Love is All You Need

How many songs, poems, books, speeches, and articles have been about the search for love?  While reading this week’s very familiar gospel passage*, a Beatles songs came to mind, All you need is love ….

It’s the central message of wisdom traditions, advice columns, self-help books, fashion tips, movies, soap operas and ad campaigns.  Life stories are replete with false starts, mistaken paths, misguided judgements and comedic errors about where or how to find love. 

There’s nothin’ you can know that isn’t known
Nothin’ you can see that isn’t shown
There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be
It’s easy

All you need is love.

If we understand that God sent Jesus as an expression of God’s love for us, it only makes sense that Jesus shows us how to relax into our lives as an expression of our love for God.

Nothin’ you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time
It’s easy.

All you need is love.

This First Nations’ translation of John 3:16 brings new life to familiar words:

The Great Spirit loves this world of human beings so deeply

that he gave us his only Son –

The one who receives everything from his Father.

All who trust in him and his way will not come to a bad end,

But will have the life of the world to come that never fades –

Full of beauty and harmony.

Creator did not send his Son to decide against the people of this world,

but to set them free from the worthless ways of the world.

All we need is love.  Love is all we need.