Love Well

I have been thinking a lot about love and marriage. Possibly because tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Possibly because my church is getting ready to have a Pursuing Passion weekend with our youth. Possibly because my daughter is getting married in four months. And possibly because after twenty four years I still am hopelessly in love with my sweet husband.


I think it is so imperative that we teach our young people what love really is. God's kind of love. Danny and I were talking with some friends this weekend about what one of the overriding reasons we see as causing so much hurt in relationships. The only thing we could come up with was selfishness. We live in such a "me" driven culture. The overriding theme of life seems to be what is in it for me. How is this going to affect me or my life or my comfort level.


I was thinking about what love really means. What does it look like? How do we model it? How do we teach our children to love well? The only thing I could come up with was to look at Jesus. So, this morning I read 1 Corinthians 13. I was struck by the fact that in the translation of The Message the writer translates the words into more of what love is not instead of what love is. I started thinking about my own children and how I relate to their understanding and culture. They see so much dysfunction and hurt. They live in a world that has been distorted and a world that has tried to teach them that there is no absolute truth. I actually like the way The Message translates these verses. It shows us how much the world around us has skewed our view. It takes what is so prevalent today and reminds us that God's ways are unique and different than the world's ways. When we love like Jesus we stand out.

Love never gives up. 

Love cares more for others than for self. 

Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.    

Love doesn't strut,    

Doesn't have a swelled head,    

Doesn't force itself on others,   

 Isn't always "me first,"    

Doesn't fly off the handle,    

Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,    

Doesn't revel when others grovel,    

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,    

Puts up with anything,    

Trusts God always,   

Always looks for the best,    

Never looks back,    

But keeps going to the end.

I want to stand out this week. In a week that is focused on the world's view of love, I want to love like Jesus. I want to live in such a way that the world around me sees a difference. Oh, how I want to love well.