Do You Love Me?
One of the most sought out answer comes from asking this question, “Do you love me?” I don’t care what your background or ethnicity or what your upbringing was, none of that matters when it comes to wanting to hear that you are loved!
A quick look at how “love” is even defined may help us to know if we are indeed loved or not. The American Heritage Dictionary says that love is “an intense affection for another person based on familial or personal ties.”
That definition strikes me funny. Notice with me what it says right smack in the middle…”based on”. The words “based on” infers that loving someone is conditional. If we can make the definition of love personal, it would say this, “I love you BECAUSE _______ (fill in the blank).
Anyone can look at the enormous high rate of divorce today, especially among Christian couples , and see that our love can at times become like a thermometer; hot one day and cold the next. Our love is tempered by our emotions and feelings.
God didn’t intend love to be like that. In fact, He suggests that we love unconditionally, that means instead of “I love you BECAUSE”, we should say, “I love you NO MATTER WHAT”!
Loving someone unconditionally means no matter the pain, no matter the problem, no matter the cost, we still love them. The closest thing that I can relate to here on earth that demonstrates such unconditional love is that love relationship that is present between a parent and a child. I’ve known many parents who have grieved over the choices that their children have made, but they still loved them. Mothers who visit their child in prison; they still love them. Parents who check their child into a drug rehab program, they still love them. Grandparents that are raising their grandkids because their son or daughter have made other choices more important, they still love their kids.
Love REALLY IS a choice!
The Bible says that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and He gave the ultimate sacrifice for sake of love; “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son.” (John 3:16a)
God IS love and His love is different than any kind of love you or I can give, His love is unconditional. God is like the parent who loves NO MATTER WHAT, except His love is even wider, greater and more dependable than even that. God gave His only Son to die for the sake of love; not just because He loved us but that we, in turn, would love Him (and others) back, unconditionally.
God loves us so much!
Hopefully the next time you are asked, “Do you love me?” – I pray you can say, “Yes, I love you NO MATTER WHAT!”
BLESSINGS. Laurie
@copyright2019 laurieadams
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Amen to that, Laurie. Love is “No Matter What”…