The love of a man for a woman (or a woman for a man) can be of the noblest sort, and to those two people it may be the greatest thing of all. But what about the love of a man for a dog, a car, or a sandwich? Are those noble loves? Of course not. Those are what C.S. Lewis describes as "Need-loves," as in "I don't have any friends, so I need a dog," or "I need to be seen in this car," or "Right now I need a sandwich."

There's nothing wrong with loving something you need. Most close relationships are based on Need-love. We need the companionship, the warmth, and the love of other people, so we reach out in love. "Our whole being by its very nature is one of vast need," Lewis writes. Even our love for God is based on our need to be connected with the Creator of the universe, who himself is love.

And what about God? What about God's love? Does he need us to love him? No, God's love is of a different sort. It's what Lewis describes as "Gift-love." Because God is love, he can't help but give his love to us, his created beings. He isn't motivated by our lovable natures or our lovable acts (thank goodness). Rather, God is compelled by his own nature. It's always there, even when we don't recognize or acknowledge God's love gift.

God has given us many things that demonstrate his love. We have an incredible world to enjoy. We have life and bodies that function in amazing ways. We have beauty, goodness, and grace. And we have the gift of love itself, enabling us to engage in meaningful relationships. All of these things come from God's love, but none of them can match his greatest love gift of all: Jesus.

Jesus is the literal embodiment of love. For thirty-three years, he lived a life of love that is unsurpassed in human history. Before Jesus came to earth, no one had ever talked about love the way Jesus did. The Greek philosophers held up the virtures of ideal love, but Jesus talked about the value of practical love. We aren't just to love our friends. Jesus said we should love our enemies. The culture of the day taught a love of convenience and self-interest, but Jesus said we should go out of our way to love the unloveable and those in need.

Over and over Jesus expressed his love for people, and all he asked in return is that we love God and love one another. His actions and his words should have been enough to convince everyone that love is all you need. But Jesus had to take one more step to demonstrate the full extent and effect of his love for the world. Jesus had to give himself.

Jesus is where humanity's Need-love and God's Gift-love come together. Without Jesus, we can love, but our love is incomplete because it comes from us. With Jesus, we can love, and our love is complete because it comes from God.