Day 8: Love

It's our final day of facing our emotions with God, and I've saved the most powerful, and possibly the most challenging one for last.

Love.

I think it's altogether possible that love is one of the trickiest emotions for many people to experience.

Not lust.
Not admiration.
Not respect.
Not responsibility.

Actual, real love.

Why? Because it requires vulnerability. There is no safe way to give love.

This quote from C.S. Lewis wrecks me:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” - C.S. Lewis

The key to love is free will. God doesn't treat us like puppets, or force us to love Him. It's a choice we all are able to make.

Jesus chose love with 'risk' when He died for us. There was no guarantee that a single person would respond to His love, and choose to love Him back.

Love risks rejection.

Love is the nature of God - who He is. We're made in His image, and we're designed to give and receive love. It's the kind that looks like kneeling and washing feet, like laying down your life for someone, like choosing to honour vows even when it feels painful.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

You might feel afraid to give love, in case you are rejected.

You might feel afraid to receive love, in case you are rejected.

But if Jesus taught us anything, it's that love requires vulnerability and risks rejection.

Be Honest:

• Are you afraid of love?
• Are you more afraid of giving love in case you are rejected, or of receiving love in case you are rejected once you are known?
• Is love worth it?
• Do you know the love of God? Have you received His love? Have you returned His love?

Bonus Challenge:

Pray this prayer or use your own words to respond to His love for you:

Jesus, thank you for loving me so much that You'd stop at nothing to have relationship with me, including going to the grave. Today, right now, I invite Your love into my life, and I freely, wholeheartedly say back; I love you. I love you and I choose you, today and every day. Amen.

A note from Jess:

Well done, friend. We've made it through some huge emotions together: joy, sadness, abandonment, hope, shame, anxiety, love. They're foundational to every relationship and experience.

If you want to dive even deeper into your emotional world with Jesus, I would suggest several places to start:

1. Regularly reading scripture.
   Every emotion under the sun can be found in the Bible. Read and take note of how those who have run before us navigated their emotions (both in positive and negative ways!), and how God encourages us to experience and process emotions.
2. Practicing identifying and communicating how you're feeling. If you need help, try referring to an emotions wheel. You can easily find examples of these just by doing a quick search engine lookup. Try and get to the heart of the core emotion you're experiencing, not just how it's appearing; for example, what looks like anger could really have a root of disappointment.
   Practice telling both God and people around you, how you feel. Hint: God already knows how you feel, He's just waiting for you to open up to Him about it. 😊