This thing called Love

My last post was about our purpose from God. Our purpose is to love. Sounds easy, right. The next logical questions is what is Love?

If I answer from my gut, the definition would be that loving someone is putting yourself aside for the other person to flourish. Love is making a choice to respond with kindness instead of anger even and especially when you are angry. Love is not getting that extra hour of sleep, that last piece of cake, watching the show you wanted to watch, love is sacrifice. Love is the choice to sacrifice. Love is bigger than two people. 

Webster  Google defines love as and intense feeling of deep affection, a person or thing that one loves.

And The Bible says in

            John 15:12 His commandment is to love each other as He has loved us 

So we are called to be selfless, live to serve others, pray for the ones we love, do everything with them in mind. *gulp*

            1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is: patient, kind, not jealous, not boastful, not proud, it doesn't demand what it wants, not irritable, doesn't remember the past wrongs, rejoices when the truth prevails, it never gives up, always has faith and hope, and always endures

We all have read this and know the list of things that I personally haven't been able to conquer as of yet.

Now that we have a definition I have a problem: How do I love?

I can't do this by myself. I mean, my human brain doesn't let me forget all the times I have been wronged. And I definitely have not mastered being selfless. 

I have recently began to see when I see myself in a situation. I am able to recognize my selfishness. This is how the conversations goes in my head:

Me "But I don't want to be nice because I am mad"

HS "Kelly you are supposed to take yourself out of the picture when loving someone else"

Me "But what about me and my feelings?"

The answer is God. Only He is capable of truly loving someone, and I have to let Him do it through me.

How do I do that? First I have to know Jesus so that I can have the Holy Spirit within me to love.

Really, loving is a miracle. The only time I have come close to actually loving someone is with my children, and even then I fall short. 

So I have a purpose, I know my purpose, and I know how to fulfill my purpose. Once again, should be easy right? All we can do is try, try, try to love a little more everyday.