Love is absolutely the most difficult thing to give, the most rewarding thing to receive, and by far the most gratifying feelings in the world involve giving love and being loved. Yet, love is not an emotion, which the world would have you believe. Love is a choice, and when one is being loved, they feel a wide range of emotions, from joy to safety. When asked why someone makes you feel loved it is usually defined like this, “so and so makes me happy!” or “I always feel so safe in their arms!” It’s why some mistake their emotion in a moment for love and then, later on, will say, “I just don’t love them anymore” or “I never really loved them in the first place.” Lust is a big imposter for love. The sense of attraction that is shared by two people that leads to intimacy, or since everyone knows what i am talking about here anyway let me just say it, sex.

Many emotions try to masquerade as love, even jealousy. But, every emotion although a direct result of love, is not love in and of itself but rather, love is love and that is a choice. We choose to love or not love. Shakespeare said, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” i would say, “to love or not to love, that is the question.” The world tells us we are to hate certain things, certain people, even the idea of hating hate. And if love were an emotion, it would be easy to justify, “i don’t love this therefore, i must hate it.” Oh for us to love, i mean genuinely love. But i can’t love that which i do not like, can i?

“God is love.” “For God so loved the world…” We have come full circle now, back to where we started. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” This is a choice. He chose to do what He did, out of love, He chose love. He instructs us to love our neighbors, enemies, wives/husbands, love never fails. When we choose to love someone it requires us to fight through, negative emotions, sometimes. It isn’t always easy to choose love. Hate, definitely is the easier choice, given our fallen human nature. However, we are called to love, it is a challenge, a rallying cry, a mission, and a purpose. We are to love God with all our heart soul mind and strength, as well as, love our neighbor as ourselves.

Today in a world so full of daggers, hate, and dysfunction, i choose love!

1 John 4:13-21 The Message

^13-16 This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.

To Love, to Be Loved

^17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

¹⁹ We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First, we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

^20-21 If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

You are loved,

cj