Love is holy because it is like grace--the worthiness of its object is never really what matters. ¹

Pondering the essence of love has kept philosophers occupied for countless centuries. Care is needed, because I know little about giving and receiving both love and grace. I also realize there are many different manifestations and facets of love ². Another cause of caution is the audacity to think I can reduce a massively deep and complex part of life into a little box. Big issues are often big because of complexity even if complexity arises out of simplicity. Under these cautions, this defense of my discomfort with this quote is meant to explore a fascinating facet of love.

Robinson's quote is encouraging for primarily two reasons. First, it captures our feeling when we daily receive unmerited grace from a benevolent and loving Father. If love requires worth how could God ever love us? Second, it spurs us on to love others without merit. Holding back care until you find merit in others has a sinister flair.

Despite these encouraging aspects, I have some serious concerns about a quote that removes a connection between love and worthiness. The concern comes from a subtle path that diminishes the worth of a big God. What about God's love for his son? The mercy and justification we receive is dependent on the worthiness of this object. What about God's love for himself? The pleasure God has in his own worthy perfection is the visible foundation that his promises will be upheld ³. Furthermore, is it possible to love someone while simultaneously thinking they are worthless?

At first it appears there may be different types of love at work. Maybe one is an amorous worthiness love and another is a merciful unconditional love. One is associated with worthiness and the other is not. Although effects takes on various forms from different perspectives, I think both the amorous and mercy love we receive are rooted in the same dependence: worthiness of God Himself displayed in his Son.

There may be a few major arguments against a view of necessary worthiness. I think these arguments are rooted in the two, previously mentioned, encouraging aspects: grace from God and grace to others without merit.

For the first argument, the defense needs to answer the question: "If love requires worth, how could God love us?". The answer reveals love vehemently requires worth. Jesus, the perfect worthy sacrifice, died for us.

If it is true that worthiness is required for love, then what holy love and energy actively moves to bridge the great gap between absolute perfection and considerable imperfection? I propose even this movement of love lies in the worthiness of an object. By making this awesome move of loving redemption, and relying on the worth of His Son, God loves to display the worth of His own name. It is all about the worth of God whether it be worth of God the Son, worth of God the Father or worth of God the Spirit.

In the second argument, although love by worthiness may be true of God, what about the unconditional love men should have for each other? It seems understandable, created as rational beings, we should follow God's rational for love also. If God loves people by the worth of His own name, then men should love people by the worth of His name. When we love others we love them by seeing the worth of God in them, and incredible weight of glory ⁴. This understanding is awesome, freeing and a source of great affection.

There is a great example of love I have witnessed. It came observing a man on the top of a hill. The man brought a child with a disfigured face up the hill with her hand in his. He sat on a rock and she stood eye level. In the slight breeze and beaming sunlight, she reflected back a beaming, confident smile into the camera he pointed at her. She laughed and cocked her head in different positions as he clicked away. It was awesome. He loved her and, by no means, had to climb over worthlessness. Instead he was displaying worthiness in what really mattered. This child has a heart and a mind with a capacity to be filled with the Spirit of God. Displaying the worth of God, glorifying God, is awesome.

Is it possible to love someone while simultaneously thinking they are worthless? Love appears to be quite opposite. Instead love seems to be an expression of worthiness. ⁵ The minute you think someone is worthless you cease loving them. ⁶ What appears to be a simple encouraging quote could be a dangerous view that distorts love itself and accordingly the very essence of God. Instead, Love is holy because God is love. Love is a display and overflow of this worth, supremely in God!

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.( 1jn4:7-21)