It’s Valentine’s day tomorrow, and I was thinking about what Love is. I also asked my husband Philip how He would explain love but he just started singing love songs to me 🙂
The Bible, however is a little more helpful in it’s description of what love is. It says,
“Love endures with patience and serenity. Love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking; it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured.It does not rejoice at injustice but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].” (1 Cor 12:4-7 AMP)
We don’t have the sort of love the bible talks about in our own capacity or strength. It takes God’s love in our lives to love like that fully or to even get close to it.
I believe love is the most powerful force in the Universe and worth taking a risk to both open our hearts to be loved and also to love another. Love empowers, increases our capacity, makes us brave and helps us overcome. It covers over many sins, casts out fear and enables us to do things that perhaps we had thought were impossible. When we love one another, we become bigger, better people, and God’s love is made complete in us. (1 Peter 4:8; Ephesians 4:2)
“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.” ( Song of Solomon 8:7)
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Hatred paralyses life; Love releases it. Hatred confuses life; Love harmonises it. Hatred darkens life; Love illuminates it.”
On our wedding day, the pastor who conducted our ceremony said, “today you are madly in love and could never imagine that you would have a day where you aren’t feeling like that. However, if there is ever a time when you are annoyed, angry and don’t feel very loving towards one another then ask your Heavenly Father to fill your hearts with His Love which will enable you to love where you feel you can’t.”
It was good advice on loving in general because let’s face it, sometimes we do end up withdrawing, fighting, arguing, and not acting in love towards others. Especially when people can hurt you; whether that is a partner, child, family member, friend, colleague or whoever.
People hurt people, and to keep our “love on” God says to tap into a reserve of love not merely found in looking deeper within ourselves, but in turning to and connecting to Him, because He is Love. His Love overcomes and is the most potent force in the universe, which cannot and will not fail. (1 Cor 13:7, John 15)
Today whatever state your relationships, heart, and life are in, God wants you to know His love is available to fill your heart and to shed His love abroad in your heart. His love is not fragile but constant and stable. It enables us to heal, breakthrough, forgive, become bigger on the inside, causes our faith to go to work, and overcomes!
“And now these three remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
“Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up. “ (1 Cor 13:4-7 TPT)
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your Love which causes me to overcome. I choose to let go of every hurt today and ask that your Love would go to work in every circumstance because I know that your Love in me never fails. Help me to open my heart to love today. In Jesus name Amen.