Valentine's Day Special

WARNING!

If you are one of those people who don't like Valentine's Day or stuff like that, you probably shouldn't read this post.

"All you need is love" -The Beatles, All You Need Is Love

All right, so it's a day late, but here it is: my Valentine's Day blog, dedicated to my Valentine, Mallory Taylor.

So over a year ago, I was at my high school's homecoming foot ball game. I bumped into someone in my Spanish class who introduced me to one of her friends. The next day I met this friend of hers again on my way to Chick-Fil-A. I had pretty much given up on finding a girlfriend while in high school so I thought we could be close friends. God had a different opinion though as I found myself wanting to be with her as much as possible and I felt like we were supposed to be more than just friends.

So on October 23, 2008, I took a huge chance and asked Mallory Taylor to be my girlfriend, and she said yes! I was so happy! We hung out every night and when we weren't hanging out we texted each other whenever we could. After that Christmas, Mallory went with me and my family to my grandparents' cabin in North Carolina. Every night while we were there we would just sit on the porch and talk to each other. I opened up to her more than any one else and I realized in those days that my feelings for her had grown from some immature crush to me falling in love with her.

This leads me to the main part of this blog. What is love? Around this time of year, love gets thrown around, but I feel like lately with about 50% of marriages ending in divorce (remember when 'till death do us part meant something?), I feel like people don't really understand what love is anymore. So, I'm gonna look up a couple of things about love and then I'll let you know what I believe love is.

So first, where do you go when you need an answer to anything? That's right folks, the Bible. So, what does the Bible say love is? I went on to www.biblegateway.com, which is a searchable online Bible and typed in the word 'love," I got 697 results, so when I find a definition it should be pretty solid. And here it is:

I Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Wow, do you think we follow that these days? In couples you see who say they love each other do they follow these guidelines? Especially the last sentence, how many couples let their love bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and especially endure all things? This is a pretty solid definition of love.

Next, it's dictionary time. The dictionary application on the MacBook defines love as an intense feeling of deep affection, a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone. This is an all right definition of love, but, no disrespect to the Mac, I think it's too wimpy. Love isn't just affection or romantic/sexual attachment that can be broken, I think love is much deeper than that.

So, I'm sure you're wondering "Eli, what do you think love is?" Well, I'm glad you've asked. My definition of love is much closer to the Bible's definition. Love to me is an inseparable bond between two people. It is forever. You can't be in love with someone one day and not the next, love doesn't work like that. Also, I feel (and many will disagree with me) I don't think true love will occur unless it is two-sided, I don't think one can truly love someone without the other returning that feeling. Love is when both people want what's best for the other person, even if it might not be what's best for them. Love is not never arguing or always being happy, but it is knowing that no matter what feelings occur, love will still be sustained in the relationship. Also, love occurs only in a God-approved relationship. When love happens, it brings both people towards God, not just towards each other.

So that's what I think about love, if you have any questions or thoughts about love then please post a comment.