We love our pets. We love our cars. We love our children. We love our homes. We love our spouses. We love a lot. Yet our love never seems to be enough. Our love can bring us joy and at other times it doesn’t feel so good.

Tina Turner has a song with the lyrics “What’s love got to do with it…What’s love but a second hand emotion.” She is implying that love is used and lacks value. There are many that feel this to be true. This idea and concept is what makes it very difficult for people to receive and live in the love of God. This very idea is a lie from the enemy. I understand that many, including myself, have had very hurtful experiences with love. Our hearts have been broken. We have been disappointed. The pain that we have felt causes us to diminish the worth and power of love. We bring down its value to being only described as an emotion. Emotions come and go and change like the wind. In our humanness we have made a mess of love. We don’t love ourselves as we should or perhaps, we love ourselves too much. We don’t love others as we should or perhaps, we love others more than we should. We have a tendency to look for love in all the wrong places. Our lives are void of the love that God wants to freely pour into our hearts to fill our empty spaces. We spend time trying to prove that we are worth someone’s love or that we are better than someone and deserve to be loved more. We wrestle with insecurity, rejection and fear. Our connection with love is so rooted and connected to our feelings. We go through life not being complete because there is only one who can and should complete us.

While our love that we offer sometimes leaves us separated and dashed aside – God doesn’t. While the love we share falls short- God doesn’t.

Love has everything to do with life. Love has everything to do with fulfilment. Love has everything to do with peace. Love has everything to do with wholeness. Love has everything to do with confidence. Love has everything to do with purpose.

Scripture tells us the truth. We can rest safely in God’s love. We can live free in God’s love. “There is no fear in love, but perfect loves casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 1:4 In God’s love there is no punishment. His love covers us. He died for us while we didn’t even know him and were still sinners. Rom 5:8 God is love and we can abide in him and his love. He will not reject us. He will not shame us. He will not leave us hurting. We do not have to fear that God doesn’t love us.

While our love that we offer sometimes leaves us separated and dashed aside – God doesn’t. While the love we share falls short- God doesn’t. While the things we sometimes love cannot love us back- God always will. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing.

“ …Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom 8:38-39

God so loved us that we could live life to the fullest. He loves us so that we can love him and others to the fullest. God leaves us with peace by casting out our fear so that love is stronger in us and through us. We didn’t have to love God to gain his love. He loved us first. 1 John 4:19. We didn’t have to and still don’t have to earn God’s love. We don’t have to work for it. It doesn’t tire us out but gives us power and strength. His love completes us. We can go forward and be all that we can be in the power of God’s love. His love is an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

Love is not a secondhand emotion. Love is real and lasting when it comes from the right source. Love is God. Love comes from God. Love leads us to God. Love is God’s covenant. Love is God’s commitment.  Make a choice to refuse to be separated from God’s love.