Love is Giving

That is what love does. It gives and keeps giving.

A few days ago, I was musing about how far people would go to put a smile on the face of someone they love. How much we are willing to sacrifice to make someone we love happy and fulfilled or simply to be there for that person. It was also overwhelming to note how much we desire to show the significant people in our lives that we love and care for them, and yet we hesitate and don’t do so as often as we ought to. It cuts across all our relationships: parent-child, husband-wife, friends, and siblings.

I read the story of a woman who, when she found that her 3-year old son had learning disabilities, gave up her dream of becoming a paediatrician to stay at home and help her son through school. She was at the verge of completing her specialization. The son now holds a degree in engineering. What a sacrifice.

Love is a verb, without an action, it is merely a word. Simply put, you cannot say you love someone without a commensurate action to demonstrate it. It is not simply what you feel, it is what you do. And one of the things that love does best is that it gives. Love makes a choice, a deliberate decision, to give. It is proactive—always looking for opportunities to give of itself. It takes action to deepen intimacy between you and your spouse. It is in full motion when it gives attention to a friend in need. Even the seemly small gestures enveloped in huge affection makes a lot of different.

 

http://justsaynototoxicrelationships.wordpress.com

Love gives

It gives selflessly

It gives sacrificially

It gives unconditionally

We have a perfect example to follow:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God gave His best and most precious just for you and me. See what the given Son did:

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1John 3:16). There is no greater love than for a man to lay down his life for the sake of his friends. Jesus gave up His glory in heaven when He came down to earth. Then he gave up His life for us on the cross at Calvary.

Oh! What great and awesome love that the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God. For to us whom He gave his Son, He gives all things freely with him. Our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated their love for us through what they gave for us.

“Love is what is left in a relationship when selfishness is taken out” 

– Nick Richardson

I know love is in the air this weekend as we observe the Valentine’s Day. But it should not be a test of how much your spouse or friend loves you, it should be about celebrating your marriage, your relationships and the life you share together with the significant people in your life. It should be about putting your love for them in action.

“I will stop expecting your love, demanding you love, trading for your love, gaming for your love. I will simply love. I am giving myself to you, and tomorrow I will do it again. I suppose the clock itself will wear thin its time before I am ended at this altar of dying and dying again.
God risked Himself on me. I will risk myself on you.

And together, we will learn to love, and perhaps then, and only then, understand this gravity that drew Him, unto us.” – Donald Miller

Loving someone means we are willing to take a risk, to be vulnerable, to be open and to give our all. God took the same risk on you and me when He declared His faithful and undying love for us. I love the chorus of this old time song by the Gaither Vocal Band:

I am loved, I am loved
I can risk loving you
For the One who knows me best
Loves me most
I am loved, you are loved
Won't you please take my hand
We are free to love each other
We are loved

I can declare with all boldness, confidence and joy that I am truly loved:

I am loved by my Heavenly Father Whose love for me is beyond description.

I am loved by my Redeemer, Saviour and Friend, Who gave His life just for me.

I am loved by my dearest husband, whose love keeps giving and giving, who cares for me selflessly and supports me to be who God has called me to be. His twinkling smile brightens my world.

I am loved by my compassionate sons who never cease to amaze me. My personal stand-up comedians who make me laugh even when it was difficult to do so.

I am surrounded by our loving families—mine and my husband’s. The warmth of their care and love makes my heart glow with pride.

I am truly blessed with friends in deed. Friends who stick close through the thick and the thin. Friends who go the extra mile to be there for me. Friends who never cease to encourage me and bring the best out of me.

Today, I celebrate all my relationships and all the significant people God blessed my life with. And I ask you, dear friends, to do the same. Show your love, act your love and give of yourself to those you hold dear to your heart. It is only now when we have them that we can do so. When they are gone from us, we will have the memories of our time now sharing our love with them, to hold on to.

“The greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how much they love them while they are still alive” – Orlando Battista.

I encourage you to show and tell your love to your loved ones today, this weekend and beyond. Do take time to cherish them now.

For my dearest husband:

I could never thank God enough for loving me so passionately and for extravagantly lavishing His love me. Perhaps, in my loving you for who you are and with all my heart, I may in a little way show to God, how grateful I am for His love and for blessing my life with you.

I love you and cherish today and for all times.