To be Loved by one who has their heart wholly given to God is to be Loved with the Love of Christ.
As secure as a mouse curled up in a hole, we feel wanted and treasured.
There is no fear of reproach or rejection – we can boldly come into those open arms.
Constantly lifted up, heart, mind, spirit soaring above the chaos below,
There is the greatest strength imaginable in the unity of shared, holy Love.
There is no fear in Love; but perfect Love drives out all fear.
Laughter can be heard ringing out clearly, in purity of heart.
Whatever transpires, the rock of true friendship is immovable,
For it is eternal, everlasting and it changes not.
It bears the same characteristics as the Love from the Lord.
To be “loved” by one who does not acknowledge God is to be loved with a counterfeit love.
Control and manipulation send out mixed messages that deceive and confuse.
As unsettling as a boat on a stormy sea, such a relationship causes anxiety to breed.
Continually pushed down, body, soul and spirit are crushed beneath its weightWeak and tormented, the fissures of uncertainty run deep into the heart.
To be the recipient of such “love” is to be bound by fear
How can we truly love another when we are afraid of them?
Never knowing how we will be received as earthly passions rule the day,
We are timid and unsure and try not to disturb the equilibrium.
Aware that pride, self-seeking and insecurity is the basis from which the “love” is bestowed.
The Love of Christ and the counterfeit of human love are like the opposites of day and night.
For Love is as strong as death; jealousy is as hard and cruel as Sheol.
One draws and one repels; one encompasses and one distances.
To be “loved” by one hindering our spiritual growth will, if we let it, sap our energy and drag us downwards,
But to be Loved by a kindred spirit hand-picked by the Lord is a blessing tantamount to heaven on earth!
Glenn H Jackson
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a The Amplified Translation:
Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
It is not conceited [arrogant and inflated with pride]; it is not rude [unmannerly] and does not act unbecomingly. Love [God’s love in us] does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].
From the heart of a father 