merely to recount my journey, but to share how this love took hold of me and why it remains the foundation of all I believe. I invite you to ponder with me, to step into this conversation, that together we might deepen our understanding of the love that calls, sustains, and transforms.
1 Corinthians 12:31b – 13, 14:1
Ponder these things.
Jim Varsos
