Love?

Lately I have been thinking about love. What is love? Why do we use the word love so flippantly? What does love look like? How do we love someone? Why would we love our enemies as ourselves?? Is love just a figment of our imagination? Is it a feeling or an action?

I have come to realize love is a choice. I read “Blue Like Jazz” this past summer. It had a brief section on love and what love is yadda yadda yadda (get the book yourself, well worth it). But Miller talks about love as a choice. This blew my mind. I can CHOOSE to love. I can wake up every morning and decided to love people. I have always known that love is more than a feeling. I was brought up with the teaching that love is an action. But now I know that love is a choice!

I have also learned you need some pretty tough skin to love people. People will hurt you, they will disappoint you, and they will take advantage of you. Loving people involves a lot of hurt and pain to be quite honest. But making that choice to love them anyway is making the choice to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. And that is what we are called to do. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself. How simple! How hard!

I’m currently reading The Irresistible Revolution. In it Claiborne says ‘We can live without sex, we can’t live without love.’ We need to reach out to people with arms of love. People are so hungry for love, hungry for Jesus. Making a decision to love people will bring about acts of compassion. Love has the heart of a servant and the courage of a lion.

In all honesty it can be quite the challenge to choose love, but it is always worth it.