Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not claiming that we can only love one person, it's just that the nature of love is unique to each dyadic relationship; they're not commensurable. Yes, I may show empathy and respect to strangers, patients or clients, trying hard to deal with them fairly and conscientiously. Well said. But this only operates in the short term. It doesn't mean I can love them all, or at all, or love them equally, or anything like…
Thank you for responding! I appreciate your thoughts and that someone else is thinking about these things - me too. As you imply, I agree that much of what we say depends on our definitions of 'love', which is undefineable. To the degree it involves time (for attention), well obviously time is limited and therefore love would be limited. But I think that's a distraction, a rationalization, a tool to win a debate but…
Regarding the gospels, yes, and to my original point, in John's gospel there is "the disciple whom Jesus loved", implying that Jesus didn't love them all equally.