I choose to love.

1^st Corinthians 13: We all know what that’s on. Love. These verses speak about a love so pure and to be honest, most of the time – a lot of people who claim they have love, or love someone else... fall significantly short of this depiction of love.  So I’m not here to hang this over your head or get you feeling like you can’t do it… On the contrary, I want to share with you how I believe you can begin to practice that love depicted in 1^st Corinthians 13:4-7.

In my previous post, I told you I had lots of stuff to share on choices. Well this too, is a post on choices. Love is a choice. You can really like someone at first glance, maybe even like them a whole lot on spending time with them… and then be obsessed with them (usually mistaken for love) and think you want to spend the rest of your life with them after a while BUT the actual being in love and acting in a loving way consistently  - to your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband, friend, family, neighbor etc is a CHOICE. 

What choices do you need to make?

Choice number 1 – Embrace God. He is love. (1^st John 4:7-8). Outside of God, the love you purport to have is not real love and not as intended. Only in God can we be transformed and given the capacity to love in this way and once again I say, consistently. Once you understand the love that God has for you and shows you constantly, you are able to extend that love to others.

Choice number 2 – Make choices aligned to characteristics that embody love. How do we know someone possesses love or is loving?  1^st Corinthians 13:4-7 shows us:

** Patience, Kindness, Free of envy, does not boast, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, doesn’t delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (vs4-7).

I don’t know about you, but in reading those traits, a lot of the time I say to myself..  ‘I’m mostly kind, I’m not easily angered except with *insert name* because they always…, I’m not self-seeking especially with *insert situation*…’  We pretty much rationalize about the extent we love and then deem it impossible to act in this manner and finally end with ‘Only God can be all of this’ and thus we rarely get round to working on those we identify as ‘weak’ in us.

I put it to you that once you have made choice number1, then the ability to embody these traits has been given to you and the strength to practice them is within your reach if you will only make choices that enhance these being manifest in your life. Ok, what am I saying?

God is love. God embodies all these traits. If you are in God, you have Him (LOVE) in you and therefore, you displaying these traits should come naturally. However, since our nature is to act selfishly, we need to consciously decide to act in love. 

Make the choice every day, in every situation:  to be patient, to be kind… choose not to be envious or rude, seek the benefit of others…

Remember:
 "Your life is a product of your choices" - Steven Covey


"Do everything in love." - 1st Corinthians 16:14

Make the choice today. Choose to live out love.