True Love

Love... a word that can cause fear or hope. Chaos or peace. A word that can be used for the simplest things or the most complex. A word that can be so sincere or a word that can be used half heartedly. The world has tainted what love truly is. Actually, I think that's part of the devils job. If he can get us to question what true love is and looks likes, we miss God's heart, and Jesus' gift of grace, salvation, and life. A skewed view of love gives us a skewed view of God, because He is love. But not the fickle, half hearted, emotional, unsure, favorite foods kind of love. The true, real, action, tears of joy and gratitude, undeserved, beautiful, perfect kind of love. The one that never fails. Never disappoints. That kind of love. And it's not just something He does, it's Who He is. God is love. He makes that evident through His actions throughout the entirety of the Bible. Through every word spoken. Every action taken. Love is the theme. Thank God. I think love scares many people away from God. Because we are so used to the flawed, human version of love that we've all experienced pain and heartache from, His love can feel so foreign. It feels impossible. And we've done so much and are so used to being cut off or outcast, how could He still choose us? I think the thing I question most is... is this love, His love genuine? Too often we hear people say they love something or someone and the next day they hate the same thing they once claimed to love. Human experiences can blind us from receiving God's love for us. Human experiences can cause us to settle with an untrue belief that His love won't remain. That His love is not what He says it is.

Psalm 136 goes on for 26 verses repeating over and over "His love endures forever."

"Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever. who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever. who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever. who made the great lights—His love endures forever. the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever. the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever. to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever: and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever. with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever. to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever. and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever. but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever. to him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures forever."

-Psalm 136:3-16

I love how this perfectly describes His love. Never once has His love changed. Through creation, justice, difficulties, His love endured and continues to endure. He not only led the Israelites to the wilderness, but through it, and all the while His love remained. Love, from the creation of the world has been written in our timeline and in our hearts. We long for love. But not the twisted version of love the world sells... but True Love. His Love. The greatest act of love was Jesus' death on the cross, hanging there, paying the price for your sins. Before you were even born, you were thought of, you were taken care of, you were accounted for. Before you were even born, the price for all the wrong doings of your life, was paid. This is love. This is True Love. Love is sacrifice. Action. Commitment. Loyalty. Provision. Care. God is Love. It's not just an emotion that changes like the tides, it's a Person. It's an action. Thank God that His love isn't dependent on us or our feelings. He is perfect and never changing, and if He is love, then those same characteristics are echoed in the way He loves. Which, in turn, should be echoed in the way we love.

"We love because he first loved us."

-1 John 4:19