Cheap Love

"Love". It's a word thrown around rather lightly these days. We love our family, we love steak, we love football, we love our cars, we love movies....etc. The definition of Love appears to be cheapened. It doesn't mean much any more.

We forget how special love is. God loved us and died for us. That is true love. Love means more than a like or an affection. To help describe love, allow me to share a poem/writing I did several months ago on the subject, and is based off 1 Corinthians 13:

Love,
It's such an intangible concept.
What is Love?
Is it "mushy stuff",
Attraction,
A desire to be filled,
A desire to fill good,
or is it something more?

Fairy tales tell of "true love",
And love that "lasts forever",
"And they lived happily ever after."
But, one wonders,
What is it?

What is true love?
What does it mean?

Could it be,
That true love goes beyond one's self?
That it is more than personal fulfillment?
That there is more to it,
Than our sex-crazed culture sees?

True love is not selfish,
It is, rather,
Selfless,
Putting others ahead of one's self,
And, even,
Laying down your life for someone.

True love is putting the one you love ahead of yourself,
Their needs,
Their wants,
Being selfless.

True love is not rude,
Or crude,
Or cruel.

Love is patient,
It waits until the right time.
True love does wait.

Love is kind,
It is gentle,
And nurturing.

Love is not jealous,
Or brags,
And is not filled with pride.

Love is not selfish.
It puts others' needs first.

Love does not delight in evil,
Or keep track of them.

Love always trusts,
Always hopes,
Always endures.
Love never ends.

Love is sacrifice,
Respect and trust.
It never fails.

True love is pure,
It never loses hope,
Always cherishes.
It never fails.

That is true love. It is not the love of this world, but of eternity. If we loved like this, there would be fewer divorces, fewer conflicts, fewer marriage problems. We are commanded over and over in the Bible to love others, love~ "agape"; that is, unconditional love. More than that, we must first love God, because He loved us first. He is love! When we love Him, unconditionally, giving Him all that we are, then we can truly love, and live out 1 Corinthians 13.

This is True Love, however it is not enough to read it; the challenge is to do it. Will you truly love?

For Christ's Glory!