No Greater Love

Can love change the world?

I’m reminded of splendor and thunder; how the trickle-down effects of selflessness, patience, kindness, and faithfulness instead of selfishness, impatience, and unfaithfulness can change lives for the better. There’s no magic formula or reasoning. The evidence comes from living and speaking light instead of darkness. The words: Love one another can change us—but we live in a world where belief in such simplicity isn’t popular. Through life’s joys and trials, I’ve come to know and believe the enormity of the love God has for me. He alone is the light that guides me. Above him, there is no greater love.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 13:34-35 (ESV)

There’s no greater love than the love of God. It’s the kind of love that lights our paths and can change the world.

No other

When I think about love, my mind always wanders back to the day I met my husband. His sincere gestures, conversation, and kindness melted my hardened heart. Believe me, I tried to ward him off, but his gorgeous hazel eyes had a mesmerizing way. Within days, I knew. He’s different. My stomach turned—but in a good way. That was thirty-something years ago. Four sons, two daughters in love, and four precious grandchildren have blessed us in ways I could never have hoped to understand. Through it all, until his or my last breath there could be no other love for me this side of heaven.


Through good times and bad. Until his or my last breath. There’s no greater love for me this side of heaven.

The lover of my soul

What if the gift of true love goes beyond human understanding and lies solely in knowing the unseen Giver? Can that kind of love become all we need…all we hope to see? And finally, in this realization, as I seek the kind of everlasting that only comes from the Holy of Holies, I wonder if I’m too weak or blind to understand the only lover of my soul. After all, if I believe his comfort is unending; his love, unconditional and undeserved—The kind that can change the world…I’ll have to squelch all worries of tomorrow and live in the proof of his promise: I am with you always.

What if the gift of true love goes beyond human understanding and lies solely in knowing the unseen Giver of no greater love?

The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. 

Psalm 23:1 (ESV)

Dear friends,

Without a doubt, people will rant about the last two years for ages to come. We’ve witnessed the good, bad, and horribly ugly. Maybe that’s why I hope to live deliberately; focus on the things that matter. As Valentine’s Day draws near, I’ve imagined how one could discard the dreary details and only hold on to the lovely chapters of our lives. But I believe it all matters…even the ugly. Wouldn’t it be great if each word spoken now was chosen to make someone laugh or smile later, especially in seasons of trials or sadness? That’s the kind of love that can change the world. Each word and selfless action might point us to the one who gives without taking. Today and always, I believe there is no greater love.

If you’d like to read more of my stories on IAF: https://inspireafire.com/author/jcaypoole/, my website: https://www.joannclaypoole.com, or the quirky Dreamdove’s Flights of Fancy blog: https://www.joannclaypoole.wordpress.com. Feel free to share on with friends and look for me on FB, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.

Special Thanks: Free images from Pixabay

~ Featured image: jplenio, Lg images: #1 bertvthul, #2 Pexels, #3 Mary’s fotos    

Joann Claypoole

Joann Claypoole is an author, speaker, and former spa-girl entrepreneur. She's a wife, mother of four sons, “Numi” to four grandchildren, doggie-mom of two. The award-winning author of The Gardener’s Helper’s (ages 5-9 MJ Publishing2015) would rather be writing, hiking in the mountains, or inviting deer and other wildlife to stay for dinner near her western NC writing retreat. Visit her website: joannclaypoole.com and WordPress blog: https://joannclaypoole.wordpress.com/

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