True Love - For the Ladies

Reader’s Digest’s article “10 Tips for Finding True Love and Happiness” implies that true love is happiness. This article is for the ladies – how to find the man of your dreams. A few of the tips include: leaving the past in the past, getting out there (“ALWAYS go to parties”), go against the hype, take your time, etc. It okays moving in together before marriage and “passionate, amazing sex”.

For the ladies – Here is my response to Reader’s Digest (get ready):

Love. It captures hearts. It steals thoughts. It causes butterflies in your stomach and a smile on your face. I am intrigued by love. I ache for love. I want it.

Let me say it again: I WANT MY TRUE LOVE.

And I can have it.

But not it the way that Reader’s Digest suggests.

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8)

I am amazed by God’s love – particularly that it is just. We are taught that love is based on feelings, that it doesn’t have to be logical, that it can go against authority if it is strong enough. We are taught, quite honestly, that love means sex, and you don’t really love him if you aren’t willing to give yourself away. (Remember that statement.) We want our hearts to be captured; we want our thoughts to linger on someone; we ache for those butterflies … We want to love, and we want to be loved.

But here’s the thing, ladies. We’re going about it all the wrong way. What if I told you that you already ARE loved? “Ya, ya, ya.. I know, I know. God loves me.” But that knowledge doesn’t satisfy anything, does it. Nope. That knowledge alone doesn’t satisfy anything.

DON’T STOP READING.

For all of you who don’t know Christ, that statement was true. For all of you who do, that statement probably caused a little bit of an angry feeling in your stomach. But listen -

YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE. 

Let me make sure we understand what God’s love means.

God’s love = the Gospel message.

Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” There is NOTHING we can do to deserve His love. Only when we are perfect do we deserve it.

But I said His love is just. How could His love be just if we don’t deserve it? If He loves us despite us not deserving it … well that is not justice at all.

Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Romans 10:9-10 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

There is nothing we can do to be able to get to Heaven or to deserve His love. But when we accept (believe He is risen and confess Him as Lord of our life) the ONLY WAY to Heaven and to His love -the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross-, we are saved. We are justified by it. His love is just because Jesus paid for all of our sin. Just like someone behind you in the grocery store could pay for your groceries. God paid for your sin. And you never have to pay it again!

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is the ultimate way that God show’s His love. He gives us freedom from sin! He gives us hope of a future in heaven with Him!

Okay, so remember what I said at the beginning? You don’t really love Him if you don’t give yourself away. That is true. But WAIT. I changed it here. The “H” is capital. Our greatest love isn’t another earthly man who sins as much as you. It is with the One who IS the Authority, who isn’t based on feelings, but gives them as a blessing. Who defies human logic, but is really the most logical answer of them all. This love is astounding to me. We show our love by first asking for forgiveness. We show our love by giving ourselves to Him. For forever.

And after we are saved by believing and confessing: He gives peace. He gives joy. He carries us. His grace is sufficient for us. He is constant. He never leaves us. He changes us to look more like him. He satisfies us.

Don’t get me wrong. Circumstances in life may still be hard. But He gives peace and joy and grace in the middle of that. He satisfies us despite what happens.

How amazing that this huge God can remain perfect and still rescue and care for little ol’ me! How amazing that I can be satisfied no matter what this life brings! This is greater than any man.

HERE’S THE THING, THOUGH. GOD DID GIVE US MEN. 

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LordGod made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Gen 2:4 – 3:24

Actually, He gave us to men. He gave us a desire to love them. He gave us the butterfly feeling. He created the smile. He wants us to find a suitable partner. But He also says:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

So ladies. I have that ache for a man, too. But I know that God has a perfect plan. One that will glorify Him and prosper me. Let’s say thank you to God’s just love by giving ourselves to Him. Let’s remain pure. There will be so much less hurt. There will be so much less pain. Because He gives us peace even in the hardest times. Let’s say thank you to God by loving a man that desires the same as us! A man who God, because He loves us, brings together with you by your love for Him. God models the love that is truest of all.