L-O-V-E and what it means to me...

In 2012 what does the word Love mean? Is it long term or short term? Is it a moment of lust or endurance of a lifetime? Is it just a word that it is as over used as the term 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' or does it still hold water? The website http://www.askmen.com/ had this to say about the word Love and it is antonym hate:

"Is there a garden around? Because these words have been watered down to the point of no return. And it’s all because people have been slowly accepting them as reasonable alternatives to describe fondness (or lack thereof). Love and hate both involved descriptions of serious passion or emotion at one time; now they’re just used as slang-fodder for anything to make a poetic statement."

I couldn't agree more!

On this day....Feb 14th, 2012, you know, Valentine's Day, the day-o-love.... I thought I would get back to the basics of what Love is called to be. Having high hopes that keeping it simple will remind all of us how HIGH the standards are set for this over used & undermined word, "Love".

Love is patient and kind; Love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

1 Corinthians 13:4–8a

Now....That is not just any ole standard....That is a high standard. I would say the highest standard.


I have GREAT difficultly with the first one, Patience, and the difficultly only gets worse as the list continues. God you want me to be patient?? What if I have made the same request 10 times, I am supposed to just CALMLY ask again...The little voice in my head says,'How many times have I asked you to just trust Me?"
Ok, well, I can do the Kindness thing because that's just the kind of girl I am, sugar and spice and everything nice. Unless of course you are mean to me then the gloves come off...but that is only fair, Right?  Little Voice, "remember that whole turn the other cheek thing...."


I could go on, and on but let's just say the kind of Love that is being described here is not the kind of love that I hear about daily. This is the kind of Love that takes work and lots of it...at every turn....
This kind of Love is rare in this world because, like I mentioned in my previous post, we would like to believe that we don't have to work to make something successful. It blows my mind how many times I have heard, "I just don't think I should have to work this hard." Why not? Who are we to have it easy? I know that nothing worth having ever comes without work, and if it was easy everyone would have it. It being love, money, happiness, or most importantly and probably most ignored- contentment. The love that is produced in Hollywood is not the kind of Love that we are called to enjoy. The Love that is meant for us is the kind of Love that is incredibly difficult but amazingly rewarding.
In a world that considers everything disposable, including love. I think it is very hard to think about it in terms that are listed in 1 Corinthians; something that bears all things, endures all things, believes all things and most importantly, LOVE NEVER FAILS.


So today I charge you with finding out what L-O-V-E means to you? Are you looking for/living with the 'new' watered down type of love or the 'old' hardworking, never failing type of Love that we can be blessed with if we are willing to work for it?


EmJ