Love is a funny thing. Maybe it is something we have experienced or can recognize when we see it, but it is intangible and hard to describe. It is something we give and something we receive, but where does it come from? It is something we feel but it is more than an emotion. Love can cause us both happiness and sorrow. It can be “tough” or “mushy gushy.” We can fall into it and out of it, but who can explain why?
The children in the video we are about to watch attempt to explain what love is, describing it to an illustrator who gives shape to their ideas.
Play the following video [5:15]:
Kids Describe Love to an Illustrator | Kids Describe | HiHo Kids
Kids’ ideas about love may come from their friends or family, the things they enjoy, and the stories they have heard or seen. And that is probably how we get our ideas about love, too, though our experiences may be wider. The kids had varying ideas about love—some found it scary or gross and others thought of it in a friendlier or more whimsical way.
- What do you think the kids got right about love? Did they miss anything in their descriptions? (Honestly, sometimes love feels bubbly like Sprite, or scary like thunder, or like a thump of our heart. Sometimes it does look like a hug, or a curly-haired friend, or mom or dad. Kids may have missed out on love as service or sacrifice, or mundane but meaningful actions.)
- Where have you experienced love? Where do your ideas about love come from? (Our friends and family show us love—often in imperfect and sometimes in very powerful ways. We sometimes experience love most when we are down and someone is there for us. Additionally, the stories we watch, read, and listen to shape our ideas about love. All of this, for better or worse.)
- Could you describe it as a sound or a season, as the kids tried to? If so, what would it be? (Accept all reasonable answers. This is a fun way to help students put love into words and for you to get a sense of their understanding of love. Is it warm like the summer sun? Hopeful like spring? Ever-present like the ticking of a clock? Swelling and emotional like a movie score?)
- How would you attempt to illustrate love? (Accept all reasonable answers. This is an open-ended prompt to help students picture what love looks like. Later you can compare this to the Bible’s description and to what our lives actually look like.)
The Bible gives a detailed description of love—in flowery language and then in straightforward terms about what it is and isn’t. Love is so important to the Christian faith that it should define who we are as Christians. We all have the capacity and responsibility to live lives of love according to the gifts we have been given.