Love

It’s a decision, not an emotion. We are commanded to love God with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Easier said than done. But if we keep in mind “love” is not an emotion it gets easier. Emotions change over time. Certainly I was infatuated with Linda when we first met. I’m kind of a logical person, overall, and when she walked into the room I became an idiot, acting no better than some “love” crazed fool. That’s infatuation. As time went on, that cooled somewhat. When we decided to get married, I CHOSE to spend my life with her. At least until one of us died. (I’ve told her I won’t marry again if she dies before me.) That was a choice. “Until death separates us.” Even that won’t end my love for her, because I CHOOSE to love her for all eternity. Does that mean I don’t get irked at her? By no means. It happens, and she gets ticked off at me on occasion. That’s life. No relationship is perfect, and we both have our faults. I get peeved by things God does, too. That doesn’t mean I don’t love Him. We should all love God – He commands it. But that’s a decision, too. I decided I would love Him, despite disagreements. He decided to love me, despite my faults. If we decide to love God, pretty much the rest of our decision-making process will be affected. We’ll choose to disobey less often, and we’ll tend to choose to love other people. The Bible tells us the entirety of the Old Testament Law boils down to love. Love God with all your heart, and you can’t help but to love other people. If you love other people, you won’t want to kill them, you won’t want their stuff, and the whole rest of the ten commandments – covered. It’s a decision. Love God, or not. It’s a delusion to think someone can be okay with just “liking” God.