I wanna stay here forever...

True statement:
It is a lot easier to fall in love, than to stay in love.
Once again, God answered one of my prayers. Shocker.
I always try to fall asleep talking to Him and last night I was asking Him to show me exactly how to love like Him. Well, He did just that. I got up this morning and decided to listen to a podcast by Andy Stanley. I got all my answers and continued to dig to find more.
Falling in love is so easy. We even fall in love with people we have never even met before.
There is over 1500 match making organizations out there. So simple to fall..but what about staying?
Sometimes I wonder, is it even possible to stay in love for a lifetime these days?
Is it even worth shooting for?
Now I'm not just talking about staying together..I'm talking about staying in love.
There isn't anyone who does not desire love. We all have that something in us that longs to feel that butterfly, cloud 9, I wanna stay here forever feeling. It is in our human nature.
Andy's message made me think..is it possible? yes.
Is it easy? No.
He put it in a way that clicked like crazy to me.
"Falling in love requires a pulse, staying in love requires a plan."
WOW. so true.
I have never thought about it like that. We put so much pressure on going with the flow and if it is love it'll happen...but a relationship takes work.
Staying in love takes work.
Jesus gave us a new command in John 13:3
"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other."
You see, we automatically look at love as a noun.
Jesus takes it to a new level.
He commands us to make it into a verb.
Don't be content with just feeling something, because it won't last if you do.
The secret to staying in love is to make it a verb as much as it is a noun.
So we fall into something and we do something. got it.
I now know to fall in love with a new understanding of it. Jesus tells us to love one another; not like the love we see by our parents, in this culture, or like a past relationship, but just as He loved us.
Awesome. So how exactly do you do that, Jesus? You are so perfect in everything you do..
Lucky us, Paul broke the answer to that down for us in Philippians chapter 2.
Jesus made love a verb and Paul elaborates exactly on that.
verse 2: Do nothing of compete. We should never be in competition with someone else.
verse 3: Value others. consider others more important than yourself.
When you are around someone more important than yourself, your goal should be respect, not to be right.
When you see a famous person, there is a sense of awe, or maybe even a gasp. Imagine a relationship that chooses not to lose that sense of all- to act as if they are more important that you.
Let's be real. We love to be treated as the most important person around. We all have that crave.
But we must think of others as better than ourselves. Christ put us before Him.
verse 4: Paul says we must express interest in things that interest others.
Are you willing?
I know I think of times when I started liking someone and automatically their interests become mine. Funny how that works..but I never really remind myself to constantly consider doing that to others.
verse 5: Approach a relationship the way Jesus approaches one.
verse 6: Even though Jesus IS the most important- He never used that- He always used that for the benefit of others.
verse 7: He made Himself nothing. He emptied Himself.
Jesus made a decision to empty Himself.
Do you understand?
Paul is reminding us that Jesus could either get what he deserved or get what He wants.
He could either get glory, honor, and respect...or a relationship with you.
verse 8: HE HUMBLED HIMSELF.
He decided to place Himself under someone else..not 50-50 or equal. completely under.
How many times do you find Jesus serving??
ALWAYS.
He humbled Himself by being obedient to death. He is saying, "I died on a cross in an effort to make your deal, more important than mine.
He knew He couldn't have both, what he deserved and what he wanted..so He chose a relationship with us. He was nothing but SELF EMPTYING.
When we are arguing with people, you can be 100% right all the time, but that is trying to be right, not respectful. So you see, we can be sooooo right, but wrong at the same time. And by being wrong like that you push people away, whether you see it or not.
Jesus wants us to love the same way He loves us- which means the relationship becomes before the wants.
The greatest evangelism is through this kind of a relationship.
John 13:35 "Your love to one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
We all desire to be in love- As Christians we have been instructed how to do so.
We can demonstrate Christ dying on Calvary through the way we love..and by staying in love.
This isn't just for falling in love with your special someone either.
It is how we should love all people.
Just like He does.
Falling in love requires a pulse, staying in love requires a plan.
My Father,
Help me love others like you love me. You chose me, a sinner who is so unworthy of you, over the glory and honor you deserve more than anything. I will never be able to thank you enough. Your compassion goes beyond my comprehension Lord, but please continue to show me the depth of it. Teach me exactly how to love the guy you have set aside for me too. That way, when I do begin to fall in love, I will be able to stay in love with him because I have you as a role model. Thank you for your word and the way it guides us for our everyday lives. I am falling so in love with you more and more everyday. I want a heart like yours. I love you with every part of me. Thank you for putting me before you.
Your daughter,
Lexi