The Love Manual
"I love you"
Whenever we hear this phrase, we get that warm fuzzy feeling in our chest.
But the real question is what is love, anyways?
What has love got to do with the way we live life?
In this Special Blog post, (a slightly longer blog post of with interview-like questions), I hope to uncover with you the reason why love is a crucial component to our lives and more importanlty, how does one live in love everyday?
But first and foremost, the important question.
What is love?
Love is defined as "a strong feeling of affection." This is true, but love is transcends beyond this simple phrase.
Love, usually expressed through words and acts, is more than a strong feeling.
Love is actually the purpose of a human being.
Why me?
The next big question is what has love got to do with you and me?
To answer this, let's use the candle analogy.
A candle has one purpose: to spread light.
It may be scented, decorated and beautiful but it's ultimate purpose is to spread light. If the candle does not spread light, the others components are invisible and meaningless. For without light, how can you see the beauty of the exterior?
Think of candles as us and love as the flame.
As human beings we are made to love.
We may have beauty, gifts, talents and other awesome things but all that is meant to complement that love. Without love, everything else is meaningless. As human beings, we are called to shine the light of love to make this world a brighter place.
Now that we know that our purpose is to love, how then do we love?
1) "Love Him first"
When the Bible talks about loving God first, it actually means that from Him, we learn how to love.
God is the epicentre of love and through His Son, Jesus, He poured out His love on us. When we seek to know Jesus, He begins to redefine love for us.
Since love is our purpose and God being the centre, knowing God actualises our purpose and gives our lives meaning.
When we seek to know Him, through the Word, prayer and seeking Him everyday, we not only become filled with this understanding of Him, but become filled with love ourselves.
2) "Love Me"
Loving oneself in a world demanding perfection not an easy thing.
Daily, we have expectations to be a particular way and our flaws or past discourage us most times because we don't seem "perfect" enough.
I, too, used to feel the same way until I encountered this truth.
Unfortunately, we are not perfect. But in God's eyes, we're worth dying for.
Loving oneself is understanding that God loves you, regardless of your differences and flaws and that He believes you're a candidate for greatness.
Learning to love yourself is the best form of liberation you could ever have.
Acceptance of our flaws and the understanding that God is perfecting us daily is the true path to loving oneself authentically.
"How cool is it that the same God who created the mountains, oceans, galaxies thought the world needs one of you too." (Anonymous)
3) "Love Others"
What the ultimate purpose of our lives is not only to be loved but to give love.
When a jug is completely full and there many dry cups around it, it has to pour the water out.
Similarly, when we are filled with the love of God, we are meant to pour it out for others who need it.
Remembering that as humans, we are born to love so we are constantly in search for love. Sometimes in the wrong places but in amazingly, God has a greater love that He wishes to pour out to every person.
How do we give love?
In the simple things. Giving someone a call, saying hello, helping someone in need, forgiving them. The little things actually go a long way.
Regardless of who they are, or what they have done, we forgive because they are human too, in need of love.
Valentine's day is not the only day when we should give love. Perhaps it is the day to be a little extra (😁), but giving love us as important as breathing: it gives us life.
Every day you live is an opportunity to give love.
"Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought in full expression in us"- 1 John 1:11
Stay loving 💗
#SpreadThatLight
#UnstoppableLove
Guide. Light. Inspire
Whenever we hear this phrase, we get that warm fuzzy feeling in our chest.
But the real question is what is love, anyways?
What has love got to do with the way we live life?
In this Special Blog post, (a slightly longer blog post of with interview-like questions), I hope to uncover with you the reason why love is a crucial component to our lives and more importanlty, how does one live in love everyday?
But first and foremost, the important question.
What is love?
Love is defined as "a strong feeling of affection." This is true, but love is transcends beyond this simple phrase.
Love, usually expressed through words and acts, is more than a strong feeling.
Love is actually the purpose of a human being.
Why me?
The next big question is what has love got to do with you and me?
To answer this, let's use the candle analogy.
A candle has one purpose: to spread light.
It may be scented, decorated and beautiful but it's ultimate purpose is to spread light. If the candle does not spread light, the others components are invisible and meaningless. For without light, how can you see the beauty of the exterior?
Think of candles as us and love as the flame.
As human beings we are made to love.
We may have beauty, gifts, talents and other awesome things but all that is meant to complement that love. Without love, everything else is meaningless. As human beings, we are called to shine the light of love to make this world a brighter place.
Now that we know that our purpose is to love, how then do we love?
1) "Love Him first"
When the Bible talks about loving God first, it actually means that from Him, we learn how to love.
God is the epicentre of love and through His Son, Jesus, He poured out His love on us. When we seek to know Jesus, He begins to redefine love for us.
Since love is our purpose and God being the centre, knowing God actualises our purpose and gives our lives meaning.
When we seek to know Him, through the Word, prayer and seeking Him everyday, we not only become filled with this understanding of Him, but become filled with love ourselves.
2) "Love Me"
Loving oneself in a world demanding perfection not an easy thing.
Daily, we have expectations to be a particular way and our flaws or past discourage us most times because we don't seem "perfect" enough.
I, too, used to feel the same way until I encountered this truth.
Unfortunately, we are not perfect. But in God's eyes, we're worth dying for.
Loving oneself is understanding that God loves you, regardless of your differences and flaws and that He believes you're a candidate for greatness.
Learning to love yourself is the best form of liberation you could ever have.
Acceptance of our flaws and the understanding that God is perfecting us daily is the true path to loving oneself authentically.
"How cool is it that the same God who created the mountains, oceans, galaxies thought the world needs one of you too." (Anonymous)
3) "Love Others"
What the ultimate purpose of our lives is not only to be loved but to give love.
When a jug is completely full and there many dry cups around it, it has to pour the water out.
Similarly, when we are filled with the love of God, we are meant to pour it out for others who need it.
Remembering that as humans, we are born to love so we are constantly in search for love. Sometimes in the wrong places but in amazingly, God has a greater love that He wishes to pour out to every person.
How do we give love?
In the simple things. Giving someone a call, saying hello, helping someone in need, forgiving them. The little things actually go a long way.
Regardless of who they are, or what they have done, we forgive because they are human too, in need of love.
Valentine's day is not the only day when we should give love. Perhaps it is the day to be a little extra (😁), but giving love us as important as breathing: it gives us life.
Every day you live is an opportunity to give love.
"Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought in full expression in us"- 1 John 1:11
Stay loving 💗
#SpreadThatLight
#UnstoppableLove
Guide. Light. Inspire
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