#Wordfortheweek Week 38 #Love

 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 NKJV

I was invited to an online discussion recently, on the topic; Is love enough in a relationship?  It got me reflecting on the whole idea of love.

The Oxford dictionary defines it as an intense feeling of deep affection. Love is a powerful emotion.

It might seem that love originates from feeling. We feel love for someone or something, derived from our senses – what we see, touch, taste, smell and hear. 

Unfortunately feeling from our senses  is usually not permanent. You might like something today, next month you dislike it. It is why people fall in and out of love like a yo-yo.

Love could also be developed through experience and interaction with the character of a person. Experience that leads to love is deeper, stable and consistent. It stays with you for a long time.

In a relationship, you can’t depend just on feeling based on the senses but also on character based on experience. Our human flesh is very powerful. Hence why the bible teaches us to put to death the desires of the flesh.

Of course, I am not saying that feeling love is bad, but feeling is not enough. The word of Elohim God teaches us in 1 Cor 13 about real love. This is beyond feeling my friends, in fact Paul talks about having love not feeling love.

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance... But love will last forever! (extracts from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NLT).

Everything listed here is evidenced by character not feeling. These are things you must do or put into practice whether you feel it or not.

Love is a decision. When you don’t feel patience, you must be patient. When we remain at the level of love feeling, you want the other person to do things for you, make you feel good but this deep love says you must do for the other!

Marriages that last will tick off most if not all these things. Eros love is not enough! Deep love comes with time.

Desire 1 Corinthians 13 type of love, pray on it, pray for it, use it as your character test for your potential partner. It is that foundation that will remain when feelings are shaken by the test of life.

Love starts as a seed, when nurtured it grows into a mighty Oak of a kingdom marriage that lasts till death do you part.

#Prayerfortheweek

Almighty Father, thank You for my gifts - of life, of health and of salvation through Yeshua. Help me Father to grow in agape love. In Yeshua’s name I pray. Amen

I pray that this inspires you to reflect on your relationship with Elohim and be determined to be more and do more for Him each day.

#AdeolaAkintoye©

#ajourneytospiritualmaturity2020