My Thoughts on Love

Everyone has a desire in their heart to be loved. That's not wrong, by any means, in fact, God is the one who put that desire in our hearts in the first place! He created us to have a perfect relationship with Him, where we fully love Him, and we can fully experience His love for us. However, man sinned. We broke the relationship. We will never be able to have that perfect relationship with God because of our sin, so we yearn for the closest thing to it that we know of, relationships with other people. But those relationships are also broken. Our world has changed the meaning of love, perverting it so that we don't understand what it really means.


What does our culture say that love is? I'm obviously not an expert or anything, but our culture seems to think that love, infatuation, and romance are interchangeable. We put such an emphasis on material things, trying to put a price on something that we will never obtain without a relationship with Christ. Love is a word that we use to describe our opinion of our family, friends, spouses, significant others, and pizza. Romance is what you use to show someone you love them, mostly things you buy, like roses or champagne. Infatuation is that ooey-gooey feeling that we get when we like someone, and our culture has said that all of these things equal real love. But that's not true. 


Infatuation is not the same as being in love. God holds love to a HIGH standard. It's not something to be used lightly. While infatuation can seem like the best thing in the world, love is what keeps a relationship solid through thick and thin, for better or for worse. This is a very important thing to understand. The dictionary defines infatuation as a "foolish or all-absorbing passion or an instance of this: a mere infatuation that will not last." synonymous with the words, "obsession, passion, and fascination." So...not something to last for better or for worse. Let me sum it up this way...infatuation is like a Hollywood movie romance. Boy and girl meet. Boy and girl are attracted to each other. Several days later boy and girl confess their love to each other and live happily ever after. Probably not going to happen after only knowing each other for a few days!! 


Love is God's way to do romance. And He even tells us exactly what love is. In 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle Paul writes; 

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

Love never fails." Our world's definition of love definitely doesn't stand up to that definition. But I strive to have that kind of love for everyone I meet, and in God's perfect timing, he'll bring someone special into my life if that's His plan for my life. :)