True Love

I Corinthians 13:13 - “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”  NLT

I remember when I fell in love with my wife.  There was this rush of emotion and thought that went through me.  The emotion was - I want to be with you forever and I don’t care about anything else.  The thought was - how can I go through life without this person?  Not once did I ever think - I wonder what kinds of hang-ups she has, or I wonder if she has any little idiosyncrasies that are hidden and I won’t like after I marry her?  None of those things entered into my emotions or thoughts - I was in love.  I discovered some things after we were married.  Not only did she have some idiosyncrasies, but I had some, too.  Not only did she have some hang-ups, but I had some, too.  And I quickly discovered something else - I loved her so much - I DIDN’T CARE - most of the time!  Although it took some time before I quit trying to change her.  What is it about love, true love, that looks past all of those things?

True love looks beyond those things and sees the person.  We see the heart of the person, we see the soul, we see the talents and gifts.  True love sees a person, I believe, through the eyes of God - you are who you are and you are beautiful.  True love is concerned about how I can bring happiness into your life.  I love my wife more and more everyday. She is older, doesn’t look quite the same as she used to, has some habits that are now set in concrete, enjoys the grandchildren more than me(or so it seems), and generally has changed over the years and the world would say maybe it is time to trade her in.  I say to do so would only be trading down.  The love we have for each other is deeper than ever.  True love lets my wife enjoy the things that bring her pleasure because I find pleasure in her pleasure.  True love appreciates the little habits to which I have grown accustomed.  True love looks in the mirror and says - “Wow.  I have gotten older, too.”  True love appreciates watching her interact with our grandchildren, giving up some of my time, for it reminds me of watching her with our children - and those are great memories to relive.  True love is loving for who they are - right now with no expectations about tomorrow.

God loves us that way.  He sees us for who we are - and He knows who we are.  He sees us with all of our hang-ups, our idiosyncrasies, our habits, and all our good points and bad.  He loves us so much He sent His son to die for us.  Now this is where true love gets really exciting.  God’s only request is that we love Him back.  And here is what I have learned about God - He doesn’t have to push and tug to get me to let go of the bad stuff.  I let go because I want to - because I love Him so much.  He never gets real pushy - He just gets real loving.  And the more He loves for who I am - the more I want to be who He wants me to be - Holy as He is Holy.

You know what I learned in my marriage?  We didn’t have to really push each other out of some of our bad habits.  More often than not, we just loved each other out of them.  You see, that’s what real love is all about - I love you where you are and as you love me back neither of us is willing to stay where we are.  I guess you could say true love and serving are two words that go hand in hand.  The more I serve her, the more she loves me.  The more she serves me, the more I love her.  And best of all - nothing else really matters because the greatest of all is love.

You are prayed for and loved!!
Pastor Roger