Roman’s 5:8 (NIV®)
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
You’ve heard these accounts from others – maybe you’ve experienced it yourself. A young man has eyes for a young lady and the young lady has eyes for him. Outsiders looking in can see the challenges both will face, shake their heads, chuckle and say “love is blind”.
A year or so later you hear one talking about the other. The blinders have come off. All the idiosyncrasies that were passed over as “cute” or “not that bad” have come home to roost and the struggle is taking a tole on the relationship. Is it still love? Does love somehow disappear when reality sinks in? My grandfather used to say “When money problems come in the front door, love goes out the back”. Is that true? Is love contingent on circumstances? Is it contingent on the players?
Here’s what I think. Maybe it is love at first sight. Maybe it is just “like” at first sight. Maybe it is a slow attraction that eventually results in relationship. Whatever it is, I think it takes time for real love to be revealed. It takes two people committed to relationship irrespective of the flaws in each other. We can call it love in the early stages when everyone is on their best behavior, but true love shows itself in the midst of adversity and failure. True love looks at each other and says I accept you as you are and you can be who you are in front of me, warts and all. It loves, not only because the Lord put the initial love in the heart, but real love goes past the “feelings” and “emotions” and loves irrespective of obstacles or inconveniences. True love stands the test of time.
There are other good examples of real love; parents for children, siblings, other “blood” relations or even some best friends, but whether familial or not, our good examples provide only a small taste of real love. For the ultimate love is found in Christ. He is our example. He didn’t die for us because He was blinded by love. He didn’t love us initially and then walk away because it was too hard to continue. He chose to love us and died for us even when our “ugly” was hanging out for all to see. He saw our wayward hearts, our fatal flaws and our secret sin and said, “I love you” all the way to the cross.
Think about it. His love for us is not a blind love that we have to work to maintain or have to hide from when we mess up. His love sees us as we are – no frills and no fluff. He knows the real “us”. His love is our example and our treasure. His love is real. It is true. His love is the love we all want and need, and guess what? We have it! We have it because God demonstrated it to us at the cross. We know it and can live in it with eternal confidence because God’s love – true love is not blind.
Photo Credit: iStock.com/shadrin_andrey ID 1361454702