thoughts on love

love. people look for it, live for it, relish it, and wrestle with it. to feel secure and fulfilled. to feel at peace. to know that you are accepted for who you are, doing whatever you do. our society is so wrapped up in it and we don't have a clue about how deep it runs. dating relationships and marriage is just the tip of the iceberg. people look for acceptance, inclusion and a feeling of belonging in so many places. friendship circles. families. jobs. relatives. neighbors. strangers.

while there is some good in feeling included by others, we need shift our focus. if we are always looking for the favor of others, we will never find out who WE are or what WE really care about. basing our lives on the opinions of others is not the way we were designed to live. each person is different, from the way we look to the things we love doing, to the weaknesses we have.

instead of looking around to others for a standard of life, we ought to look to the one who designed us. more than that, the one who LOVES us. loves us with the only real kind of love that accepts us for who we are and not what we do or don't do. we are made in the image of God and his standard for our lives is the one we should look to in shaping our lives.

our God is patient and kind. He is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. He does not demand his own way. He is not irritable and keeps no record of being wronged. He does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. our God never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

that is the kind of standard i want to be directed by. thank you God for your love.