Salt Leaven and Light

We’ve got it all wrong.

We get married so we can feel loved, we demand physical intimacy so we can feel loved, we go to church so we can feel accepted and loved, we lower our standards to avoid standing out from the crowd so we can feel accepted and loved, and on and on and on.

But when marriage becomes hard (which it inevitably will), and when physical intimacy becomes challenging (which it inevitably will), and when church feels uncomfortable, due to topics like repentance, and individuals who offend (which it inevitably will), and when life still feels lonely at times, even when we’ve lowered our standards to fit in with the crowd (which it inevitably will), we are left feeling empty, frustrated, and confused.

Why?

Because we’ve got it all wrong.

We’ve convinced ourselves that love is a feeling when, in fact, it is a principle-based action.

One who recognizes love as a principle-based action instead of a feeling will fill themselves with godly love before they get married, and then get married so they can share that love with someone else. Love’s focus is on giving, not taking.

One who recognizes love as a principle-based action instead of a feeling will continue to work hard each day to fill themselves up with godly love so that they can share that love with others by connecting physically and emotionally in sacred acts of intimacy. Healthy intimacy cannot be had by those who have no godly love to share.

One who recognizes love as a principle-based action instead of a feeling will attend church to worship God and seek opportunities to connect with others. Church was never intended to simply ‘feel good’; its primary purpose is to draw one closer to Jesus Christ, and sometimes that process can feel uncomfortable.

One who recognizes love as a principle-based action instead of a feeling will stand up for what they believe in, even if they stand alone. Love speaks truth, even when it’s not easy to do so.

True peace, joy, love, and intimacy can only be had by those who fill their lives with action-packed, principle-based love. ❤

“Love is not an emotion. It is not indefinable. It is not something you fall in, the poets and songwriters notwithstanding.

Jesus did not command us to feel good about our neighbors or our enemies. He commanded something infinitely harder. He told us to love them, to do for them what was God’s best for them, whether we felt like it or not.” – Paul deParrie, Romanced To Death

Art Credit:
Woman Pouring A Drink
Julien Dupre
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Julien_Dupre_-_femme_versant_a_boire.jpg