Love is…everything. God is love. He sent His Son Jesus as Savior, to die to pay the penalty for our sins. This is the ultimate sacrifice- to give one’s life for the sake of others. There is no greater love.

I encourage myself as well as other women to influence others righteously. One way to do this is to love others. Many people are still looking for love and marriage. Many ladies are very bothered that the pickings to find good quality husbands are slim.

When looking for love, the most important thing to do is to look to God first. We must receive His love and be able to give love to others, just as He loves us.

Many people desire to be loved. It is equally important to give love to others. Love is not simply a feeling, though it is often accompanied by feelings of affection. Most importantly, love takes action- on behalf of, and for the sake of others.

Plenty people still like the idea of love. Plenty are still searching for love, but do we know how to love others? Are we willing to love others by actions, not just in words? Or, are we primarily concerned with being on the receiving end of love?

The reason the world we live in is so messed up is because of a lack of people loving God and each other

People will always be interested in love. It is innate. We are create by God who is love. We were created with a desire to be loved and a desire to love. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, we inherited their fallen characteristics and consequences.

Among many other issues that arose after they sinned, no longer could Adam and Eve love perfectly. No longer would they be selfless, but would become selfish. These character problems are prevalent in people to this day.

The motives behind our desires and actions matter. What drives us? When our motives are selfish, so are our actions. Some people primarily like the idea of receiving love.

A huge part of the problem today is selfishness. It seems many people want to receive, more than they want to give. Many are looking more for what they can get out of something, moreso than what they can put into it. When the going gets tough, they want to bow out. But love endures.

The golden rule is not practiced often enough.

• Sometimes, we treat people the way we would not want to be treated.

• Some people are unkind, but they want to be treated kindly.

• Some people are disrespectful, but they want to be respected.

• Some people cheat on their spouses or partners, but they definitely do not want to be cheated on.

My point is, the problems in the world lead back to selfishness and a lack of love: a lack of proper love for God, a lack of proper love for others. If we love God, we obey Him. He commands us to love Him and others. When we love others as we love ourselves, we do not intentionally mistreat other people.

With so many people still pursuing love and desiring to get married, it must be understood that a marriage without love will not work. Relationships in general fail without love.

• Love means sacrifice.

• Love means being others-oriented, patient, and forgiving.

• Love is also at times corrective.

Within marriage, to love means putting one’s spouse before himself or herself. The world we live in is full of darkness. There are many people who are selfish and mistreat each other. Yet, no matter what, people are still pursuing love. This transcends time. God is the ultimate source of love.

But we must remember that love is a two-way street. Love is not selfish. We should not simply be looking to receive love. Love is not only about receiving, but about giving. This defies our natural tendencies to be selfish. Furthermore, God commands us to love even those who don’t love us back!

Relationships and marriages will always fail when people do not love properly. As Christians, we must fear God. Simply loving someone is not by itself enough to have loyal, healthy relationships or marriages. What I mean is, we must also fear God and keep His commandments. We must be faithful to God also.

If we are faithful to God, this means being faithful across the board. This means we will be faithful to others. Spouses who are faithful to God will be faithful to each other. They won’t be cheating. It is not easy or possible to love in the way that God commands us to without the help of the Holy Spirit.

May God help us to love Him with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength; and to love others as we love ourselves, as He commands. Then, the rest falls in place.

Helpful Bible Verses

• For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3: 16 (NKJV)

• By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13: 35 (NKJV)

• Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 

This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12: 29-31 (NKJV)