Much has been said about love. Millions of words have been written, spoken, and sung on the subject. But have we really learned what the sweet but powerful word love means?

The Bible, especially the New Testament, is very helpful in pointing to its true meaning. So are the works of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. She states, “A pure affection, concentric, forgetting self, forgiving wrongs and forestalling them, should swell the lyre of human love” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 107).

Mankind greatly needs this “pure affection” that embraces all and includes qualities such as patience, innocence, and self-abnegation. If this extraordinary sentiment called love possesses these glorious qualities, its origin must be very high and truly spiritual—it must be of God, Love.