Love Never Fails

Let's talk about love.  I'm not talking about the earthly, conditional love. I am talking about the never failing, unconditional, all sufficient love of our Heavenly Father. Love is such a broad subject that I almost didn't write about it but I couldn't get the topic out of my heart. We all know about love, how it's supposed to work, and so forth, but that doesn't always mean we are actually doing it. I am so guilty of  knowing what I am supposed to be doing, but sometimes failing to actually do it. Things are much easier said than done. Love, in my opinion, is one of the most important aspects of life. Love is everything. There are times when I wonder if I am loving enough. I hear people talk about how to love others, what you should do, what you should say. And for those of you who don't really know me, I am quite the odd ball. So it seems to me that everything I do is a little strange compared to everyone else. But I believe that's how God intended to make me.
We all know what love is. 1 Corinthians 13 explains it perfectly, but I have come to discover that we all love in very different ways. Since God is love and we would never dare to put him in a box, then why do we try to put love in a box? Love this way, or that way. It all comes down to the individual person. Love has different forms. One person may show love by donating money. One may show love with affection. Another might even show love by doing the dishes, which my husband is very good at. I spent the first couple years of our marriage trying to get him to love me the way I wanted him to. Not the way he did it best. Not all of us show love the same and we can't try to make someone love in any certain way. We can't expect people to buy gifts just because others do or go around showing affection because they may have just never learned how. It took me years just to get used to hugging people. But I love it now!


I believe that in order to really express love for others, you have to first feel it yourself. Before I started coming to Maranantha Church several years ago, I was very far away from knowing what love felt like or what it was. My heart was broken in so many ways  I felt like someone was going to have to take a chisel to it just to get through all the layers; rejection seemed to be the only thing I knew how to feel. Then I met my husband. God's love and my husband's love for me, has totally changed my life. There is no greater feeling than the love of your Heavenly Father. His love can reach the deepest places of your heart that no one else can and just totally transform you into this completely different being. And believe me, the way he has loved me has been unlike any human love I have ever experienced. It is totally different. Maybe because it's unconditional. No matter what we do, His love never fails.  I know lots of times it is so hard to love people exactly like that. But if you think back on how God's love has changed you, then you might think loving someone else is totally worth all the sacrifices you make in doing it. 


One thing I keep hearing from people lately is "well this person hurt me deeply so they don't deserve my love". Reality check...but they NEED it, regardless of what they have done to us. In my opinion, to withhold love for any reason is selfish. It's not all about me or us. No one ever really deserves love but that's not what love is about anyway. Love is hard work. If we could just get passed ourselves, lay it all down, and learn how to love others the way Christ does, this whole world could be changed. I have someone close to me that is constantly using me and trying to manipulate me. But I think if I just keep loving her consistently it will pay off one day. It's hard because I don't automaticaly want to even bother with it. Then I am reminded of how much love God has shown me. Even when I have lied to Him, and pushed him away. He never gave up on me even when I didn't deserve it. I believe we should love in the exact same way. It doesn't matter who did what to us. Love is unconditional. We are told to love, plain and simple, There are no "what if" situations. Whether it be in church, at home, at work, or in our circle of friends...love should always win. Love always conquers the enemy.
Love never fails.


Love
Amanda B.