Monday, March 7, 2011

What does love truly mean?

Over the past week I have been learning a lot about love. I've learned that the definition of love can be summed up in a three letter word: GOD. God is love, and because He is love we can replace the word love in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 with His name.
 4 GOD is patient and kind;GOD does not envy or boast; HE is not arrogant 5or rude. HE does not insist on HIS own way; HE is not irritable or resentful; 6 HE does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 GOD bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
 8 GOD never ends.
I have found this to be very encouraging, and since we are supposed to be Christ-like, what better way than to imitate God! ****No greater love is there than for one man to lay his life down for a friend.

I must mention something that disturbed me today. I met an old friend I had not seen in almost four or five years, and one of the things she mentioned in our conversation over lunch was that if her marriage didn't work out she could always divorce. What got my goat was that she said it like it was nothing serious, like it didn't matter if her and her husband were together or divorced... Did not the vows you made to one another during the wedding ceremony mean anything at all?!? I see a major problem here, and it is that people nowadays are not taking their vows, or promises, seriously. Marriage is a sacred covenant between and man and a woman, and is not intended to be taken lightly. It is the closest thing we as human beings will ever experience emotionally on earth to the love that Jesus has for us. This is why the church is referred to as the bride of Jesus and Jesus as the groom! It burdens me greatly that our country is no longer upholding marriage to what it was meant to be. Instead of marriages in America, we now have civil unions... Why then do we bother to have contracts anymore...? I choose to uphold my covenant of purity to God in the way I live my life for Him, whole heartedly, and to my future spouse by keeping myself morally clean for the joyous prize it will bring on our wedding day! Dear brothers and sisters, chose to take pride in upholding your vows and covenants! The time is drawing near when our Savior will be calling for His bride, and it is time we make ourselves ready!

1 comment:

  1. One thing I like about love, is that it is totally abstract and yet so concrete. I do enjoy your definition of love. As I search for definitions, did you know that there are 28 definitions in Webster's Dictionary on love? They should probably look at your definition and add it to the book too. If it were not for God's love, we wouldn't be here...I wouldn't be here. I know I'm not as obedient or as much of a servant as I should be, But i know that God loves me for who I am, and I love Him. He is my Father, and I am very proud of that fact.
    As for the conversation you and your friend had, I could never imagine divorcing my husband. He is my best friend in life and it matters a great deal to me whether we are together or not. If something happens where we have the thought barely enter our minds we are going to work and pray for this issue to resolve so that we can stay together. Divorce is NOT an option for us.

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