More Than a Feeling

Is love a fancy or a feeling? So asks Marianne in Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility. I believe that it is much more, over and beyond a mere fancy and that it runs deeper than a feeling. Feelings are based in emotions, and are subject to change. Moods come and go, but authentic love remains constant. True love is no fancy, and does not rest in the realm of thought.

How to describe it? I am almost at a loss. What to say when words are not enough? To say that love is a commitment would be true, but there is more to it than that. Honestly, the word love is used rather flippantly in the English language, and has lost meaning over time. We live in a culture where love has become casual, and in regard to relationships, can be cast about with little or no commitment.

I adore the movie Princess Bride. It is a tale about 'true love,' and while it is a sarcastic fairy tale, the film both mocks the idea of 'happily ever after' and condones it all at once. How many people can actually say that their love is like the true love between Wesley and Buttercup? True love has become something like a myth, only found in the fairy tales and Jane Austen novels, but is not to be expected in reality.

In short, it has become a rare thing to witness anyone who is truly in love. It is uncommon to see a healthy relationship in which a husband cherishes his wife, or where a wife honors her husband. If you listen to pop culture songs, you will pick up on a trend of broken hearts, fragmented relationships, and shattered dreams. Today's generation has become disillusioned.

But there is always hope. Thank God for that. There has always been a remnant, and so long as there are Christ followers, reflecting the light of the Son, then there will be an environment for real love to flourish. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Those who put Christ first have a perfect example of true love. And Scripture outlines the surest path to a healthy relationship between husbands and wives.

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. ²⁴Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it... {Ephesians 5:22-25}

I have been blessed beyond measure and have been walking on cloud nine because God brought someone into my life. I feel as though I cannot deserve the love that God lavishes on me, or the love that my fiance shows towards me. To say that I am happy falls short. I must say that what I am experiencing is sweeter and more beautiful than anything I have hitherto known or thought possible. I tell my fiance that "God put you in my way." Just when I think that I cannot love him any more, I find that I treasure him increasingly, and that my regard for him deepens daily. What kind of love is this? I believe that it is because we love Christ that we can love each other in this way. I have no other explanation. This love is not a passing fancy nor a temporary feeling. It is real.

And this post turned out to be longer than I originally intended it to be. These thoughts have been on my mind, and I felt compelled to share them. There is always hope.

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