True Love, More Than a Feeling

What do you think about love? 

For me, Love has been a prevailing thought through this last decade. While continuing to ponder Love yesterday, I heard the phrase “More than a feeling” from the old Boston song. 

Love, the way most people define it, is an emotion of warm feelings one person has towards another person or thing. I agree, that is one definition of love. However, I propose to you Love, holy Love, really has little to do with warm feelings and more to do with actions, attitudes and thought processes. True Love, Holy Love is more than feeling; it is a way of living!

I believe Love will play a huge part in the Lord’s plans for 2009! However, what actions, attitudes and thought processes constitute Love? 1 Corinthians 13 defines Love according to God’s standard, and grasping Love’s true identity, deepens its concrete reality. Feelings are abstract, but Love has substance.

The substance of Love’s action manifests itself in patience, kindness, and good manners towards others. These actions as described in 1 Corinthians makes Love tangible and draws it out of the realm of feelings into a reality which touches others.

The substance of Love’s attitudes is evidenced by our attitudes towards others. Do we hold others up, preferring them to ourselves and rejoice in their triumphs, or do we envy their successes and gifts, feeling we should have the blessings and gifts God has given to them? Do we see the gifts in others and speak encouragement and life to those gifts, or do we constantly speak of our accomplishments and ourselves with an attitude of pride, believing in our hearts that we are somehow better than others? Are we selfless or selfish when faced with a situation which requires us to fight for others who are oppressed or hang on to what we feel rightfully belongs to us?

Love’s substance pays no mind to the response of others towards us, and certainly keeps no record of the wrongs acted out against us. The thoughts we consider indicate what kind of Love/love we have in our hearts. Do we rejoice when the Truth becomes evident and mourn when evil prevails, and do we know that Love's assignment protects, trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres?

Those of us blessed with the gift of compassion and mercy often interpret situations using our emotions as a kind of barometer; there is nothing wrong with feeling emotion as long as God’s Holy Spirit moderates them. Emotions are a good gift given to us by our Abba Father! God has emotions, deep emotions, and we, His sons and daughters, have been created in His image, therefore, we have deep emotions as well. However, be aware, that the god of this age knows us, and he is able to manipulate emotions. Be certain the Holy Spirit is guiding you and not the evil one when it comes to discerning situations and others by feelings. This kind of discernment is inferior to godly discernment and can lead to having a judgmental heart, which definitely is contrary to Love.

TRUE LOVE NEVER FAILS! Love makes no errors and lives through eternity. Love has always been and will always be, as it is perfectly expressed in the great I Am, Whose life on earth lived out Love! Holy Spirit empower us in 2009, and beyond, to live out True Love, Holy Love representing You as we move through the places and contact the people You place before us. AMEN!!!