Mother Theresa once said, “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” She was absolutely right because there is a more real and deeper hunger for human beings, than the mere physical hunger for food, and that is love. It is by far the greatest need irrespective of our background, age, ethnicity or color.

A true story is told that took place in a nursery orphanage many years ago. Healthy babies were dying although proper nutritional diet was given to them. After a series of investigations, they found out that those babies that were held in the arms and gently hugged did not die but the others that were not affectionately held were dying. As soon as they found out that, they to hired ‘professional mothers’ to care for them personally, and there were no more deaths. This story powerfully illustrates the need for love and that it is UNDENIABLE, DEEP and DESPERATE.

When this indispensable need is not met, it sows the seed of INSECURITY in people, and insecurity in turn breeds negative behavioral pattern. The love that the world offers cannot adequately meet this need and hence, it is not surprising to see a world full of insecure people. It is only possible for the source of love to truly satisfy this need and the source of such love is God. This is true because God’s love is:

1. Unconditional:

Conditional love makes people insecure, as it is dependent on performance. There is a constant pressure to impress in order to get love. In attempting to get love, people even try hard to put on different masks. However, the love of God is not based on ‘ifs and buts’ but it is ‘agape’ - unconditional love. He loved us not because we were good or great but as the Bible says, while we were still sinners, He loved us and demonstrated it by dying for us.

2. Constant:

Human love is never stable. People start loving and stop loving according to their convenience and feelings. And when there is no surety for love, it makes us insecure. However, the Bible affirms that God’s love is everlasting (Jer. 31:3) and constant. Apostle Paul says in Rom. 8:38 – 39,

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There is nothing that can stop God from loving us and there is no room for fear.

In conclusion, it must be reiterated that each one of us was born with the innate need for love. This need was put in us by God and can only be sufficiently met by Him. When this need is not met adequately, insecurity creeps into our system but God’s perfect love casts out all insecurity and fear, and makes us secure!

By Vineeth Kumar