Genuine Love
Today I am reading in THE ROADLESS TRAVELED about genuine love which implies commitment and the exercise of wisdom. In a consturctive marriage, the partners must regularly, routinely and predictably, attend to each other and their relationship no matter how they feel. Peck defines love as the will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurtuting one’s own or another’s spiritual growth. Genuine love is a decision to love. It is a committed, thoughtful decision.
Love is not a feeling, it is a love that has action and activity to it. The feeling of love is a emotion. It is the process by which an object becomes important to us. It’s concern or devotion has nothing to do with our spiritual growth or another’s.
I like that explanation. So many people get divorced or separated because the feeling has left. But really genuine love is a committed decision to love because of their spiritual development. It is obedience to God to stay married and learn to love. I have seen many that have chosen to love because of obedience to Christ and today they have happy content marriages. So when you are struggling with love remember that it is not a feeling but a commandment. With God’s help you can be obedient and love as Christ has called us. 