We humans seem to be afraid to love each other. Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, “‘It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Love is defined differently and in some languages the differences are noted with various words. We usually mean the “agape” or benevolence or moral obligations, or “philos” or brotherly love between siblings and friends, or “eros” the love between man and woman. Agape reflects God for the Bible says He is love or agape (1 John 4:8).
We humans seem to be afraid to love other people. Men and women are afraid to “fall in love” because there is a great danger of being hurt on the human level. It means opening ourselves up for possible betrayal and pain. Some are so afraid that they never allow themselves to get close to another person. Loss and pain is part of the development of character God demands of us all. Fear is usually founded on things that we fear but that have not occurred. There are great and eternal lessons to be learned. They only come when we love and lose. It is far better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.