(I, by all means, know little about love ...but, I use one means that tells much about He who does know about love. And that is because ...He is love.)

Most of us have this same means ...as we have the means to understand something written in our own language. And the Bible is written in many languages ...with much effort given each day to attempt to translate it into even more languages.

The Bible speaks of "the disciple whom Jesus loved".

Jesus loved them all ...so, to whom is this reference made??

There are different types of love & commitment.  Some people speak of different stages of our lives.  Growth is something aspired to.  And there are different ways we learn.

Usually the best way to learn is to trust the teacher.  If we eliminate doubt, we don't complicate it so much. Though, for brief periods, doubt can also aid in learning ...if it helps solidify that which we should have perhaps not doubted. 

Back to the statement of "the disciple whom Jesus loved".
I look at another statement where Jesus is quoted as saying, " ...and then I will tell them, 'I never knew you'."

Jesus knows all of us, and all about each and every one of us ...so, what do we make of this??  I look at this 'knew', and the previously mentioned 'loved' ...as something that is reciprocal. Since Jesus knows us, the only thing needed is for us to know Him in return.  And since Jesus loves us, the only thing needed is for us to love Him in return.

We may say ...that we do love Him.  And this is what Peter said when Jesus asked him three times, "Do you love Me?"

Peter said, "You know that I love you."  And yes, Jesus did know that.  Yet, He wanted Peter to do something extra ...for the sake of others.  Jesus wanted Him to tell and show others of that love.

People show their love in different ways.  When the disciples dined with Jesus, I do not know how the arrangement happened to be ...or if it varied.  I read that the mom of the children of Zebedee asked if one of her sons could sit on one side of Jesus, and the other son on the other side of Jesus ...when they get to Heaven. When Jesus dined with the disciples here on earth, there would have been a disciple on one side of Jesus, and another disciple on His other side ...but, it only mentions that one disciple rested his head against Jesus.

I don't know ...maybe some would consider it not manly to rest their head against another. Unless you're a medical doctor, and need to be near to check the heartbeat. Yet, our hearts are all somewhat different, and we express our feelings in different ways.

Here are some ways I express myself ...and for this time, I may feel this one way, and another moment I may feel quite a different way.

But, this is now:

I don't believe love is letting another do what they want to do ...though it does include choice, so, sometimes that is the chosen lesson.

Love is not merely concerning ourselves with another's happiness ...as today's happiness may be tomorrow's grief, or another's unhappiness today.

The deepest love should be reciprocal ...though sometimes the most difficult love is the greatest love, as it exists not merely because it is acknowledged or accepted, but in spite of the absence of those things.

Love is something you have more of ...the more you give it away.

Love is something poems are written about.

Love is the sweetness that is promised ...appreciated for the moment of expression, not measured by the degree the promise can be delivered.

Or is that romance??

How often do we confuse the two??

Romance often captures us more than the truth that is seldom spoken.  If love is promised ...it can only truly be delivered by the only One who made it all possible.

Romance is something we dream about. We can all dream ...but, don't let the dream destroy us or others. Reality is what we fail at ...and it is quite important that we live in reality. So, we will all fail ...while we will all succeed in disappointing others.

Beyond our dreams is a reality that is beyond our wildest dreams.  But, that kind of wild is very much tempered. And that kind of reality is not just any kind of reality.  Our present pain is real.  Our present suffering is real. But, if part of our present includes joy, happiness, and peace ...this other jpy, peace, and happiness will have to be redefined by something we can't presently imagine, nor would we be able to ever describe it.  And it will be everlasting.

This is not happiness at another's expense, nor centered upon 'self' ...it is what Jesus died for.  

That is, for us.