I love ice cream. Really?

What do you love? I mean really truly love? Our culture has so grossly messed up this word that it’s tough to even define anymore. “Lust” runs around parading itself as love, destroying everyone in its path. “Like” acts like his older brother but is still just a little child. Honestly, it is difficult to truly know what real love is. So, let’s take a look around and see where we can find love: Parents should love their children, right?Oh the love of a mother As I look around our culture articles like this pop up every day. I just saw this one this morning. Children should love their parents, right? Teen has parents killed Married couples love each other, right? All she wanted to do is listen to Springsteen

These are all headlines from the past few days found in about two minutes.They simply serve as an example of what goes on. I could have found hundreds for each, but you get the point. These are relationships we would think exemplify love. For most of us young adults, we grew up during the divorce boom. We saw people in the church professing love one day and divorcing the next. Adultery, at least if you watch TV, has become mainstream and even expected. Porn has become common-place and is almost accepted as a viable job opportunity. Unfortunately these perversions are as common in the church as they are outside it.

As bad as it is to pervert love, trivializing it is just as bad. We say we love things like pizza, The Office, ice cream, football, March Madness, and so forth. Do we really love them, or do we just like them? I would certainly not give my life for any of those items, and if they were all taken away, I would survive just fine. Sunday afternoons would be difficult without football, but I would survive. As I looked around this week and really thought about love, I am not sure if there is another concept that has become as distorted or trivialized. Is it any wonder we, young adults, grew up not understanding this concept? I can’t imagine what future generations will think love means.

In studying the lesson this week, I was reminded anew of God’s love and the one true place to see love as it is supposed to be. Love heals. Love comforts. Love shows compassion. Love obeys. Love gives willingly, painfully. Love restores. Love produces joy. Love is fresh every day. Love is a promise. Love died so we could live. Love allows us into His presence. Love never ceases.

While my mind can’t fully grasp what true love is, I do know where it comes from and where I can see it lived out. Each day I see glimpses of true love as I search His Word, as I walk with Him, as I hold my wife’s hand, and as my daughter runs to me after pre-school. I pray through His guiding I can be an example of real love to those around me. What about you? What does love mean to you? Do you know God’s love? Do you show His love to others? In your search for love, where have you looked? What have you found? What does it look like to you? Share your thoughts and join the conversation.