Our world paints a picture of love as an explosive, emotional tilt-a-whirl that delights our senses, lifting us to endless heights where we experience unimaginable bliss forever, or drops us to the ground to begin again. This lure, dangled in front of millions of teens, single young adults, and even disillusioned spouses escalates in power at this time of year as eyes, ears, noses, and taste buds turn toward hearts – chocolate hearts, gummy hearts, processed-sugar hearts, and even dancing/singing hearts.
With our senses drowning in sugary pleasure, it is difficult to see the Truth. I’m not talking about the facts about dark chocolate hearts; that they increase serotonin in the brain and gut, thus increasing happiness and strengthening the immune system. Although, that IS a blessing.
The Truth -- direct from God's Word -- talks of love more than five-hundred times. The Bible talks about loving God, loving our spouses, loving our neighbors, loving ourselves, and loving strangers. The Word says that God is love, that Jesus is love. It says that love is respect, and obedience, that love is patience and kindness; love is sacrifice; love is unconditional, uplifting and empowering. Love is enduring, unfailing, and everlasting. We could take a lifetime to fully appreciate love according the Truth of the Bible.
Why not place these God-given truths, these facts about love into our metaphoric love “quiver” to use as relationship ammunition, instead of filling that quiver with anger arrows, bitterness arrows, and nit-pick arrows? We can fill our hearts with an ever-expanding love, an ever-increasing knowledge of love. Let’s take a lifetime to fully appreciate the person we’ve chosen to love forever. The only way to do that is to step outside of our own wants and needs and appreciate the different facets of love, why we love this person, who God made this person to be, what loving this person looks like to God, where God wants us to go with this love.
Face it; all relationships have pinnacles and pits. Instead of giving up when we stumble into a valley, we can draw from one of the five-hundred-PLUS types of LOVE we choose to place in our quiver. Apply that love without waiting for a “return” on our investment. Each new love arrow will redefine, reshape our relationship, and teach us new ways to grow together in Christ.
This is the perfect time to LOVE your spouse, your significant other, your neighbor – not with fancy, expensive gifts. Dig in and learn how to really love in Spirit and Truth. Get out of yourself and into your partner’s skin. You CAN do it.
If you’d like more information on HOW love like this, email me at terri@joshua1nine.com with YES in the subject, and I’ll send you a FREE sample of my, Seven-Day Relationship Blast. It is a guide for couples that will be released for purchase on February 14. You can check out this month’s newsletter by clicking the link below.
Until then, do not give up. Love the Lord; love each other, and “trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever” (Psalm 52:8).
