What do you think is the most over used word in the English language?
Want a hint? It's 4 letters.
We use it for everything.
It can be the key to a relationship.
It can also be the way to describe the way you feel about a pair of shoes.
That's right. L O V E.
Lets play a game that I'm sure you all have at least once in your life.
Which sentence does not belong?
I love that car! I love this food! I love country music! I'm in love with Brad Pitt! I love Jesus!
That's a tough one.
(not)
3 years ago, I started to write my thoughts about love and what it really is. The longer I went, the harder it got. Did I actually learn anything? Sure. But I became sick of the concept that everybody loves everything!
Think about it. If everybody loves everything, then everybody loves nothing. Because it would become obsolete. So there must be something special about love that I've been missing.
That's been my thought for quite a while.
Being a wedding photographer, I get to meet a lot of people who are "in love."
I read a photographers blog once about how she was always being asked how she liked being single when she was always meeting new people who have these incredible love stories. Her response was that she was just getting more experience so that she would know the in's and out's of relationships so that she would be ready when the time came. And that she could really tell a difference in those couples who had God at the center of their lives.
I've already noticed this. And I've only done 3 weddings.
You can tell when people are truly happy. And when they are just happy because they need to be. (which sometimes actually turns into unhappiness on their wedding day...just saying.)
Those couples who are really happy, usually love God and have put Him first in everything. He's their number one. Not their spouse. And they know that only He can keep their relationship in a lasting position.
The question to ask them would be: How do you love God first, and then love your husband/wife?
And then as a single person, what should I be doing to prepare myself for the future?
...to be continued.
Well, I'm not married yet but I am in a serious relationship and those same questions have swirled around in my mind on more than one occasion and I think I'm finally coming to the answer. I've read numerous times that God uses marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy, and I think this is true. Although as God uses a marriage (or relationship) to make us more into His image He allows us to experience a very profound contentment and happiness, first and foremost He uses the love that two people share to show us the love He has for us and give us a deeper understanding of Christ and the purpose of the cross. For instance, I've discovered recently that you don't know the depths of the love you can have for another person until you have to forgive them, completely. Forgiveness forces you to abandon your rights and what you deserve and has you look straight in the face of the person who has offended you and say, "I love you anyway, and I'm willing to forget." The depth of that love is enormous, but how much greater the love that Christ has for us? Romans chapter 5 tells us that while we were counted enemies of God, a perfect Christ came and died for us and took on the wrath we deserve. How awesome is our God! And this from only a decision to put away selfishness and take on a single loving act. Anyway, God has great plans for you, and to be prepared for the marriage He has in your future, I think you should only continue to seek Him faithfully, and He will do wonders in your life.
ReplyDeleteHow wise you are! It usually takes people a long time and a lot of heartbreak before they realize that love is just another name for God. It is easy to say I love you but much harder to prove it. I enjoyed reading your words and will return for more of your wisdom. Keep it coming. Even at my age, I need all the reminders I can get.
ReplyDeleteI recently read a book called "I Kissed Dating Goodbye",by Joshua Harris, and was very pleased with its contents. I'm sure you would like it. Keep writing :)
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