How to Make a Better You – Genuine Love
by Nina Sabin - Healthy Tip
February is known as the month of Love. You think of hearts, flowers, candy, and romance.
On February 14 we all celebrated Valentine’s Day; for some you felt fulfilled and loved for others you felt lonely and unloved.
Let’s begins today’s blog with, “what is love?”
This four-letter word has so many meanings and a lot of emotion attached to it.
The Oxford Dictionary says love is an intense feeling of deep affection: a great interest and pleasure in something.
There are actually eight types of love according to the antient Greeks: agape love – unconditional, self-less love, eros love – romantic, passionate love, philia – affectionate, friendship love, philautia – self- compassionate love, storage – familiar, family love, pragma – enduring, matured love, ludus – playful, infatuation love, mania – obsessive love (which is not a healthy love).
Most people focus on the eros and ludus love, which is more of the worldly view of love.
Today we are going to dig deeper into the love of God… the creator of love. His main love is agape, unconditional love for us; all of the other love falls under the agape love.
In the bible it has a whole chapter on love, 1Corinthians 13. It describes what love is… patient, kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs, it does not delight in evil, it rejoices with the truth, it always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. Love never fails.
As we look at each of these characteristics of love listed in 1 Corinthians 13 we see genuine love. Love is not just a feeling, but a decision. If we can add these attributes to our life, we would not only show love, but we would be at peace with ourselves and others.
The trouble is we are human. Christ on the other hand was perfect and was a perfect example of love. He lived a life demonstrating everyone of these characteristics mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13. He is the true example of genuine love by lying His life down for us. John 15: 9 – 17
As I am writing this blog, I am evaluating my own decisions. Ask yourself this, do I demonstrate genuine love by being patient? Do I demonstrate genuine love by not being envious, boastful, or proud? Do I demonstrate genuine love by not being rude, self-seeking, easily angered or not keeping records of wrongs?
If you are like me none of the above come easy. As I mentioned earlier, we are human, however, through the Holy Spirit it is possible to attain these characteristics.
Start small, pray and ask God which of these love characteristics you struggle with the most. I know for me there is at least a few.
Let’s say you choose patience. That is the one I am working on this month. Here is an example of how I tried to show genuine love through patience. I was waiting in line at the pharmacy drive through and the woman in front of me was taking longer than I liked because she was doing a Covid test and not just getting a prescription, which I was there for. Instead of letting myself get angry and frustrated, I reminded myself that God wants me to show love, and that means be patient; which in the end also gave myself love and peace.
We make life and love very difficult by allowing things to get to us. Let’s make an agreement today that to be a healthier you – work on internalizing the characteristics of love.
This song came to my mind today when I woke up and I thought I would share it with you.
Let Me Tell You about My Jesus… He is the true example of genuine love.
Are you ready to experience genuine love in your life?
My goal is to help those who want to make lasting changes in their life. Contact me today for a Complimentary Breakthrough Session. It will be the best decision you ever made for yourself and your lifestyle change.