Love requires sacrifice. Or at least a willingness to prefer the other person before your own wishes and desires. This is specifically what scripture states. Love does not seek after its own, and love does what is in the best interest of the other.

Too often , however, love has become a meaningless emotion, not backed by a solid commitment to the other. Self seeking interest, interested only in what makes “me” feel good.

But if we are very honest, we realize that most couples come into a relationship to meet a need inside of themselves. This met need gives each one a nice feeling which is then misunderstood for love. But this is just the chemical feel good response that comes from having our holes filled. It is not , you see the love that is spoken of in scripture. It is not the love tested by fire, the fires of life and struggle. This type of love takes years of commitment to one another. Placing our needs second to the needs of the other.

But this type of love cuts against the culture that we live in. even current Christian thought that states that we have to our needs fulfilled by the other and we have the right to demand this. Well we don’t

What we do have is the command to do what is the best interest of the other. Sometimes this means we must confront our mate with their sin. It is not a love of self protection, but a love that risks itself to bring the other into a right relationship with God and into right behavior that is pleasing to God.

Gods love is all of this. He is willing to discipline and correct those that he loves. He has no thought of Himself when He sacrificed himself for us. He knows that He is loved by His father, and this knowledge enables him to stand against the unloving assaults against Him. When we know that we are loved by our Lord, we can forgive the mistreatment by others. This is how it works in all of our relationships and knowing that we are loved enables us to love others without conditions.