Love Is A Choice And Not A Feeling
...Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.... Mark 12.31 KJV
One of the mistakes people make in relationship is to think that love is a feeling. They make how they feel about someone a test for how much they love the person. This is deceptive. Love might come with feelings but it is not a feeling. People often decide who they marry based on the person they have the most intense feeling for. But feeling fluctuates. It rises and falls. We all have had our feelings for people change either permanently or temporarily. When people’s feelings about the person they claim to love changes, they think that the love is gone. But no. Love is not that way. It never dies. As long as you can still choose how to treat people, that is love right there. You can decide to withhold but it is still alive and well.
Love is a command. It has no respect for how you feel. It would be nice to feel affectionate for the one you love but that is not important. Love is a choice you make to help someone else become the person God wants them to be. The idea of falling in love does not really make sense. What makes sense is to say that you are overcome by feelings for the person. Then you have to acknowledge that this feeling is fleeting. The more you know about the humanity of the person you love, their body odour, their gluttony, their snoring, etc., your feelings for them can go sag. However, your love for them must stay intact.
Commitment
I commit today to choose to love everyone than wait to find persons I feel affection for.
Action Triggers
- Have there been people that my feelings for have changed over the years?
- Can I still choose to treat people well no matter how I feel about them?
Prayer
Father, thank you for teaching me that love is a choice. I make that choice today to love everyone around me in Jesus name. Amen.
Bible Reading: 1Samuel 24
One Year Bible Study Plan: Esther 1-2; Acts 5:1-21