Four hundred and fourteen million people have used the Google search engine this month to search on this one word – LOVE. To put this in perspective, that's a lot more than people searched for the words God, happiness, Mohammed, peace, Barak Obama, Gucci, Coca Cola, Angelina Jolie or Apple iPad.
![desert-flower-by-zuf1-flikr.jpg]( "desert flower by zuf1, flikr")
Here's what that tells us. People are searching for love. Not only are they searching for love but they think someone out there can tell them how to find it. Here's a question then. If they had found love, would they still be searching for it? Nope. Do you keep looking for your car keys once you have found them? No, that would be a waste of time. You don't go looking for something you already have.
So why is it so hard to find love? You can bet that these people (and I include myself) have known love in some shape or form. They have all had or have either families, friends, lovers, husbands or wives and/or children. Some of them will have attended Church since they were young, others may be Ministers, Doctors, firefighters, teachers, florists or soldiers. They have all had some experience of love. And yet they are still searching.
This is what love is. ‘ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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. Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.'1 Corinthians 13 v4-7, NIV
How many people do you know who love like that? Or more likely love like that some of the time? Does your family love like that? Do your friends? Does your partner, husband or wife? Does your church? Do you? Do I? The truth is it's really hard to love like that. We are born into a world which loves imperfectly, very often love is associated with performance. Quite often love is used to manipulate, control or abuse. Every time love is misused in a person's life, there is a direct impact on how they in turn are able to love. And that's why so many people are still searching for it.
The hardest thing for someone who has received sometimes very imperfect love to know is that God loves them unconditionally and perfectly. That His love does not seek to harm but to heal, does not seek to control but to free, does not seek to criticise but to affirm. But that my friends is both where the search for love starts and ends. In His arms. He is the only One who can deliver us from the love story that we inherit. He is the only One who can help us write a brand one.
Here's a prayer for today: Dear God, here is my imperfect love story (pause a while to give Him all of the difficult, confusing or harmful parts). Please take my story and help me to write a new, better one. In Jesus name, Amen.
He is Love and He will always believe in YOU.
