WHAT'S LOVE?

That can be a rather complicated question.   To all of us love means many different things.  There are so many different definitions, so many different feelings, so many different emotions.  Then there are many different levels of love.  Love makes puts butterflies in our tummies, it makes our heart skip a beat, or it can make our mouth water. 

This sundae Jerry and I got at Downtown Disney a few weeks ago renewed my love for sundaes.  My mouth watered and my eyes just about popped out of my head.  The chocolate, the strawberries, the ice cream, the whipped cream, and the chocolate covered strawberry on top still speaks of love to me.  Oh I better stop talking about this sundae right now!  My mouth is watering.

  

We humans attach the word love to many things.  We love our pets, we love our homes, we love our vacation time, we love our church, we love a certain entertainer, we love our TV shows, we love the drama in some peoples lives, we love the sunshine, we say we love so many different things and people that the term "love" has become diluted.

What's love?  No I mean real love.  What is real love?   Can you live without it?  Can you accept it?  Can you give it?

You know I look at my life and I realize that I have been blessed to have Jerry as my true love.  The funny thing is true love is not the way they portray in the movies.  It is hard, it is messy and it can be very risky.  To give your heart away to someone else, to share all your dark secrets and intimate details of yourself means your heart is left wide open to be hurt.  But without true love, life is meaningless and empty.  

Yes I can get frustrated with Jerry as well as he gets frustrated with me.  (I'm not perfect, I'm a work in progress.)  But with patience and forgiveness and love we have come out on top.  Love isn't easy and it isn't a fairy tale.  It takes work and commitment to make true love work.   One of the wisest things I ever heard about love is this, "Love is a decision, not an emotion.  Every morning you wake up you have a decision to make.  Will you love that person lying next to you or not?"   How you answer that question will determine if your love will last or not.

1 Corinthians 13:1  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 

The love I receive from Jerry fills my heart to overflowing, as well as my love for him puts a smile on my face and my heart skip a beat every time he walks into the room, even after 35 years of marriage.  But I do have to confess I have a love that is deeper and more profound than Jerry.  Sorry hon!

My love for Jesus Christ my Savior goes deeper and wider than anything I have ever experienced.  The true love I have for Jesus has filled my life with a peace so profound and so deep that it is probably unbelievable to those of you who don't believe in Him.  I wake up every morning not only loving my husband, but loving my Savior who died for me.  This love I have for Jesus warms my heart and fills even the cloudiest, stormiest days, with sunshine.

And you know what?  He loves me too!  His love for me fills me and surrounds me, it overtakes me and embraces me to the very depth of my soul and beyond.  His loves gives me confidence and strength.  His love for me has given me an assurance that one day I will live in heaven with Him for eternity.  His love has given me hope even on the darkest of nights.  His love has overwhelmed me and transformed me.  

If you have never known this type of love before I want you to know that Jesus Christ loves you too!  He is waiting for you and longing for you to love Him and accept Him.  I will never be without love again because His Holy Spirit dwells in me and renews His love for me every second of every minute of every hour of every day.  

Jesus, today I want to experience the love you have for me.  Come into my heart and fill me to overflowing with your love.  In Your name I pray, amen!