Love, one of the most abused words of the english language, it almost slips of the tounge without thought or emotion needing to back it up. We say I love you almost as easily as we say I love pizza or I love spring. Sometimes we make it a big deal and sometimes we bounce it around like it meant nothing.
We are in desperate need for a new word for Love1, a word that keeps it awe inspiring (God is Love) yet keeps it to an everyday thing (Love your neighbor), because we need acts of Love every day!
So why talk about Love in a series about spiritual discipline? Well first of all if we believe that love is an emotion then love is wild and unpredictable and the capricious mistress of romance litterature. But if we take (what I consider to be) the Christian viewpoint then {{Love is a decision. Therefore Love can be practiced as a dicipline, an art and a path of life.}} Lets take a look at marriage as an expression of Love, if Love was an emotion my marriage would last only as long as I am in a fairly good mood and I am still infatuated with my wife. As the feeling of love fluctuates with my daily form it would be impossible to be a kind and loving husband all the time. Yet we promise in sickness and health, for better or worse. If Love however is a decision then it is the decision made on that glorious wedding day, that stands no matter how I feel at this point in time. Then Love becomes the result of every time that decision has been tested and reaffirmed. Every day beyond the wedding day becomes a witness of our Love, every quarrel solved, every crisis navigated becomes a testament to the Love that we share.
Not only does this make Love deeper and more valuable it also means that we can get better at it, we can train Love. Anyone no matter the personality can become more proficient in Loving God, our neighbors and ourselves.
This is the discipline of Love!
- I am capitalizing Love on purpose as God is Love therefore Love is the name of God, So it deserves to be capitalized [↩]
