Love is a choice (and a verb)
Love is not an emotion. Love is a choice. If love was an emotion then any time someone we loved hurt us, or lied to us, we would simply turn our backs on them and walk away. For all the times that I have turned my back on God, he should have done just that. But he chooses to love me, chooses to remain faithful, to remain true, not only to us, but to himself.
We should do the same, recognizing love as something decided, enacted and consistently done, not something felt. If I am to be any kind of husband, any kind of father, any kind of brother, any kind of friend...then I must daily choose to love others, not just with my emotions, but also in my habits, in my day to day decisions.
I may not be married, but I can love my wife now, by remaining faithful to her, by not giving into lust, by not entering into shallow and fruitless relationships simply to pass the time until I meet her, by working on my work ethic, my cleanliness, my hygiene, my consistency, consistency, consistency...
I may not have children, but I can love them now, by learning to actively listen to other people, by learning how to spend time with people in the interest of investing in them for no personal profit or reward, by disciplinging myself against letting the stress of the day dictate how I treat the people around me.
I am a brother, and I can continue to love my sister and my brothers but continuing to encourage them and stay in touch with them, doing my best to let them know that I care about them and want to pray for them.
I am a friend, and I can love my friends now by being a positive, uplifting, supportive, listening person in their lives. Someone who they know wants the best for them, with no care for return.
Love is something we choose, not something we feel. Emotions are a part of how we feel about love, but they are not love itself. How I feel should not rule who I am...who I am should rule how I feel. If I am a Christian, then I will have joy, and peace, and stillness, and I will become less and less ruled by my fickle emotions.
And in the end, my ability to put emotions in their proper place will better enable me to love others, to accept and learn from correction, to control my temper in the in the interest if respecting others and to learn more about God as I grow in relationship to him by way of the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ.
So if you want to love others, do this.
Seek God through the daily reading of scripture, daily praying (talking AND listening to God), and consistent fellowship with the church (that is the people, not the building).
If I say that I am a Christian, will you not seem me doing things that such a claim would suggest?
If I say that I love, will you not see the evidence of that in my life?
Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.
In Christ,
Colby
ps - maybe DC Talk got it right when they said..."Love is a verb"
We should do the same, recognizing love as something decided, enacted and consistently done, not something felt. If I am to be any kind of husband, any kind of father, any kind of brother, any kind of friend...then I must daily choose to love others, not just with my emotions, but also in my habits, in my day to day decisions.
I may not be married, but I can love my wife now, by remaining faithful to her, by not giving into lust, by not entering into shallow and fruitless relationships simply to pass the time until I meet her, by working on my work ethic, my cleanliness, my hygiene, my consistency, consistency, consistency...
I may not have children, but I can love them now, by learning to actively listen to other people, by learning how to spend time with people in the interest of investing in them for no personal profit or reward, by disciplinging myself against letting the stress of the day dictate how I treat the people around me.
I am a brother, and I can continue to love my sister and my brothers but continuing to encourage them and stay in touch with them, doing my best to let them know that I care about them and want to pray for them.
I am a friend, and I can love my friends now by being a positive, uplifting, supportive, listening person in their lives. Someone who they know wants the best for them, with no care for return.
Love is something we choose, not something we feel. Emotions are a part of how we feel about love, but they are not love itself. How I feel should not rule who I am...who I am should rule how I feel. If I am a Christian, then I will have joy, and peace, and stillness, and I will become less and less ruled by my fickle emotions.
And in the end, my ability to put emotions in their proper place will better enable me to love others, to accept and learn from correction, to control my temper in the in the interest if respecting others and to learn more about God as I grow in relationship to him by way of the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ.
So if you want to love others, do this.
Seek God through the daily reading of scripture, daily praying (talking AND listening to God), and consistent fellowship with the church (that is the people, not the building).
If I say that I am a Christian, will you not seem me doing things that such a claim would suggest?
If I say that I love, will you not see the evidence of that in my life?
Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.
In Christ,
Colby
ps - maybe DC Talk got it right when they said..."Love is a verb"
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