Now that we have passed Valentines day, I think it is safe to talk about the subject of love. Most of the year, I take offense to people who think that I need to be set up with someone or need to be prayed for to find “the right one” and things seem to amplify around February. So, I am going about this subject little bit differently today!
I am going to shoot off a few verses that are a bit off of the beaten path, but I think that they are important, Matthew 22:37-40 and Songs of Solomon 2:7. This is not going to be a downer message by any means, but I am trying to share something that has helped me through the years.
In Matthew 22:37-40, we are commanded to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbors AS OUR SELVES. Let me repeat that, AS OUR SELVES. Does this mean MORE THAN OURSELVES? No. This is paramount, because if we do not love ourselves, than how can we love others? The answer is that we may but we will become exasperated because we will feel strained due to them not giving back. We should never be afraid to love someone, but be careful with how close you become to people who are not able to love back. Just like a pet cat or dog who is limited to showing love in certain ways but never being able to say “I love you”, some people are just not capable of loving fully or healthily. We must never put all of our hopes in them coming around because they my never come around, so please be careful!
In my own life, when I found who I was and I saw the part of the puzzle that I fit and how special and unique I was to God, I began to thrive. I was okay that someone did not accept me for who I am, I was okay with showing someone the door when they made unreasonable demands. It’s their loss. The way I look at it is that if the water in a pitcher is never replaced, than it will run out of water. So too it is with our hearts. So is God pouring love into you, and are those close to you pouring into you as well?
The second verse is Solomon writing to NOT STIR UP LOVE UNTIL THE APPROPRIATE TIME. This is what I pray about being single. I always start out thinking about being friends with every one instead of trying to date, and then I ask that God not allow me to stir up love until the appropriate time or at all if this person is not meant to be. Instead of dictating things on my timetable, I am asking for him to guard both of our hearts so that if it is not meant to be that we will not hurt one another and that I will be wise with my words and not give the wrong impression. For me, I ask to stay in sync with God’s plan because I find that when we get out of sync with God’s plan, that’s when we get hurt. When we become impatient, that’s when we are reckless and dangerous. So instead of stirring up love before the time, I ask for his guidance and wisdom with those that I meet.
Does this mean we just need to sit on our butts and wait for someone to fall in your life? Not at all. In order to find God’s blessings you need to get out and do something. God would have never parted the sea for the Israelites if they never left Egypt, either that or they would have never seen it. Plus, you never get to know someone if you never spend time with them. Yes, it involves risk, but who cares? In the dating game, there is ideally only one successful situation, just be mature about it and be sure to keep the other person’s heart safe.
Finally, I would like to close with one last thing about love. Those who have been in bad relationships and dirty break ups know that sometimes bad things just happen, they are not fun and no one wants them, but they happen. I would like to encourage you to CONTINUE TO LOVE. If you got wounded, take some time to mend, don’t run into another relationship because you feel that you have to, or that your clock is going to run out. Conversely, do not close yourself off because you could be hurting yourself and others. Be at peace and know that God knows the desires of your heart, and he does not want to play tricks on you. CONTINUE TO LOVE, because if you withhold your love from others, you will ultimately rob them of a blessing that they could have received.
Love is what we are meant to share with others, that is why we must keep our hearts guarded. We have to love God and Ourselves before we can adequately love another person, so be careful not to be too fast and get into something that you will regret later. Paul reminds us that we can do many great things, but if we have not love we are nothing. Do not let another person steal your love, and do not give your heart to someone who does not understand it. Instead, ask the Holy Spirit to show you who to love and receive love from.
