Dare 10

"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
Good afternoon! I apologize for slacking in the blog department. I spent all of yesterday in the hospital, which kept me from updating you on my dares, as well as my devotionals. (I actually did this dare on Saturday and never posted!) Don't worry, everything is okay...but I intend on resting as much as possible:)
So, love is unconditional. This is one of the hardest concepts to wrap my mind around. Loving someone in spite of their flaws. In spite of how they hurt you. In spite of them changing the longer you are with them. Sometimes I take for granted God's unconditional love. Almost thinking that because He is God, loving unconditionally should be easy for Him. I probably couldn't be more wrong. It must be incredibly painful to watch His children repeatedly make mistakes that harm our lives and those around us more than we will ever know. But He still has His arms open wide to embrace us when we come to Him in repentance.
God is love. The ultimate example of love. And He is always choosing to love us. Not because we deserve it, but because He chooses to. "The truth is this: love is not determined by the one being loved but rather by the one choosing to love" (Kendrick). The Bible says, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" 1 John 4:10.
When your enjoyment of your spouse, of each other, as best friends and lovers is based on unwavering commitment, you will experience an intimacy that cannot be achieved any other way. So whether or not Zane makes me crepes every morning, or sends me flowers to work, or even, God forbid, he stop communicating with me or tending to my needs, I need to be committed to him, and love him unconditionally. Make sure he knows his heart is always safe with me, even if mine doesn't feel safe with him.
Love that "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Cor 13:7) does not come from within. It can only come from God. 'The Scriptures say that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). This is God's kind of love. And thankfully-by your choice-it can become your kind of love.' But I will never learn to love unconditionally unless I leave myself open for God to teach me, and to show me how.
Dare 10: Do something out of the ordinary today for your spouse--something that proves that your love is based on your choise and nothing else. So what did I do, you may ask? I watched Harry Potter with my husband...with a smile on my face. I might detest the movies, but if Zane wants to watch them, I can be unconditionally loving for 2 1/2 hours!
Dare 9: Greet lovingly.
Dare 8: Love is not jealous.
Dare 7: Believe the best.
Dare 6: Don't be irritable.
Dare 5: Don't be rude.
Dare 4: Be thoughtful.
Dare 3: Be selfless.
Dare 2: Be kind.
Dare 1: Be patient.

--Inspired by "The Love Dare."