# The Search for True Love
*2018-04-30*

> Bill Young reflects on the only true love—Jesus Christ—exploring how purification and obedience lead us to genuine, lasting love.

## Why We Search for True Love

We all long for genuine love that endures, yet what we often mistake for true love falls short. Human beings are deceived about love more than any other aspect of life. The only love that is completely true is the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is love itself (cf. 1 John 4:8).

## Purification Through Obedience

1 Peter 1:18‑25 reminds us that by obeying the truth we purify ourselves for genuine love. When we choose to be faithful to Christ and to the people He places in our lives, selfishness, pride, lust, and unforgiveness are stripped away. Through repeated acts of truth—sacrifices, conversion, repentance, forgiveness—we are gradually transformed into vessels of true love.

## Love Manifested at the Cross

The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, giving His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). True love is found at the foot of the Cross, where Christ’s self‑sacrificial love meets us. When we receive that love, it flows through us, enabling us to give and receive love without obstacle.

## Saints as Models of Purified Love

Even the great saints were once sinners. St. Augustine’s early life was marked by serious sin, yet through conversion he became a model of purified love. Mother Teresa endured years of spiritual dryness before experiencing the deep love of Christ, and St. John Paul II bore many crosses on his way to sainthood. Their lives show that purification is a necessary journey for all who seek heaven.

## Living the Love of Christ

When we carry our crosses and help Christ bear His, we open ourselves to the love that transforms us into saints. Our prayer today: “Father, send us the Holy Spirit so that we may do the truth in love.” May we all experience the deep, abiding love of Jesus Christ.

*True love is found only in Christ, and it is cultivated through purification, obedience, and the willingness to bear our crosses.*