Tuesday, January 25, 2011

LOVE DARE #22

Day 22: Love is Faithful

LOVE IS A CHOICE, NOT A FEELING. IT IS AN INITIATED ACTION, NOT A KNEE-JERK REACTION. CHOOSE TODAY TO BE COMMITTED TO LOVE EVEN IF YOUR SPOUSE HAS LOST MOST OF THEIR INTEREST IN RECEIVING IT. SAY TO THEM TODAY IN WORDS SIMILAR TO THESE, "I LOVE YOU. PERIOD. I CHOOSE TO LOVE YOU EVEN IF YOU DON'T LOVE ME IN RETURN."

"I do." Precious words - proclaimed with dreams, hopes, and expectations of riding off into the sunset. Soon, however, Prince Charming became alarming - and the beautiful Queen became mean! The castle became a mess - children arrived, bills showed up, disappointments set in. That cherished spouse - now the enemy. Who would have thought?

But God said, "love anyway." Love as Jesus loves. Love in spite of - love when you don't even like. Want an example? Read the book of Hosea. The prophet, Hosea, was married to a real piece of work, but God told Hosea to love his wife in spite of her behavior. This is a perfect example of God's love for us - unconditional - faithful. How can we possibly demonstrate that kind of faithfulness? Only by the power of the King of Kings. Choose it (before it's too late).

VERSE FOR TODAY'S DARE: "I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord" (Hosea 2:20).
THOUGHT FOR TODAY'S DARE: God continues to love us when at times - we have been downright unlovable. Love stays faithful; love loves. Be pro-active, not re-active today.

Blessings for a "faith full" day,
Dale and Susan Crook

(Want to take it a step further? Purchase the “Love Dare” book by Stephen Kendrick and Alex Kendrick for additional information and to record your results.)