Where does Love come from?

“There is no fear in love for perfect love drives away fear.”

I believe in a God of love. If there is one thing we should worship, shouldn’t it be the one who created love? Is love really just a chemical reaction in our bodies, or a psychological phenomenon in our heads, or an animalistic instinct to survive?

And yet we love even strangers, feel for them, and help them. We love even those who have hurt us and we forgive them. We love even if it doesn’t seem like we will get anything back. We love without expectations. Where does this love come from? Is it just a fruit of civilisation, as a means to maintain peace and prosperity? Or is it what really civilises us, to be able to live in harmony with one another?

History would tell of battles and wars. People fighting and killing each other. And perhaps in time, people have learned that hate doesn’t really give way to progress. And as more people embraced love and peace, it gave them space to learn and create until we have what we have now. In truth, our lives now are borne from love. But again, where does this love come from?

From the beginning, love has always been there. The moment we open our eyes as a baby, we loved. It is the first feeling, the first reaction. We attach. We show pleasure. Who planted that love in us even while we are in the womb? Who made these chemical reactions in our bodies to formulate such love?

And so I believe there is a God of love. That pure, perfect love we all meant to emulate in order to live fulfilled lives. Without it, we would have been doomed to an existence like animals. Yet even while love brings happiness, most would inadvertently experience pain. Because love when confused with other feelings turns into pain. Lust mixed with love becomes a different thing. It turns into a blade that will strike back as much as we use it to strike others.

I have loved as others have. I have felt pain. But I don’t blame it on love. I blame it on me on not being able to maintain love as it is. As the God of love said, there is no fear in love for perfect love drives away fear. Once I’ve made my love perfect again, I feel no fear. I feel no pain. I feel hope and understanding. And that gives me courage to love again and keep loving.