Well, I almost got stuck reading all my old entries here, but then I remembered I did actually want to write something here! And maybe I won’t actually post this, so I could just write nonsense and delete it and no one would know how crazy I am. Um…wait, everyone already knows.

ANYWAY, I’ve been thinking lately(yes, it’s not as much a rarity as some of you may think) about lots of things and you’re all waiting to hear WHY in particular I wanted to talk about love. Ok, maybe you’re not all wondering that, but if you read my last entry(posted mere minutes ago!), you’ll know that I promised to talk about love sometime in the near future. Hmm, what could James possibly say about love? Well, it’s not as scandalous as you may think. And for some reason, I’m feeling really awake right now, so I may actually get through this after all! And I’m just typing my thoughts here, direct from the brain to the keyboard, so pardon any weirdness.

But yeah, love. What do I mean by this? And why again do I want to talk about it? Well, I think it’s partly due to my attending RUF a few times this semester and hearing some of the messages there(the series was entitled “Sex, Dating, and the Bible”). Anyway, got me thinking about marriage and what that crazy business entails. And no, I’m not thinking about marrying anyone anytime soon, no worries! But love in marriage is something really interesting, mostly because it’s so different from what most people in the world think it is. Most people hear the world “love” and think about that magic moment, that spark between two people, those special times alone, that feeling that will last forever because “we’re meant for each other”. And quite honestly, I do not like hearing any of that. I do think that there’s going to be one person I’m going to marry and that we will have just what God intended for us and that it’s going to be awesome. But I also know that neither of us are perfect. We’ll both be flawed human beings living solely by the grace of God. And that’s just fine.

Where we go wrong is when we expect marriage to be some magical institution that will make our lives so much better and that will fill a hole in our hearts. You know what, there’s Someone that can fill that hole so much better than anyone else…and that’s Jesus Christ. I don’t want to say marriage is bad, because obviously, I want to get married someday and it’s going to be sweeet. But it’s also going to be difficult. We’re going to have times where we don’t like each other and times when we really don’t want to be with that other person. And you know those feelings and butterflies you get when you see your special someone? Well, those won’t last forever. But by God’s grace, those two people will persevere in their covenant before God. And that’s what is so awesome about marriage – two people committing to live their lives as one, joining their disparate lives by a promise to love each other forever, by the grace of God.

So what is love? Well I think I’ve basically answered that question, but love isn’t some feeling or emotion…it’s ACTION. Love is how you treat your husband or wife when you’re tired and don’t want to talk with them or don’t want to hear about their problem…yet you do. Love is when you two are arguing and are so mad at each other…yet pray before God for grace to work out the problem and put aside your selfish pride and desires. Love is when you just KNOW(because you’re obviously always right) your way is the right way, yet humbly put her before yourself because the issue really isn’t that important.

Love is not some emotional outpouring of affirmation for the other, but showing her your commitment to serving God by putting her before yourself. Love is wanting to live your lives together for God, no matter what the price. Love is knowing that you in yourself have no power and humbling yourself before God to ask for his grace and power to love your husband or wife. This is what love is.

It felt good to share all that…I’d appreciate any comments and now I think I shall get some sleep…I am feeling rather tired now!