episode 30. SUPERIOR LOVE

who do we follow? thelawdsway

Exactly a week ago was Valentine's Day- a day where there were mass celebrations of the declaration of love. Whether you have or you don't have a valentine- I hope you have an amazing, rich in love day.

I wanted to talk about love from the Biblical aspect.

The Bible defines love, the superior way, through the verses outlined in 1st Corinthians 13, specifically from the verses 4-7.

[4] Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

[5] does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

[6] does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

[7] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love.

I think these verses depicts the meaning of love, at least to how it should be portrayed, in the purest form. It significantly differs from what to me, has become the societal meaning of love.

SOCIETAL LOVE

Love. In the way we now define it in society to have all the relationship perks with someone but not actually be in a relationship with them. That type of love where you could fall so deeply IN love with them and be ready to spend the rest of your life with them if they just said the words you needed them to say. That love which would bring you the hardest pain, thinking how could you get heartbreak over someone who you were never really with. Those weeping nights, feeling the crack in your heart, holding your chest to try and comfort it, knowing that it wouldn't really help to heal and take the pain away. In those weeping nights, you stay up for long hours reminiscing on the vibes you once had with them, the emotions that you felt towards them and the physical attraction that you saw in them as you try and plan the next stage of your life without them in the picture. In all the effort you use to move on, your mind still can't fathom the idea of how someone who said they loved you would treat you and leave you like they did. No wonder pure hearts can turn cold.

SUPERIOR LOVE

That unconditional love, purified love, untouched love, uncontaminated love, un-indoctrinated love. That love that is genuine and comes from within. That love which yields growth and progression. That love that stems from peace and is founded on respect. That love that's with you through the storms and after overcoming the storms. That love that pushes you to keep going when you've yet to defeat the storm. That love which is constant. That love that knows you more than you know yourself. That love: I pray we all get to experience such love, both from within and in connection with 'your person.'

I wrote these two thoughts months apart last year and I still believe them to be true. It may be deemed as biased in how I define love to mean in both the societal and superior way because I wrote these thoughts from a subjective standpoint. Though, I do believe it can be objectively viewed to be true and hold some value as to what love means nowadays in society.

Watching all those late 90s and early 00s films and TV shows and living in the reality- love is not what it fully made it out to be. I think nowadays the viewpoint and recognition of love has differed massively from how it was back in the day. That's not wholeheartedly a bad thing as so many things, universally, has changed and adapted from it's original meaning and standpoint as society becomes modernised and digitally developed.

Some may prefer the nowadays love.

Some may still yearn for the old school love.

Either way, I pray that the love you desire and deserve comes your way. I pray that such love starts internally with your own self-love and grows deeply as you find such love and partnership in 'your person.' Just like with the commonly known five love languages, the meaning of love, what it is to love, how to love and why to love isn't necessarily a collective definition but individually defined. I think it stems from how the people around us and the environments we reside in impacts how we view love. We don't learn through words but actions. So, what we see in terms of how love has been commonly accepted to be in such environment influences what we may believe love to be.

Though, I know not all environments depicts love in the superior way but the societal way and sometimes even worse with toxic love. I pray that if you are in such environments that view love that way, you are able to still have that passion to desire and deserve love the superior way.

Love isn't meant to be hard. It's not meant to cause you pain and suffering. It's not meant to be harmful. Love is to be peaceful, respectful, gentle, kind and a blessing.

So, as we celebrate Valentine's Day, and we live through each day, I pray we all get to experience superior love within ourselves and in partnership with 'your person.' I pray such love isn't limited to just be shown out in full on Valentine's Day but every day. I pray we don't experience such love only at the beginning and in the honeymoon phase but every day- through the good, bad and ugly; in sickness and in health; financial struggles and financial security; in both setbacks and progression; downfalls and uprise; now and forevermore.

I pray love is kind to you, cherishes you and brings you peace.

I pray your superior love is a constant- no matter 'what', despite of 'what', because of 'what' and in spite of 'what' ever may be.

Love.

Remember, Trust in the Lord, Love like the Lord and Walk with the Lord. TLW

who do we follow? thelawdsway