What about love? How can you be certain you’re in love? I suggest these simple measures that you can apply to yourself. Is your love patient? Is it considerate? Can it wait until marriage for physical fulfillment? Experience says that true love’s patience is inexhaustible. True love does not assert itself, claim rights, or demand privileges. It always thinks first of the other person. The biblical phrase is it “is not self-seeking.” True love never thinks evil of the beloved. It is never suspicious, but always supportive and inspiring. True love bears all things. Nothing weakens or undermines it. It is a rock, an anchor, a foundation for all the years to come.

These simple tests are a mirror that millions have used. Physiologists, psychiatrists, and marriage counselors attest their validity. They were first recommended almost two thousand years ago by a man named Paul, in 1 Corinthians, chapter 13. That chapter provides the finest definition of love the world has received.