<\/p>\n
. . . bid me love, and I will give
A loving heart to thee.
(Robert Herrick)<\/p>\n
BEING A LOVING PERSON REQUIRES MORE CHARACTER THAN WE SOMETIMES SUPPOSE. While it\u2019s occasionally right to speak of \u201cfalling in love,\u201d genuine love in the deepest sense involves much more than fortunate circumstances and feelings. In real love, the mind and will are every bit as active as the emotions, and the showing of love calls for the highest and best character within us. Consider what happens when we give \u201ca loving heart\u201d to those around us.<\/p>\n
(1) We find joy in loving, even when being loved is not a possibility.<\/em> Loving is more a matter of what we give than what we get, and love can be love even when it\u2019s unrequited. Perhaps it seems silly to our modern sensibilities, but there really was some value in the medieval idea of \u201ccourtly love,\u201d which held that the most intense love is the pure desire for that which one can never possess for oneself. \u201cThere is more pleasure in loving than in being loved\u201d (Thomas Fuller). To be truly, and most helpfully, loving to those around us, we need to love them for their own sakes and not for what we can get out of them.<\/p>\n (2) We seek the true and highest good of the other person, even to the point of personal sacrifice.<\/em> To give a loving heart to someone, we must truly want whatever is best for that person and be willing to place ourselves in the service of his or her best interests. Loving people are willing to subordinate their wants to the other person\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n (3) We maintain loyalty to love, even when the feelings of love are absent.<\/em> If love is to be meaningful, it must not be dependent on the fluctuation of our emotions. Feelings come and go, but the demands of the loving heart are more constant. In these days of disposable relationships, we need to recover the concept of durable, committed love.<\/p>\n Nobody who\u2019s tried it would say that love is easy. It does indeed take character, and that is something we\u2019re all still in the process of building. But perhaps even more than character, being a loving person requires courage. Holding on to the trust that\u2019s required to make love\u2019s sacrifices is more than a little frightening. It\u2019s not for the fainthearted. But for the bold, being loving is the very nectar of life itself.<\/p>\n \u201cThe loving are the daring\u201d (Bayard Taylor).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n