Have you ever experienced true love? Love that never fades. A depth of love that comes when two people are committed to going the distance. No matter what. A love based on friendship, mutual respect and trust that overflows in tender intimacy. A love that never grows old even when we do.
We’ve all heard about love like this. We’ve cried at movies about love like this. We dream about love like this. But surprisingly few have ever loved or been loved the way we think love should be. For those of us blessed with a strong love relationship, we wish everyone could experience true love.
Yesterday we talked about being a Perfect 10 in God’s eyes. Today I want us to look at loving someone completely–loving them 10 out of 10.
Girls have an innate need to love and be loved. Why? It’s part of our DNA. We were created to live intimately with God and our husband; to love and desire them with our whole heart (that’s why we often cling to guys we date). We were created to embody God’s Holy Spirit whose very essence is love. Our heart and mind are wired to nurture others and share our daily lives in loving community with others.
We want to love deeply. We crave someone to love us deeply. We need someone to love us for who we are, right where we are.
We desire unconditional, nonjudgmental, self-sacrificing love.
We may never experience this kind of devoted, forgiving, life-building love in our relationships with others. But we can experience it with God.
The Greek word for God’s love in the New Testament is “agape”–true unconditional love. God loves us completely. He will never love us more. He will never love us less. He loves us perfectly. He loves us 10 out of 10. No matter where we’ve been. No matter what we’ve done. We are never out of reach of His love. God’s love is higher and wider and longer and deeper than anything we can ever imagine. It never changes. And it never fades away.
No one but God can truly love us with agape love. Only God knows everything about us, including every secret and every intimate detail of our heart, mind, and soul. And He still loves us with the same unfailing love. Even if we run away from Him. Even if we stumble and fall. Even if… anything. His love for us remains perfect love.
We aren’t capable of loving others with perfect agape love. We will never know everything about someone else and we aren’t able to see inside their mind or soul. Although we can’t love them completely and unconditionally like God can, our love can grow and deepen day by day.
Sharing our love and receiving love from others are based on the same premise: Love is a gift. God’s love is a gift. And like any gift, we have the choice to accept it or leave it on the table. Don’t ignore God’s gift to you. Don’t turn away empty handed. Take it. Unwrap it. Try it on for size. See how well it fits. See how beautiful it makes you.
Love is a choice. God has chosen to love us, even if we don’t love Him.
Love is a choice. God has given us the ability to choose to love Him.
Choose love. Accept the gift of God’s unfailing love that He pours out in abundance for you. He loves you 10 out of 10. That is true love.
“What a [girl] desires is unfailing love.” Proverbs 19:22
“Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:7-8
May I pray?
Father God, we cannot truly understand Your unfailing love–a love so fully complete that You can never love us more or less based on what we do, good or bad. You love us to the maximum, and You always have. Even though we can’t grasp this love, help us to accept it like a gift. And Lord, please touch those who are hurt with a loving tenderness that heals their heart wounds. May Your love renew our souls like the warm sun after a cold rain. Amen.
Q4U: What is true love?