Always and forever. Perpetual and true. This is the kind of love we
anticipate in childhood and chase after in adulthood.
But do we truly know how to achieve it? We think we know about
beauty and attraction and flirting and
charm—but we don’t have the slightest hint, not a
clue what we’re dealing with.
Do we think that flowers and kissing and
dancing is all there is to love?
Even if you’re in a solid relationship with
everything in place and no
fighting at all, isn’t it still all about you?
Frequent outings and easy conversation make for a
great time, but what words would you use to describe your relationship?
Glorious, intimate, exciting, secure…
Has the word “sacrifice” ever gone through your
head? What about “unconditional love”—not just the
idea, but the way of life that’s
included? True love is not simply a
jaunt in the park—it takes practice and hard work—it’s a
journey. And it can be a fun one! It’s not all hard
knocks…it’s a blessing when you
keep at it and learn to trust each other.
Learning along the way—together!—will help you
look at life from a different perspective. But we’re
missing the most important part—unconditional love was
modeled for us through Jesus Christ. The
narrow way to heaven was too narrow for us—we
needed him to make the first move, to
offer hope to the lost. He tore down the
obstacles between us by making himself the perfect sacrifice; he died an exceedingly
painful death to bring us back to him—despite our
quirks and mistakes. We may
question his reasoning…why for us? But we will never
regret his decision. He gave everything without asking for anything in
return—and he wants us to do the
same for others. We can’t measure up to the
sacrifice he made for us, but we can
trust in the gift that he’s given us and
take it with no strings attached.
Unconditional love is what God wants from us; he
urges us to follow his example.
Value your relationship and love that person with all the
vices and follies that are part of the package. Don’t
waste time arguing and holding grudges. Pray more and
worry less. I suppose I’m not one to give
you relationship advice due to my
youthfulness and lack of experience. But I know the
zeal God has for me, and I want to find someone as
zany as me with whom I can share unconditional love.