In some ways, I am an incurable romantic. I don’t care for realism in movies; I just want everyone to live happily ever after. I want the good guys to be noble and honorable, and the bad guys to see the error of their ways, becoming good guys themselves. I am easily moved to tears, especially over sweet things. I am grateful God made us to experience romantic love, and I enjoy the realities of romantic love in a God-ordained relationship. Then again, the large emphasis of romantic love on Valentine’s Day continually makes me think about how incomplete this form of affection simply is.
But there is A SMALL problem
The issue is that romantic love is grounded primarily in feelings and emotions, yet the fullness of love goes so much deeper. True love is undeterred by the absence of outward beauty, and does not seek to simply feel good. The fullness of love does not seek to receive, but delights in giving something desired or needed. True love is not dependent on love being reciprocated. Instead, it is selfless and sacrificial. The fullness of love is not so much a feeling (though feelings do accompany such love), as it is a way in which life is lived toward one another. Concerning the fullness of love, it is said,
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.