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Love Always


            Valentine’s Day is hijacked by Cupid shooting his arrow into a lonely heart searching for the one true love. The true love that is the love of lovers lamenting and finding themselves in distress with knights in shining armor, walks through fields and forests, gathering flowers, dancing in the moonlight, poetic yammer, and that first kiss so tender and sweet.

          This is characteristic of Eros love, passionate and romantic love. Eros is a Greek word meaning desire and longing. This explains why it is normal to desire to be with someone. Eros love can be fickle, operating from first sight, and should never stand-alone for reasons of vulnerability to act on emotion and act outside of biblical boundaries, awakening something meant for a covenantal agreement.
 
            In the search for true love, one must not stop at Eros, but press in to find Agape love.  Agape love is considered the highest form of love with its source being God. Passionate feelings of love are wonderful, but love submitted to God’s terms secures true love.

           Agape love differs from Eros love in that it is based on purity of motive rather than on impulsive feelings. The motive becomes pure in doing what is best for the one I love, in creating a secure atmosphere of openness and trust, and in allowing room for growth and maturity.

             1 Corinthians 13:4-7 beautifully describes the characteristics of Agape love: patient, kind, does not envy or boast, is not proud, dishonoring, self-seeking, or easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, hates evil, rejoices in truth, never gives up, never loses faith, always hopes, perseveres and endures through every circumstance, and never fails.

            Whew!! Who can do all of that? Only God can! He does this through us.

        Forgiveness and grace are the keys to true love. They will overcome any barrier. True love develops as we accept God’s true love (forgiveness and grace) and become willing to extend it to another. True love is not love at first sight. True love is the decision to love always.

Beth Bailey


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