Paul Miller was recently invited to contribute this article, "10 Things You Should Know About Love" to Crossway Books' popular 10 Things You Should Know blog series, which has been steadily growing since 2016.
1. Love begins with looking.
On nearly 40 different occasions in the Gospels, Jesus either looks at people, tells others to look, or teaches about looking. When Jesus encounters the widow of Nain (Luke 7), he looks at her first—then he feels compassion and acts on her behalf. We see the same pattern in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). This is why we instinctively look away from a homeless woman or a disabled man. We know that if we really see that person, we will be drawn into the mess of loving another human. The first step of love is looking at someone—focusing on his or her face, what he or she is doing, feeling, thinking. The person becomes important—not just the role they fill or the problem you’d like to solve for them. And ultimately, God uses this discipline of the eyes to produce compassion in the heart.
Read the full article on Crossway's blog.
