Love...

February -- the month of LOVE. In a culture that has distorted the word so much, what does it really mean to love? Let's go to the one source that never lies and is always true...the Bible.

Here is the definition of Love:

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 in the truth.
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Wow, what a stark contrast to what is shown in the media.

To love like it says in Corinthians may seem impossible but as Christians we have the never ending source of love inside of us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Wade pointed out to me one time that Jesus' name can be substituted in every place where it says love in 1 Corinthians 13. I had never thought of it that way, but it makes perfect sense because Jesus is love.

Without Jesus, it's impossible to truly love.

"We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19

So, why do we love? Because He first loved us.

There are many types of love but in this post I am writing about a marital love relationship.

We are being bombarded by a culture telling us that we are loved because of what we look like and what we accomplish. Love is also seen as a feeling, something that can change.

The Bible tells us we are loved because of who we are -- children of the Most High God. The Bible tells that love is an action.

Before Wade and I got married, we were at a college church service where the pastor talked about true love. He spoke of something I had never put together before, nor had I ever heard before in all my years of going to church.

Where are our marriage vows taken?

At the altar.

What is an altar?

The altar is a place of death, a place of sacrifice.

Whoa...

So why at the altar?
When we commit to a person in marriage, we are committing to die to ourself, to sacrifice everything for them.

Are you loving that way today?

There will definitely be times that we fail. I know that I do. When I do, I ask for forgiveness from the Lord and from Wade, then I start again, remembering that when I draw strength from Jesus, He makes it possible for me to love like I never thought I could -- a 1 Corinthians 13 type of love.

Go to Jennifer's post, He First Loved Us, for a fun, quick and easy tutorial on how to make this heart garland.