Idol Love
Have you ever been in love? Have you found yourself swept wide of reason, and aptly swayed by the notion of forever? I had that once; it was terrible. Well, the love itself wasn’t, but the relationship that produced—and then abandoned—that love was terrible. Not at first, but as a whole. Many mistakes were made, and lessons were learned. I’m a better, wiser man because of it. But even with my experiencing this somewhat wretched attempt at love, I find myself aching to feel something of resemblance soon. Maybe it’s the romantic in me; maybe it’s the fact that we humans crave that connection; maybe I just don’t feel like being alone anymore. Whatever that deepened desire is it crashes my conscience and calls to my heart. Love, love, love…oh, what a wonderful mess.
And even as I feel myself wanting that feeling again, I can’t help but notice the place of reverence I—and seemingly everyone else—have placed this notion of love. We see it in our movies, and read of it in our books. It’s made up to be the great corrector of our problems, and mighty concealer of our less-than-stellar qualities. Love has been constructed to be our beautiful provider of fairytales, humble yet strong in the course it shapes for our life. But what happens when love abandons us and leaves us in tears and pain? Where is the mighty promise then? Love has become the idol we allow ourselves to worship without pause, and surprised in acceptance. Love is no longer a battlefield, but rather a diatribe of unwelcomed portrayals and false advertising. We ache for this love, while disregarding the fickle nature of our priorities.
I’ve maintained that one must be fulfilled and happy in and of themselves before they can be truly content within the confines of a relationship…and even today, I hold this to be true. Yet, how are we to be content and fulfilled when we willingly raise love on its pedestal, high and revered before us? We’ve made it into the great goal of our lives, when really it’s simply a blessing from a loving Father Who desires to see us sheltered and whole in His love.
If romantic love is the ultimate achievement of our days, then we are failing in life—and in love. It’s time we brought love down from the riser we’ve placed it on, and put that same effort in to living our days as He sees fit. Love is a lovely possibility, but it’s not the end-all of our existence.
Love is a blessing—just not one we should covet so readily. One day, we may find that pixie of a feeling; but until then, we must walk on with our heart bared bright for Him, living and breathing in the grace and goodness He provides.
(You can follow my ramblings on the Twitter at @Cory_Copeland. Thank you for reading!)
Extremely wise advice. Love should be the reward, not the target. I’ve never thought about that before. I am fairly new to your blogs, but I will continue reading them if you continue writing them. Thanks for the sharing of wisdom!
Great post… It reminds me of a quote that I hold dear: “Don’t keep looking around for the right person to fall in love with. Run hard after God, and when you hear footsteps beside you, look over to see who is running beside you. He will probably be the person God has chosen for you to spend the rest of your life with- the one who will fulfill your need for human companionship and love.”
Thanks for posting this.
~Liss
A man or woman isn’t meant to complete you but rather complement you. You should be complete in Christ before getting involved with that special someone. Great post Corey
thanks
Loved this post! It is so true. And even when you “find” that love in another person and get married and are committed forever, the idolatry–if you held it before–doesn’t just go away. It remains. So that whatever you/I seek to find my security in, besides my loving Father, will fail me at one point or another. And then having already “found” the love I so desperately sought, I will then lose hope of it ever being enough. Important stuff to think about. Thanks Cory!!
This is AWESOME. Totally solid, totally true. Loved reading this, some of the meat of what you’ve learned through your experiences.
And really applicable to myself as well – something I gotta remind myself every day. Love is a gift, not an idol. Jesus is the prize.
Thank you!!
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That’s where I think a lot of us silly little humans get confused.
God is Love.
And all the emotions associated with genuine love are God.
So when we fall in Love, no matter who with, good or bad, the emotions of Love are invoked and it’s the closest to God we’ve ever felt.
And many of us hang on for dear life to that little glimpse of God, instead of God Himself.
Anywho, I was just agreeing with your post. Thanks!