But we live in a society that all-too-seldom considers the cost of true love––and there is a cost to loving another human being. It isn’t easy, whether that be the love of a man for a woman or a mother for a child or even a friend for a friend. Loving someone opens us up to hurt and disappointment as well as unspeakable joy.
Love is a verb, not a feeling. It’s an action. Anyone can say the words, “I love you.” Yet those are meaningless words unless the actions of love follow them. Love is what you do when the other person is unlovable. It’s putting the other person’s needs above your own. True love is sacrificial and abiding and worth striving for.
I don’t believe there is any better description of real love than the beautiful verses from 1st Corinthians 13 that have been used in countless wedding ceremonies through the decades:
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (verses 4-7, New Living Translation)
I have loved deeply in my life, and I have mourned the loss of love as well. But I continue to believe that, as the Bible says, love is the more excellent way.
~robin
The above was my contribution to the book, Fall in Love Like a Romance Writer (published earlier this year). I thought it worth sharing with my blogging friends.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Robin. As The Bard so aptly put it, “It is far better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all.” I believe that with all my heart. How much richer life is with the love of family and friends, even when heartache and pain accompany that love. Great post, Robin. Wish the world would read and abide.