What is love?

To be loved but not feel loved. Is that still love? Most of us love only in our own definition of love, the way we personally receive and understand love to look like.

We speak different love languages and not always each others’, which is why the people whom we love may not truly feel loved. Because of our inflexibility towards expressions of love, we stubbornly choose to only do things that we think are right and loving to us.

So many people see love as a “miracle” that heal wounds completely. As a result, we have the tendency to think that others can “save” me with their love, and if they fail to, they should leave.

But to me, love isn’t the ability to “save”, but more like a “band-aid” – to just be there as healing takes its place.

We live in an age where “convenience” and the “easy way out” are paths most would choose. Sadly, this has what happened to love as well. When misunderstandings arise, when we come to a point of disagreements, we choose convenience over conversation, we’d rather move on than press on.

Love these days has been commercialised, its worth reduced to something that we use to profit ourselves, that we pick and choose like consumers.

Everyone wants to love and be loved, but not everyone is willing to go through the hassle of sticking it out through thick and thin, growing through trials, desiring to reach that elusive “forever”.

And very often I have to remind myself, “Your forever-kind-of-love isn’t for just anyone, but the right ones will stay“.

I believe that the word “love” was never so carelessly thrown about in the past. People didn’t say it unless they meant it. But not today, and so many of us hurt because of it.

Love these days has been commercialised, its worth reduced to something that we use to profit ourselves, that we pick and choose like consumers.

Honestly, there’s absolutely no way we can truly love without knowing God’s love for us.

God’s love doesn’t bind and blind you. It is freeing, and it gives you sight. Sight to see our flaws, but also to see beyond our ego and desire to change for the better. It is patient, it is kind …

And it never lets go.

This is a submission from a participant of our Christmas Gift Exchange. From now till the end of December 2017, we are giving away a limited edition Thir.st Tumbler in exchange for every story on the Christmas themes of love, joy, peace, hope and giving. Click here to find out more.