In a world which sells sex and physical attraction as being of utmost importance and encourages everyone to put themselves and their needs before others, love and even being able to recognise it when it’s right in front of us, can get very missed and lost in translation.
Many people haven’t even seen a loving relationship last the distance of time or with any consistency, and therefore they don’t know what it looks like or what to expect or aim for. Parents separate, people cheat on one another, arguments and strife are everywhere and disappointments and broken hearts abound.
However love is God’s idea, and since He is love and is always working in people’s lives, true, pure love must and does still exist. It’s just that sometimes we need to be shown or reminded of what it looks like.
Today for me that love looked like an egg on toast.
I’d woken up early with a lot on my mind and was busy telling my sleepy husband all about my thoughts. After a while He disappeared out to the kitchen to get us both some eggs on toast to have breakfast in bed together. He loves his eggs for breakfast. A few minutes later he comes into the room with my chai and a plate with an egg and toast on it. I asked where his breakfast was and he replied, “there was only one egg”.
There was only one egg and my husband of nearly 30 years chose to give the breakfast he wanted for himself to me. Not only did he give it to me, but he also did it with a huge smile, and his crazy dimples beaming happily at me.
We can so easily miss what love is because love’s not only in the grand gestures, diamond rings, expensive dinners or big holidays – amazing as they all are. Love is an everyday choice we make in the little things; in the preferring of other’s before ourselves, in the “what can I do to bless you” thoughts and actions, in the gestures of kindness and seeking to serve one another.
Love isn’t about how much we can get from someone, but how much we can give to someone!
After 30 years of being together my man still opens the door for me, cooks dinner a lot of the time, sends me text messages throughout the day to see how I’m going, and looks for ways to bless and show care and kindness towards me. He’s not perfect, but he seeks God to help him to always be growing, and to be a better husband, father and person every day. He knows he can’t love like he wants to without God’s help, so he doesn’t try. Instead everyday I watch as my husband seeks God’s face, spends time in His presence and His Word, renews his thinking and life to line up with how God does and sees things and then works to put it into words and actions.
We all mess up because we are works in progress. We are God’s masterpieces that He is perfecting. But God is love and if we keep our hearts open, our minds constantly being renewed by His words and choose what He says over what we want, we will be transformed to love in a way that will change us, those close to us and in the lives of all we have influence and contact with.
I was reminded today of what love is…and in my eyes my man won my heart all over again with a simple egg on toast.
Today I encourage you to seek God’s heart and His ways. He is love and the only one that can equip us to love like He does – unconditionally and without limits. He promises when we draw near to Him that He will smooth off the rough edges in us, cleanse us from our past wrongs and failings, lead us in the right way to walk, help us to let go of that which would lead us astray and learn to trust Him as He guides us to the relationships he has planned for us and to the real thing! His love working in us will always enable us to let go of fear and to love beyond measure just like He does.
“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Romans 5:5 NLT)
“Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head,Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,”Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,Puts up with anything, Trusts God always,Always looks for the best,Never looks back,But keeps going to the end”. (1 Corinthians 13:3-7 The Message)
Prayer: Lord thank you that you love me so much and are faithful to cleanse and forgive me when I miss love’s mark. Would you please continue to transform me by your word and presence in my life so that I will grow to love as you love, and be able to see that outworked in my relationships. Today I stand on your promise that your love never fails. In Jesus name Amen.
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