LOVE EVEN AS I HAVE LOVED YOU

4 minutes read

I've learned how to love from Love, and I will not be giving or accepting any less.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

-1 John 4:7-8

I've been told I'm a girly girl, so don't be surprised to learn that I absolutely believe in 'happily ever after's', and even look forward to one. Love stories excite me. More so, godly couple love stories. Through all of my excitement and fairy tale hopes though, I have never been one to remove difficulty from a love relationship. So it's safe to say I'm still in touch with reality (Thank God!). Disagreements, tough times, and the likes of them are things I consider a healthy part of a love story. Actually, I believe going through those, and coming out stronger makes an even more beautiful love story. That's the reason I never advocate a break up at first glance. Issues can be and should be worked through, with efforts from both parties though.

Lyrics from Travis Greene's 'Love will always win'

The goal for love relationships for me has always been to love the way Christ loved me. Actually, the goal for all of my relationships, has always been to let the person see Christ's love revealed through me. And it's usually nice.


Messages I hold dear to my heart

Circumstances have made me question this 'standard' of love though. One of such circumstances happened when I got romantically involved with someone. It seemed to me like love was always forgotten anytime we had disagreements. But a voice in my head will always say, now is the time to 'love more', 'put self and pride away', 'apologize'; and that's what I always did. Well, until I didn't anymore, needless to say that ship isn't sailing anymore. Even now, I can't help but ask the question, 'why wasn't love enough?'

So here is where it gets curious for me. Am I giving too much in the name of love? Am I demanding an impossible standard?

Read this - The love relationship you truly desire

I do realize that a lot goes into how a person gives or receives love. Love language, personality types, experiences, and upbringing are only a few of the concepts that go into shaping a person's idea of love. But hey, as Christians, shouldn't all of that pass through a 'Jesus filter' to ensure that the unchristlike qualities are dropped off? For example, if physical touch is at the top of my love language, does that give me the go ahead to disregard all Christian dating physical boundaries in a bid to 'show and express love?' And if I'm of the choleric temperament, does that permit me to hurl abusive and hurtful words in the midst of a disagreement? You see what I mean?

Truth is, I'm curious. I want to know if I have a distorted view of what love really is, and how it should work. I want to know if it is irrational to expect love to be stronger than hurt, pain, and the likes. From what I know and I've read in scriptures though, love is held to a very high standard. So what exactly do the words, 'I LOVE YOU' mean. What commitments am I making when I say those words? What decisions am I taking? Would that love remain when I've felt the deepest hurt? When is the right time to walk away?

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other

-John 13:34

Have you ever felt frustrated because you knew you weren't being loved right? Have you ever questioned your idea of  'Love' because of situations you have been in? That where I am right now. So I'm going to try to learn. This month, I'm learning love from Love Himself. God is love.

The famous 1 Corinthians 13 personalized

I found a book too, 'When God writes your love story' by Eric and Leslie Ludy. I'd be reading that as well. I look forward to discussing this subject with you, really. If you would like to be a part of that discussion, please join here

If you'd also be willing to share an experience and lessons learned with me, I'd be happy to listen and I'd be most grateful. You can reach me here 

Have you read The Wait: Why am I waiting?

Till next time, stay thriving and trusting!

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