The Power Of Love

Doesn't love enhance a relationship? Without it, you might as well be with someone else. Sometimes it is there and we don't recognize it until it hits us full force. There is nothing like the power of love when that happens.The power of love fills your whole life with happiness and joy, making you feel like you could float on air as you walk through your life. Have you experienced this kind of love, or are you still waiting? It depends on you whether it happens or not. Let's look at some reasons you may not want it when it does show up:

Bad Attitudes: You may have been so long without real love, that you have developed bad attitudes that have hardened you, and maybe driven people away from you, instead of toward you. That love may have been there and gone away because you drove it away, and in the process you never recognized it for what it was. Is this possible?

Unforgiveness: This is a big one that is hard for people to handle. Our emotions are involved and that is hard to get rid of when we try to forgive someone. Our whole being protests, but it has to be done or we will be kept from finding and keeping love when it does arrive. It is up to you to do it. Whether or not the person accepts it is another matter. But you must do your part and God will do his. God's part is to work on that other person to accept what you have done. Forgiveness doesn't always come all at once, sometimes it keeps coming back up when people start rubbing it in or something happens that triggers a memory. So you may have to keep doing it the rest of your life. You don't have to do it alone, unless you want to, but it is a lot harder. God is willing and able to help you, but you have to let him, he won't do it on his own without your permission.

Controlling: Are you a controlling person. It has been said that people who have to control others are out of control in their own lives. Look within yourself to see why you have to control others? Maybe you are on the receiving end? Someone is trying to control you. Are you letting that happen? Why? There is a good book called "Boundaries" that will help you with your life and stop this cycle.The authors are Henry Cloud and John Townsend. You may be able to find it at your local library or they may order it for you from another library for free. In either case, read it slowly and see what you can learn from it. It is well-worth your time to do so.

Bad Habits: Hoarding is one that comes to mind. Are you a collector to the extreme, never throwing things away that need to be? This is rooted sometimes in a time of your life when you had a bad experience perhaps when you were very poor and had virtually nothing, or it could be in response to a person leaving your home, like a child, that you never got over emotionally. The "empty nest syndrome". Whatever the cause, things like this will drive others away who could bring happiness and love to you, including your family. Get professional help if needed, but do it, so you can have a wonderful life.

Salvation: God used the power of his love to send his son Jesus to save us all from our sins. Without this act of love, we could never be close to him. Jesus died on the cross for us, so we wouldn't have to pay that penalty. Only he could do this, because our righteousness is not good enough to satisfy the penalty, despite what we may think of ourselves. The penalty is spiritual death after this life, unless we say yes to God and accept his salvation for our souls. No one can make this choice for us, we must do it for ourselves, and we only have this life to do it. "For it is given unto man once to die, and then the judgment".(Hebrews 9:27)

Abuse: Maybe you were abused as a child, and now you are abusing yourself emotionally with feeling unworthy to have love from others, low self_esteem, and other problems. Perhaps you are an abuser because you were abused in some way. You will never find real love unless you stop what you are doing. Get some professional help: talk to a pastor or counselor and put into practice what they tell you, then enjoy the fruits of your labors by experiencing love the way it should be, not the way the world portrays it. Turn to God and let him help you.

So, you have before you two facets of the power of love: the one in physical relationships and the most important one in our spiritual relationship with God. Both take hard choices, but God will help us if we let him. You have a free will, just like in your physical relationships to find real love or take cheap substitutes that only end in heartbreak and disaster. And, the more this happens, the more jaded and hard we can get until no one will want to be around us except those who are also hardened. Root out that bitterness before its root can destroy you. Work on your life like you would your garden, taking out the weeds of bad attitudes, unforgiveness, control, and bad habits, as well as others that will damage your life and chances for happiness with real love with people as well as God. Ask God for help, then be open to what he shows you to do. He is there 24/7 to listen and to help you with this life and the one to come. Your answer will determine what happens next.

What will you do with the information that has been presented? It all depends how courageous you are to change what your life has become or will if you don't change. Is your life experiencing so much pain and suffering from abuse? You can get help but you have to want it. Many cities have safe houses you can go to where your abuser cannot find you. Just do it, and then forgive in time and go on with your life, perhaps experiencing love for the first time. It is out there for you, but you have to be ready for it in order to appreciate it.