This is a really hard post to type. I’ve been through so many heartbreaks before, but the ones out of love are always the hardest. In the moment, the decision is easy, but the aftermath can weigh heavy. We’ve all heard “if you love something, set it free…” but unless you’ve lived that out, you won’t know what kind of love you have to make that choice. All of that to say though, when we read passages like 1 Corinthians 13 that describes love, and then we think about how we are called to love our enemies, there’s a disconnect.

We can read that “love is not self-seeking”, but when someone hurts us, it’s our first response to go to revenge, or to take a selfish route. We can read that love “keeps no record of wrong”, but how many times do we hold onto things to bring back up in a fight with someone later on? We can read that love “is not easily angered”, but how quick are we to be upset about something someone says or does?

The truth is, real love is a challenge, but it isn’t impossible. Before I sat down to write this, I was compelled to think about how Jesus must have felt walking to His death. He was in agony, and people were still screaming at Him, and beating Him. He could have saved Himself at any time, but He didn’t. He endured all of that because He loved those people despite what they were doing. To think that while He was hanging there, bleeding out and suffocating at their hands, that He chose love still.

My challenge for you and me today, is that we reflect on what we call love. When I launched this blog, I didn’t understand the name Love Unbroken, my sister had chosen it. But God’s love for us has never been broken. God’s love is selfless. And to live a life reflective of Christ, I challenge you to ask yourself: are you really loving those around you?

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” -1 Corinthians 13:1-3