I'm certain I could probably fill a book with this information, but in praying for what to write today, I feel compelled to continue our talk from yesterday. Yesterday, we established that love is not accepting of everything, and love does not look the other way. Today, I want to dive, deeply into something else love is not: a feeling, or an emotion. All too often, in our stories, poems, songs, movies and every other media, love is a warm fuzzy feeling, or being overcome by an emotion. This is a dangerous precedent, because our feelings and emotions can be manipulated. At it's very core, love is a choice. All too often, many relationships are torn apart because the loving feeling or emotion is gone. They just "don't feel love" any more, either from or for another person. Many people leave the church for this same reason. The same people who say that one can't choose who they love, also say that they don't feel love for someone anymore when the relationships they chose to be in seem stale. It's a contradiction. The fact is, love has always been about choice. In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve a choice: Love me, walk with me, rule the earth and obey my one command, or choose your own autonomy, but in that way lies death. Adam and Eve chose to rule themselves, and so disobeyed God. Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane also faced a choice. "Father, if this cup may be taken from me." Jesus knew that His choice would mean to save Himself, or save the world. And so he chose "Not my will, but yours be done." When it comes down to it, Love is about choosing to die to your own wants, wishes, desires, and at times even your very life. Love is the greatest choice you can make. Choose to love God, and gain the freedom that comes with joy and peace beyond all understanding. Love is all about Choice. He chose to love us, and so set us free. Choose to love Him, sacrifice your self-desire, and choose freedom!
1 John 4
God Is Love
7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannota love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Footnotes: a 20 Some manuscripts how can he
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