05/18/2022
Commitment versus love
One of the truest markers of genuine love is its staying power—its longevity, its ability to persevere, and its ability to withstand. This is the type of love Christ shows us, and its the type of love we're called to express in marriage.
However, our culture and our humanity would have us believe something else. Without a biblical understanding of love, we're prone to follow the whims of emotion and experience. We risk confusing infatuation for love. We believe the lie that love can only be found or stumbled upon rather than built, nurtured, and acted out.
We risk believing that love is fickle and fragile—that it's something that can break or fade over time. That couldn't be further from the truth. Love is strong, not weak. It's decisive, not elusive. And love is BIG... so much bigger than our emotions can express or our moods can decide.
How is love so big and so strong? In short, love is not a human idea. Love is God's idea, created by his design, and sustained by his strength.
And there is no greater display of love than Christ on the cross. John 15:13 says this, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." No love is stronger than God's love in Christ, which is why we're called to love as Christ loves—fiercely, unconditionally, perfectly.
The catch is this, we can't love without God's help. We need to experience his love in Christ and be fueled by the transformation it brings.
Let God's model of love be the one you follow in your marriage. Beware the love that begins and ends with emotion alone, for it isn't love, it's selfishness poorly masked.
Stay fierce,
Ryan and Selena