Love is Sacrifice

My class has been studying Romeo and Juliet and I think of the the amount of sacrifice they are willing to make for each other. Without thinking about the double suicide, consider what Romeo and Juliet are willing to do. Names meant everything and both children were willing to leave their legacy and financial well-being as well as the lives they knew in order to be with each other.

Reading this play has made me consider the nature of love and what love is supposed to look like. Love is sacrifice. Love can only be measured in my willingness to put the one I love ahead of myself. If my wife Mandy and I seek our own interests exclusively, then our marriage will be tumultuous at best. We would continue to argue and look to prove our own points and get our way. Love says "I care more about you than I care about myself." The amazing aspect of love is this: when we love sacrificially, we are so much more satisfied than if we love only ourselves.

I also have considered love with my 7 month old son. Hearing your child cry can be a difficult experience, but Mandy and I have learned that letting him cry sometimes can be the best thing for him. Yes, it hurts, but if we want what's best, then we are willing to deal with a little pain on our part.

The ultimate example of this love is Jesus. Romans 5:8 says: "God shows his great love for us in this; while we where still sinners, Christ died for us." Christ shows us true love in that he was willing to sacrifice his life for our sin. We are the recipients of the greatest love of all time.

Our culture throws the word love around all of the time, yet I wonder how much we really understand the type of love God shows us and the type of love we should show each other.

Love is sacrifice. Until we understand this truth, we cannot truly love others or experience the love God has for us.