[Disclaimer: This was one of my first attempts - 2006. It shows. :) More importantly, it is about as brief an overview on this topic as is possible. Still it made me smile so I thought I'd post. So there. Ok, disclamers over.]
“Love guaranteed!” “Meet someone that will take your breath away!” “Have someone catch your heart!” “Find the love of your life!” Or the less sensational – “find your next love.” I find myself constantly wading through the heap of them; overflowing my e-mail inbox, assaulting me through tv ads, flyers slid in my door or under my windshield wiper – I have even seen signs on street corners appealing to my need for it, tempting me with what could be if I simply call. The promises of love - so enticing. Could it be true? Love? Life-changing, all-consuming, soul-filling love?
All of us have an innate need to be loved. So often we place our value on how loved we feel we are. Whether we are married, single, dating, living in a cave – we all internally ask the question, am I lovable? Is there someone I can count on to always love me? Unfortunately, all too often, we find ourselves and our love lives lacking. Even those in committed relationships find themselves disillusioned. Still asking the question - what is it really - this elusive thing called love.
And so I embarked. Curious, completely unsatisfied with the definition I had received up to this point. Romance, candlelit dinners and diamonds surely cannot be the extent of it. What’s to be for those of us still single - bupkis? Gooey love songs, pledges of endless devotion made by actors in Hollywood movies. I decided to go to the source. I had to believe the God who created not only love but our unquenchable desire for it, would have something to say. What I found was so very different. Love is not a feeling. Love is an action. Love is sacrifice and commitment, faithfulness and, yes, quite often pain. Is love ever combined with that warm, fuzzy feeling? Of course it is. Countless times during my quest I have sat brimming with tears or stunned to silence at the power and presence of God’s love; soaking in it like a most luxurious bath, immersed wholly in its warmth and perfection. But is that a necessary component to experiencing love? Not by a long shot. Love is getting out of bed at 3 am to talk a friend through an anxious night. Love is someone dropping everything to come and pick you up when your car leaves you stranded. Love is risking the rejection of someone dear to share a difficult truth. Love is opening yourself up to judgment and ridicule to share the gospel or stand on God’s word. As I digested all of the ways real love is so much deeper than the presence of a feeling, I heard God’s still soft voice whisper -
Love, dear heart, is death on a cross.
1 John 3:16 (NIV) - This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
“Love guaranteed!” “Meet someone that will take your breath away!” “Have someone catch your heart!” “Find the love of your life!” Or the less sensational – “find your next love.” I find myself constantly wading through the heap of them; overflowing my e-mail inbox, assaulting me through tv ads, flyers slid in my door or under my windshield wiper – I have even seen signs on street corners appealing to my need for it, tempting me with what could be if I simply call. The promises of love - so enticing. Could it be true? Love? Life-changing, all-consuming, soul-filling love?
All of us have an innate need to be loved. So often we place our value on how loved we feel we are. Whether we are married, single, dating, living in a cave – we all internally ask the question, am I lovable? Is there someone I can count on to always love me? Unfortunately, all too often, we find ourselves and our love lives lacking. Even those in committed relationships find themselves disillusioned. Still asking the question - what is it really - this elusive thing called love.
And so I embarked. Curious, completely unsatisfied with the definition I had received up to this point. Romance, candlelit dinners and diamonds surely cannot be the extent of it. What’s to be for those of us still single - bupkis? Gooey love songs, pledges of endless devotion made by actors in Hollywood movies. I decided to go to the source. I had to believe the God who created not only love but our unquenchable desire for it, would have something to say. What I found was so very different. Love is not a feeling. Love is an action. Love is sacrifice and commitment, faithfulness and, yes, quite often pain. Is love ever combined with that warm, fuzzy feeling? Of course it is. Countless times during my quest I have sat brimming with tears or stunned to silence at the power and presence of God’s love; soaking in it like a most luxurious bath, immersed wholly in its warmth and perfection. But is that a necessary component to experiencing love? Not by a long shot. Love is getting out of bed at 3 am to talk a friend through an anxious night. Love is someone dropping everything to come and pick you up when your car leaves you stranded. Love is risking the rejection of someone dear to share a difficult truth. Love is opening yourself up to judgment and ridicule to share the gospel or stand on God’s word. As I digested all of the ways real love is so much deeper than the presence of a feeling, I heard God’s still soft voice whisper -
Love, dear heart, is death on a cross.
1 John 3:16 (NIV) - This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
