Choose Love

Before we can choose love, we have to define it. According to the dictionary, love is an intense feeling of deep affection. A feeling? Really? If love is a feeling, then we can’t really control it. I mean, my feelings go all over the place. I might be feeling happy one moment and sad the next. If love is only a feeling, than we have very little power over it. I find that hard to believe, which made me do a bit more research.

Love is defined in 1 Cor 13:4-7. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

That does not sound like a feeling - true love is more than that. Love is action. Love is putting someone else’s best interests ahead of your own. It is unselfish. 

This morning my pastor preached on the Work of Love. One of his points was that love is a choice we make. The bible says in Col 3 that we are to put on kindness, meekness, patience and other characteristics like Christ, but it also tells us above all those things to put on love.  The fact that we can “put it on” says we can choose to love or not to love. We can be kind and not envy.  We don’t have to dishonor others or be self-seeking.  We don’t have to hold wrongs against others.  In fact, if we do, that is not love, no matter what we call it. 

If we say we love someone, but do the things mentioned in 1 Cor 13, we’re lying.  I don’t know about you, but while all lies are sin, I think the worst lies are those we tell ourselves.  If we can’t be honest with ourselves, who can we be honest with? We definitely won’t be honest with God or anyone else. I challenge you to look at the definition above and check yourself. Do you love like that? Does your life reflect the Godly definition of love? If not, let’s get it right. God is love and the way we show love is the evidence we are His (John 13:35). What does you evidence look like? If your evidence is lacking, take this opportunity to repent and ask for His help in showing love like His. If you ask in faith, He will give it to you. You just have to walk it out. Don’t miss an opportunity to allow your life to testify of His great love for us. Choose Love.