Love as a Verb

When many of us think of love, we think of the commercialized love that is celebrated in romantic movies and the aisles at Walgreens around Valentine's day. Hearts, flowers, and the color pink come to my mind. Even though Valentine's Day was almost two months ago it doesn't mean that we should forget how to love. As I flipped through my bible, I came across a note I had written that said, "Love is a verb." I rarely think of love as a verb, but it really is an action we must do.

The famous thirteenth chapter in First Corinthians gives a step by step definition of what love is and how one should love. Each of the words are actions like being patience, being kind, and being selfless. These are all things we must do. In Ephesians 5:1, we see that Paul tells us to "Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children, and live a life of love just as Christ loved us..." It can be easy to think or talk about the things we want to do for those we love, but we must start actually doing them. Start living a life that is of great love.

Being a woman, I am more sensitive to what I hear than what I see. So, I love to hear that I am loved or sweet things. However, that is not the only thing that is required when we love someone. We must really begin putting love in our actions in the ways that meet others needs. Being more in-tuned to what people need in order to feel loved, their love language. Everyone seems to be different.

Understanding how to love people in our lives can be a very powerful tool in making healthy and lasting relationships. I recently was talking to a friend about how I realized that if we only love the people who are easy to love then we aren't really doing what God has done for us. We must love the people who are sometimes difficult to love. Isn't that what Christ has done for us? Think about how hard it must be to love us sometimes? Remember that the next time you are struggling to love someone who seems tough to love (John 13:34-35).

Hope your having an awesome Wednesday! Much Love!