The Four Loves-Elissa Wilcox

In The Four LovesLewis writes about the distintion between "gift-love" and "need-love". He writes that the distinction between the two is that "Gift-Love" involves giving unconditional love. For example, God has "gift-love" because he gives to us constantly. We have "need-love" because we come to God in a state of repentence, asking for forgiveness or we come to him asking for physical or spiritual needs. The beautiful thing that Lewis desribes is the belief that God actually enccourages and wants us to come to Him with our problems, "come unto me all ye that travail and are heavy laden." God obviously built humans with an innate need for him and we attempt to fill this desire for him with other things. God created us to have a "need-love" for him because there is nothing we can do to love him because he already has everything. By giving him our hearts, needing his love and accepting the love he gives, we worship him. It is through this example of love, this unconditional wholly wonderful love that God has for us that we are able to learn how to love one another. Although our love falls short more often than not it is very significant that we are trying to love one another like God loves us.