Love Is a Many Splendored Thing

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

Lessons "Love Comes Softly" can teach us...

The word "love" has many meanings to many people. The New Testament's First Corinthians letter sums up love's attributes by saying, "Love is patient and kind; it does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; is not irritable or resentful..." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

In this spirit comes a new DVD collection of the much-cherished "Love Comes Softly" series, produced and directed by Michael Landon Jr. and based on the classic books by Janette Oke. In the series, a recently-widowed pioneer woman named Marty is forced into an initially loveless marriage of convenience in order to provide for her unborn child. Marty's powerful journey discovering her faith through the loving qualities of patience, trust and acceptance brings to life timeless themes of hardship, compromise, grief and hope. Though set against the backdrop of the pioneer West, her story resonates equally in today's world.

For Marty, uniting her new family in love wouldn't have been possible without a growing faith in God. These movies got us thinking about love's divine nature, so we asked our Beliefnet community to tell us what love means to them. Find out what they had to say.

Love Wears Different Faces In Different Places

"I believe 1 Corinthians is speaking of all the different faces love can wear. I mean when you think of the love of a mother to her child, doesn't that take patience, kindness, etc? Relationships--husband/wife, girlfriend/boyfriend, etc--will take you through each and every one of the different faces of love on a daily basis. I think the idea is to be present as much as you can be from where you are and remember that you really don't want to hurt this person you love so much. Count to 100, temper your words, breathe and decide to have a conversation with this person and try to see their point of view and then help them understand yours. No promises--you may not come to an agreement--but you have given of yourself beyond your comfort zone, you have extended yourself in love to this very important person in your life. Love does take on many faces and sometimes it isn't easy to get to, but it is there."

--pugglesrule