True Love

It is almost Valentines once again or as some call it, singles awareness day. Whether someone admits it or not we all want to be loved. We all want to experience love. It does not matter if we have a spouse, serious relationship, family, or friends. A lot of times in order to receive love we have to give love. We also all know that love can be fake or it can be real or true. So the real question is what is "true love" then?

Well we have always been taught that we will know it when we see it. Well unfortunately all I see are fake relationships in hollywood and in culture, that are not real or are only for a little while. What about the idea that you will have true love when you have those butterflies and all the bubbles inside of you? Yeah you know those bubbles... Well even if you do have that for someone they honestly go away after awhile. So what are you to do then?

I see the greatest example of love, believe it or not, is in the Bible, is in Jesus. Ok it may be cliché. Usually the most cliché thoughts are the most true. What always gets me in my relationship to my wife is a passage in the word of God. In Ephesians 5:25 it says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." The way Jesus loved was sacrificially. He gave of himself. That is not the definition that most people would use for true love. It is usually defined as what can I get out of this relationship. That may be emotions, physically, or otherwise. Just like in so many things Jesus is so counter culture. He defined true love as sacrifice. How much are you willing to give of yourself in a relationship?

I could go on and on how this idea will transform your relationships. How much are you willing to sacrifice for your family, for your kids, for your friends, for your spouse, and most importantly God. I hope you will adapt this idea that love = sacrifice. It is that simple and that effective.