I submit that true love is not always romantic. Maybe you already know this, but this is something that I've thought a lot about lately. True love is sacrifice. True love is a deep, sincere, unassuming concern for another human being simply because they are another human being. True love perseveres no matter what--that is part of the sacrifice. You don't need a reason. It doesn't have to be earned; it is not based on merit. I'm not saying that true love is never earned, because I tell you what, these things work better on two-way streets. I'm just saying it doesn't have to be. That's what makes it true. This is not one of those "an eye for an eye" kind of concepts.
One of my favorite movies is Disney's Frozen--I know you're sick of hearing everyone talk about it, but bear with me for a minute or two. Frozen has examples of true love and sacrifice up the wazoo. I could talk about it forever, but I want to focus on these lyrics:
Everyone's a bit of a fixer upper
That's what it's all about
Father, sister, brother
We need each other
To raise us up and round us out
Everyone's a bit of a fixer upper
But when push comes to shove
The only fixer upper fixer
That can fix a fixer upper is
TRUE LOVE
I love this song. I don't care what other people say about it, I love it. There is truth here. Consider this:
Fixer upper = us
Fixer upper fixer = true love = charity = the pure love of Christ
And if true love is sacrifice and also the pure love of Christ, then I argue that the fixer upper fixer is the Atonement made accessible through God's love and Christ's love.
Through the Atonement of Christ, we can change. We can overcome any fixer uppering we've ever done. His Atonement is infinite. That means no limits, no boundaries, no time constraints. It is infinite for the past, the present, and the future. Because of its infinite, limitless power, we are not disqualified from its influence because of past fixer uppering, present fixer uppering, or even future fixer uppering. To be barred from accessing the very thing that would cleanse us from sin (fixer uppering) because of fixer uppering is a contradiction and would make it impossible for anyone to change or become whole. Without fixer uppering, there would be no need for an Atonement. God knows that we're not perfect. Everyone's a bit of a fixer upper. That's what it's all about. Because He knows that we're not perfect, He provided the Atonement so that we could be reconciled with Him. He understands. He doesn't want us to shy away from Him because we don't feel like we deserve His love or His help. He wants us to come unto Him. If we don't then He can't help us. He stands at the door and knocks...
President Thomas S. Monson said this in the 2013 General Relief Society meeting:
Your Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love never changes. It is not influenced by your appearance, by your possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your bank account. It is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply there. It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there.I love this. There isn't a better way to say it. It is simply there. We don't have to qualify for it. We don't to reach a certain point of righteousness or conversion before it kicks in. It is simply always there. And there's nothing you can do about that. Literally. No matter what you do, God will love you anyway.
Maybe that bothers you. "Why?" you ask. "I don't deserve it. That doesn't make sense." Well, look at it this way. God loves you, and if He says that He loves you, and one of His prophets has testified that He loves you, then who are you to say He doesn't? I'm just sayin'...
"Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." Doctrine and Covenants 6:36
Doubt not His love. Doubt not the the limitless-ness of Christ's Atonement. Look unto Him. Come unto Him. Let Him heal you. I know He can. And I know He will if you sincerely seek Him.
