I once fell head over heels in love with someone and she told me that she madly loved me too. It was a great feeling and I was on cloud nine (literally all of the time), and we had a wonderful time together. I loved her madly and thought about her constantly, and wanted to be with her every waking moment.
Like a roaring fire our love burned brightly, but then came that awful day when she decided that I wasn’t enough for her. She decided that she needed more in her life, told me as much, and moved on.
Shakespeare couldn’t have written a more tragic epic. Speaking of epics, Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote a poem in which he tried to address my dilemma. It’s entitled:
“In Memoriam”
“Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all”.
Hmmm . . . I suppose what he was saying was that to miss out on having the opportunity to experience love was worse than the pain created when it was taken away.
I think old Tennyson might have been a nutty masochist who hit the bottle too often.
Felice and Boudleaux Bryant had a different slant on things when they composed the song Love Hurts and in part wrote the following lyrics:
Some fools think of happiness
Blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves I guess
They’re not foolin’ me
I know it isn’t true
Love is just a lie
Made to make you blue
Love hurts
Love hurts
Love hurts
Hmmm . . . That sounds more like the truth to me than that Tennyson junk . . .
When I was in the military several psychiatrists diagnosed me as being a sociopath and in part told me that I was incapable of love. They came to that conclusion after spending many long hours questioning me about my childhood, young adult life, and my twisted view of the world. They soon discovered that I was full of hate, bitterness, anger and rage.
What made me that way? I’ve thought about that question quite often and conclude that at a very young age I became convinced that Felice and Boudleaux Bryant had it right, (love is just a lie and it hurts). When I was growing up every single time I tried to love anyone (including family), invariably I would endure the pain of no one loving me back.
As time passed I became more and more jaded and vowed that it would never happen to me again and not only that, but I would make others pay for the hurt that had been inflicted on me by making them feel some pain of their own.
Sigh . . . I only hurt myself worse with that stupid attitude.
I wanted to put the gun to my head and just check on out and make my pain and misery go away, but before I got around to it I discovered the love of God. Unlike the “runaway bride”, I found that Jesus had steadfastly remained at the altar awaiting me, (even as I ran wild and sowed my oats). I discovered that His love is pure and genuine and the furthermost thing from being a lie. He understood my pain and in spite of my many faults and shortcomings loved me.
Jesus Christ loves you! He loves you! He loves you!
I want to be like Him. If only we could love each other as God loves us, pain would cease to exist.
Do you love anyone?
Before you answer you may want to read the verse below that defines love.
Whomever you may love in this life, live this verse with them today . . .
1 Cor. 13:4
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!