"I LOVE those shoes!"
"I LOVE this food."
"I LOVE that store."
"I LOVE that movie."
"I LOVE that actor."
"I LOVE......."
It seems like everywhere I go I hear someone saying, "I LOVE.....fill in the blank." I go on facebook and see status updates that state, "I LOVE.....fill in the blank" Even in my own house I hear my children say, "I LOVE that new band, those earrings, that car, etc"
Then when I hear someone say to me, "I love you", I don't know but it seems to have lost some of the luster of the beautiful pearl that love should be. We use the word LOVE so easily, so randomly, so absent mindedly, that it no longer means what it used to mean. Love used to be reserved for a special person, a parent, a very dear friend. Now we LOVE everything.
In the Bible, 1 Corinthians13 is considered the love chapter for good reason. It tells us what love is...and what love isn't.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on it's own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoings but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things. Love never ends.
So how do we go about teaching our children- the next generation- what real love looks like?
We have to SHOW them. We can't simply tell them, "I love you." Because the word love is so diluted and means next to nothing now days. We have to show our kids by helping others. By sacrificing for them and for others. Show them what love is by showing them the love of God.
And I know that I will be paying a lot closer attention to what I'm talking about when I say, "I LOVE..." Because for my family I'm reclaiming what love really is. I LOVE my God. I LOVE my husband. I LOVE my children.
I'm thinking God's trying to tell me something?! Our pastor preached on this two weeks ago and it got my gears turning then too. I really don't use LOVE loosely or at least I thought I didn't until this was revealed to me two weeks ago! OUCH!
ReplyDeleteI know the Holy Spirit is talking to each of His people leading them to His path. We can either listen, repent, turn away and follow Him or follow this dark world. I made my choice almost 9 years ago....I choose Him!
Thank you SO much Danielle for allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you to blog about this. It's very important how we use and chose our words in this broken world! God bless!
I've been reading a lot about the love of God lately and it has occured to me that the "love" we think about in everyday life is nothing compared to what love really is. I want my kids to know what real love is and to be able to express that to their families someday. I write these blog posts for myself as much as for anyone who stops by to read them :) I have to remind myself where I'm failing so I can work on those things in my own life. If it helps someone else...so much the better :) God bless, you, Hollie and your family!
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