Where is the Love

Love is something that we all have, do, and use on hopefully a daily basis.  It was one of the foundations for Jesus' ministry.  And I'm pretty convinced that 80% of songs are about love.  It something that we can't escape, and yet sometimes its the hardest thing to find.

Lately it has become more and more apparent to me how much we don't love, how much I don't love.  There are times I will say something, and quicker than I said do I regret it.  There have been times when my brother will call and I'm not a big fan of talking on the phone in the first place, and he will call right as I'm taking a nap and I am so quick to snap at him, when in all actually I love my brother so much and I miss more than just about anything.  But I am so quick to have a bad attitude or let my sleepiness take over and become short with my brother instead of talking with him like I really want to do.

I walk around school or public places and see how rude people are to one another, how rude I can be to someone else and it honestly makes me wonder where is the love?  I want to break out and sing the Black Eye Peas song and dance around, but at the same time I ponder it.  I typed into Biblegateway.com the word love and it brought up over 686 references in the Bible.  Google brought up over 1.8 trillion responses.   Really?  1.8 TRILLION and yet there are days that go by and I don't see love once? The Bible talks about it all the time, and I don't see it?

This is so hard for me to come to terms with.  I don't see love, I didn't show love, people don't love.  What are we coming to?!?!  To me that means that I don't see Jesus, I didn't show Jesus, and people don't have Jesus.  Jesus and God are Love, and yet its missing. 

Around the start of the semester I started unknowingly at first, but then started purposefully giving a compliment to anyone that I came into almost direct contact with.  Wait, let me clarify, strangers that I came into contact with.  Something as simple as telling the lady that gave me my lunch that her hair was pretty or I like the design on her nails.  This is so much fun and uplifting to do!  I saw people perk up when they heard.  I saw them in shock because they aren't used to someone saying something nice to them.  Saying "thank you ma'am/sir" has had people giving me weird looks because they aren't used to kindness or gratitude for their low paying job. 

We are a society that is built to love, thrives on love, wants to love, and yet, its lost.  A lot.

I love the song by Nada Surf, which was also remade by Addison Road, "Always Love."  This song is key.  In it, it says, "always love, hate will get you every time."  I don't think there has been one time when someone has shown me an act of love that I haven't felt better after.  My mom shows me some of the best love.  I don't think the love my mom gives me is ever resented.  It feels so good to have her love.  It feels good to be loved by anyone.  It feels good to love someone else.  It's an all around good feeling.

I hope you understand that I am totally guilty of this, and I need to stop and think about the love I'm showing to people or not showing to people.  I need to embrace the act more often and show it more, reflect the amazing love I receive unto others.  I need to love more.  Cause when it comes down to it, I get wrapped up in the negative that life is throwing my way, and I forget to love everyday. 

An act so simple, a word so short, and yet its so often forgotten. 

Who loves you?  Who do you love?  When will you show love?  These are the questions that I need to repeat and answer daily so that I remember how important and impacting it is to me.

When I went to see a friend up in Northern California we went to his church and sang a song that simple said "Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me."  And it's right.  God's love never fails, never gives up, and never runs out on me.  I'm not saying that I can be God, but I can do my best to try and show the best love I can to others.  He did it, why can't I?