HARD LOVE

Book excerpt: In this world, we learn much about love, but it is only in relationship with God that we truly learn what love is and what it is not. On this side of eternity, we will not fully know all there is to know about the love of God. In fact, it is the things we experience in this world that reveal what we have believed about love and how we have allowed our experiences, culture, and relationships to shape our lives and define love for us. We then take that definition of love and write it upon the hearts and lives of others. How important it is then that we know the true definition of love and that we know the Author, God. Jesus summed up all the commandments in this: love God and love one another. It sounds so easy, but most times, we find that true love is in fact quite the contrary. It is a hard love. This may not sound like what we would expect to hear, though let us pause but for a moment and consider what we have learned about love. Consider our relationships in this world, and if we are Christians, then let us consider our relationships with those in the body of Christ. Now let us consider how well we have done in loving God and loving one another. Would we still say that it is always easy? Likely, we could each think of times when we have endured suffering, hurt, loss, brokenness, rejection, abandonment, false accusations, and so much more or perhaps how we have not only been on the receiving end of these, but also we have caused others pain in our own pursuit of love. It is my hope that throughout these pages we will examine the truth of each our own hearts and rather than redefining love or passing down a definition of love that we have been taught that is not the love of God that we discover or rediscover the true love of God. It is my hope that these words will reach many hearts that are longing for what our hearts were created for, fellowship with God, to know His love personally and share it with all. In order that we have this love, it begins first with the examination of our hearts with the truth and the truth of our own condition. A heart-seeking love must seek truth for we cannot have one without the other.