Learning How To Love

Yesterday I was reminded of how much I love people, and not just in the "yeah, people are pretty cool I guess" kind of way.

I was killing time in the library between classes and had gotten so far ahead on my work for the next few days that I actually ran out of things to do- a rare occurrence for me. I was on StumbleUpon (my favorite way to procrastinate) and came across something awesome. Check it out:

Makes Me Think

I read these stories for a good half hour and found myself really moved. Some were really simple, some much more profound, but all had the same result: thought. People acting out of love for other people is certainly something that makes me think. But too often, that's where we stop.

I long for deep relationships with the people I know, but am often discouraged by their apparent lack of interest. I started to think- how can I deepen my existing relationships, while still reaching out to make new friends? I'm surrounded by truly awesome people (some I know, some I don't) and I want to let them know how great I think they are. I want my relationships to be more significant than the majority of the ones I see around campus, which are largely based on convenience.

I'm guilty of being the convenient friend- the one who leaves when the going gets tough. Or the selfish friend- the one with ulterior motives, more concerned about myself and the things I want than caring for a friend.

But I'm called to be different. I'm called to be the friend who loves unconditionally with the love of the glorious God I serve.

I learned a long time ago that one of the most effective ways to love someone is to serve them. In our backward society, it's weird for someone to go out of their way to do something nice for someone else. If I want my relationships to be different, I need to approach them in a new way. Instead of loving people because they're my friends, I want my friendships to stem from love. If in the first place I can show someone that I love them for who they are and love remains my primary motivation, there's no doubt in my mind that an awesome friendship will form.

My goal is to go out of my way to bless someone every single day. I'm going to do things that make me uncomfortable. I want to push the boundary of "normal". In my lifelong journey toward becoming more and more like Jesus, I'm learning how to love more fully. And while up to this point in my life I've allowed other people's resistance to real relationship get in the way of my love for them, I'm not going to let it stop me anymore. I'm going to look for ways to bless the people in my life, regardless of how uncomfortable it may make either of us.

The truth is, we all long for deep relationship. We were made for it. I'm pursuing deeper relationships by loving people as much as I can and believing that God will open doors so that my friends can experience the transforming love of Jesus. I'm learning how to love.