Like
many other brides, I remember picking 1 Corinthians 13 as one of the readings
for my wedding service 23 years ago:
"Love never gives up; Love cares more for others
than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut...Doesn't
force itself on others; Isn't always 'me first,'...Doesn't keep score...Puts up
with anything; Trusts God always; Always looks for the best; Never looks back; But
keeps going to the end." (1 Cor. 13:8-10 MSG)
Now,
it makes me smile to think of how naïve I was back then. I really thought that
my husband and I would easily be able to love each other like this verse
described. Now I know how difficult it is to implement this kind of
unconditional love for anyone.
“To
love at all is to be vulnerable. Love
anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it
intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and
little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or
coffin of your selfishness. ” (The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis)
Yes,
love makes us vulnerable. It is messy; suffering is guaranteed. But the
alternative is to become hard-hearted and cynical.
Human
love is mostly conditional, based on feelings. Agape love—self-sacrificing,
unconditional love—is a bit difficult to implement without a divine infusion of
the Holy Spirit.
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