What would you do to get it? Would you take great risks? Would you sacrifice something great in order to have it?
Many of us find ourselves right in the middle of all of these questions at some point in our life. We might have taken a great risk for love or sacrificed something great in order to reach that pinnacle of "being in love".
Maybe we thought that we met "the one" only to find out in the end that they weren't really "the one", but just someone that we got wrapped up in far too quickly. We believe that love is a feeling, but love is not a feeling, it is so much more than that.
Yet, our culture and our media teaches us that love is feeling. It says be with someone who makes you happy and not just some of the time, but all the time and if they don't make you happy all the time, well then you can call it quits. No big deal. Isn't that an unrealistic expectation to put on someone though? Aren't we making it about ourselves when we say its your responsibility to make me happy? Is it, really? Or are we just projecting the selfish desire of our own selfish hearts onto someone who's looking to you to make them feel happy all of the time too. In the end what we do is grow to resent that person, because they can't give us ultimate, lasting, 24/7 365 happiness.
Maybe some of us have had our heart broken, because that gaping hole that was crying out for love caused us to seek it from a person who couldn't love us unconditionally. The feelings faded and the excitement of a new relationship wore off and here we were left with this person that we got way too emotionally wrapped up with right from the start. Ever been there? Yeah, me too.
Could it be that love isn't a feeling? If it were then our relationships would be based upon something that changes with the wind. Today I love you, but tomorrow I'm mad at you, so now I'm not sure. See what I mean?
Maybe real love is grounded only in something that is unchangeable, steadfast, filled with hope and lasting joy? Maybe real love involves commitment and sacrifice.
Maybe we're running around, burning the bridges of love, because we've never experienced this real and lasting love. A love that doesn't change with the wind, but grows stronger with each passing day. A love that cost someone a great price. A love that reached beyond limits for you. I like the sound of that love, don't you?
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.- 1 John 3:16
Ah, there it is, real and everlasting love. It's sacrificial, it loves without limits and it cost someone a great price. It's that kind of love that no earthly person can give you. Sure, people can love us to some degree like this, but ultimately this love is only found in Jesus Christ.
You can spend your life chasing after love or you can stop, turn around and pursue love from Jesus Christ. Ask Him to take control of your life and to set you free with the great love that he displayed for you by dying in your place so that you might have freedom, life and forgiveness from all your mistakes.
I spent too much of my time chasing after love that faded, looking to a person to fill that gaping hole in my heart for love, but when I stopped chasing and laid my life down at the feet of Jesus Christ I found a love that was greater and that reached higher than any love I have ever known.
I don't want to chase after love that can fade. I want to chase after a love that is unchanging and everlasting, but what about you?
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