Romantic movies, country songs, wedding vows, fairy tails, and so many famous quotes all seem to agree on one thing, love doesn't quit.
Yet, everywhere I look I see people who once loved, hating; people who used to be committed, giving up; people who believed in forever, moving on. It's saddening to see how quickly we are willing to give up on those we love. Whether its a betrayal, a lie, a hurtful comment, a drifting of the heart, or just a loss of energy to persevere, something happens inside our hearts and minds that tells us, we can quit. We've come to believe that if we just "declare bankruptcy," then we'll get a fresh start and we'll be able to start over with someone or something else. Somehow we convince ourselves that we'll be happier if, rather than fighting, we quit.
Our society's projection of what it means to love is a travesty. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely snapshots of real love out there. Every day, if you pay attention, you can see someone doing something out of real love. But these snapshots are just that, snapshots. There are pictures of love scattered throughout most of our lives, but seldom are there stories of love-real committed love. The irony, though, is that we, as a society, totally understand what love is supposed to look like. Turn on the radio, watch a "chick-flick," read a young adult novel about vampires and humans, or just watch any mainstream jewelry store commercial, and you'll certainly see an image and portrayal of love that actually seems pretty awesome. After your moment of utopia, take a look around at the lives around you; broken marriages, brothers hating sisters, "life-long" friends drifted from one another, split up churches, and people who've quit on someone they once would've died for will surround you.
I, in no way, have lost faith in love. I still believe that it's the only reason to get up everyday and live. If anything, I'm saddened deeply by what I've seen around me and challenged all the more to love fiercely and courageously with perseverance, hope, humility, teachability, grace, and a commitment worth living for.
God's picture of love communicated throughout the Bible is in no way like our picture that we've painted throughout our own lives and the lives of our predecessors. When you're feeling hopeless and lost like no one loves you, remember that "God in eternity, looked upon me (you) foreseeing my fallenness, my pride, and my sin and said, 'I want that man in my family. I will do anything to get him in my family. I will pay for him to be in my family with my sons life.' That's love folks; that is mega, off the charts love." -John Piper
God's love is the opposite of ours. It's unconditional, everlasting, perfect, all-forgiving, gracious, sacrificial, and abundant enough for the sins of all men and women from every day preceding today and everyday yet to come. He calls us to love, and I think it's fair to assume that when he wants us to love, He imagines that we'll try to love as He loves. With His love as a standard, let us speak out against the love that gives up. Let us believe in and live out a love that don't run.
Dare all the more...
