Charity

Charity is explained in the scriptures as "the pure love of Christ." I would compare it to the love that most humans share with other humans as the way a drop of water compares to the ocean.

One might ask, you love this person, but would you die for them? This question demonstrates a small piece of the difference between basic love and charity, but it is only a beginning. There are people I would give my life for in a heartbeat, but they are people who love me in return and bring me great personal joy. I could and would suffer many things for them; however, this doesn't really compare with what Christ did for us. He gave His life for all, including those whom He knows will never repent. He gave His life for those that would crucify Him; He gave His life those that would conspire against Him. He gave His life for everyone, no matter how recalcitrant and unworthy. No dividing lines were drawn.

Pondering such acts of love is almost stupefying; I at least cannot comprehend such purity and devotion. I think that the most noble things I do are at best vaguely similar this kind of love. Emphasis on vaguely.

The scriptures teach us that we are nothing if we do not have charity. At the same time, honest reflection likely points out that we do few to no things which equal the love evident in our Lord's redeeming sacrifice, or in other words, we have a long way to go to meet this commandment. Teachings such as this can serve as powerful reminders of our own need to rely on Christ, no matter how strong/smart/attractive/powerful/rich/whatever else we think we are.

For me, brushes with charity serve as an additional reminder. I know that charity is real because I have felt it, even if for fleeting moments. I have felt Christ's love for others only in moments of service, and in those moments it has been very obvious that it was not my love I felt. In an instant I contemplated a person's many faults and shortcomings, simultaneously feeling nothing but the desire to wrap them in my arms and stop all pain, reassure all self-doubts, and buoy up their spirits in every way. Some feelings defy the constraints inherent in language, but I pray that the Holy Ghost can carry the meaning to you.

Nothing is more real than the love that our Father and our Redeemer have for us. They love us completely and want to be intimately involved in our lives. Of this I am certain.