I have read somewhere, it could be from a text, that love is a decision. I disagree. Love is not love when you have to constantly think about your actions, when you have to consistently try to prove your love for somebody. I'm not saying that you don't have to show your love in deeds but the word "trying" makes it not love because one of the characteristics of love should be spontaneity. Love is not premeditated; it is spontaneous.
"I love God and so I plan to do certain things to prove it. I have to go to church. I have to hold my tongue. I have to love my enemies. I have to do this and that..."
There should be nothing wrong about the statement above but --. Honestly, we really don't have to do anything for Him, more so are the things that we do for Him shouldn't feel like "we have to" because we love Him; it should be I love Him and as a result of that I have done, I did, I'm doing this. Love bursts forth in extraordinary ways and when we look back, we can be amazed by how far our emotions had led us, had drove us to do something.
On the other hand, falling in love could be a choice; we can help love grow. Whether you have just decided to accept the love of God in your life, a follower but had gotten weak or just plainly a curious creature who wanted to take a peek into the world of being in love with the Lord, we can help that feeling grow into a full blossoming, fruit bearing love.
Romans 5:5 reminded us that "God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit". The fountain from which love flows are in God, not in us.
Vernon Grounds from Our Daily Bread shares these points about how to grow in love:
Ponder God’s love in Christ. Take time to reflect on how He gave His life for you. Read about Him in the Gospels, and thank Him.
Pray for the love of God. Ask Him to give you an understanding of His love and to teach you how to live that out in your relationships with your spouse and others (1 Cor. 13).
Practice the love of God. Give of yourself. A newlywed told me he thinks love is practical. He said, “My responsibility is to make life easier for my spouse.” The other, tougher side of love is to challenge each other to act in godly ways.
Love will grow when we ponder love, pray for love, and practice love.
Lord, teach us the secret of loving,
The love we want to give You today;
Then help us to love one another;
For this we most earnestly pray.
The love we want to give You today;
Then help us to love one another;
For this we most earnestly pray.
1 comment:
this is a great and insightful post. i've been praying more and more for God to teach me how to love and them stretch my love, thanx for the great post.
Post a Comment