LOVE AND DATING SERIES - Introduction

INTRODUCTION: Love By The Book.

Hi there,

What a delight to know you made it again today! You're simply awesome!

"I love you"..."My love"..."Do you love me?"..."Love's in the air"...

Love, love and more love! We've all heard and said those countless times. But just what is love?

There's been a lot of misconception, especially by precious young people, on this topic of love. Myself being a young person, it took some time before I actually made sense of it.  This came by series of revelations. However still, today, many have confused being in love (i.e having a strong romantic feelings for someone of the opposite sex - and worse still, of same sex!) with real love.

Please understand, being "in love" (eros) is a wonderful feeling, God put it in us. Nevertheless, it shouldn't be mistaken for real love (agape) which transcends feelings. There is a world of difference between them and I trust you know. [I believe it wouldn't hurt to go over these differences once in a while, would it?]

Whereas REAL LOVE is patient, seeks to grow in trust and friendship, "in love" seeks instant gratification, 'pleasure' and intensity. REAL LOVE is willingly sacrificial and never self-seeking at that, but "in love" is selfish and always says, "Me first, you later...if ever". REAL LOVE has the interest of the other person at heart, while "in love" focuses on one's own self happiness. "In love" is born out of feeling, meanwhile REAL LOVE stems from a deep-rooted act of the will. There is security in REAL LOVE, whereas "in love" puts both party at risk. Most of all, anyone can be "in love", but it takes the truly emotionally and spiritually mature to really love. These are only a few traits that distinguishes between real love and the often misunderstood love.

As a result of this common misconception, young people, naive as they are, have often dabbled into some unwholesome relationships all in the name of love and have pierced themselves with the darts of broken sexual relationships (which left them feeling cheap, manipulated, empty and every so often, unworthy of receiving God's love or giving it away -- because we can't give what we don't have); sexually transmitted diseases (as seen by the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and others among young people); unwanted/unplanned pregnancies (with all it's accompanying effects) to mention but a few.

All these and many more have further contributed in painting a poor image of love, sex and dating, thus making life miserable or utterly meaningless to some.

Friend, the good news is this: through all that darkness and gloom, there is hope. The cascading ray of hope is beaming on this generation of young people and next generations. Jesus has mercy, forgiveness and love for you. Regardless of your past experiences, Jesus offers you a fresh, clean start. You can start all over again enjoying life, love, peace, sound health, joy and many more, not by your performance or what you did to earn it, but by the knowledge of Jesus; your identity in Him as the beloved, your distinctive uniqueness and how preciously treasured, perfectly loved and accepted you are by Jesus.

Along this line, Joseph Prince, pastor of New Creation Church, Singapore, and host of daily television program, Destined to Reign which airs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network all across the globe, said in his book, Unmerited Favor:

"When young people catch a revelation of Jesus and just how precious they are in His sight, their lives will be supernaturally  transformed."

He further went on to say;

"The self esteem of our young ladies will dramatically improve as they learn to value themselves in the same way Jesus values them. Overflowing with Jesus' perfect love for, and acceptance of them, they will not be under  illusion that they need to give their bodies away to find acceptance and love from some guy. They will love themselves as Jesus loves them!"

That's not all, hear what the man whose writings and teachings have impacted my life in no small way further asserted:

"As for our young men, I believe that they will develop supernatural self-control to manage their raging hormones. They will do it not by their own willpower, but through Jesus' power flowing through them. They will learn how to flee youthful lusts. They will know that being 'cool' means respecting the opposite sex, and not putting themselves and their girlfriends at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and having unwanted pregnancies."

I couldn't have agreed less! That's because I see this truth at work in my life and I know it'll find practical expression in yours if you give it the chance.

To help bring this your way, I'd be glad if you could join me in this LOVE AND DATING SERIES. In all, it promises to be an exciting journey, as we shall we taking a walk through the bestselling love-book  of all ages to catch a glimpse of this REAL LOVE. We shall then, as a way of concluding, consider four precepts to help us with dating. I wish you would stick around to see this with me.

Enjoy your day.