LOVE is a strong word.

Love –noun
1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.


It's insane how often I misuse the word LOVE. When I like someone's outfit, a song on the radio, I so quickly say "I LOVE that!". I toss the word around with little thought to what it truly means to me. Growing up my dad always said "you know LOVE is strong word". That has always stuck with me. When I was in relationships and said I love you for the first time, I knew that in that context, it was definitely a strong word. And when I sang songs like "I LOVE you Lord", I knew that was a strong word as well, but its in the day to day moments, that the word LOVE has become such a normal part of my vocabulary, as if it no longer is a word I fear to say if I don't really mean it, because of the strength the word really has.

I think if I stopped to realize what I was really feeling when I said I LOVED something, I don't know if LOVE would be the descriptive word I was going for. When I think about the way I feel about the new shoes I bought, that just yesterday I said I loved, and the way I LOVE Jesus, I think they are two very different things. It breaks my heart that I have so easily lessened the word I use to describe my feelings towards the Lord, by using the very same word to describe my new shoes. What if I praised my shoes with words like worthy, holy, almighty, etc. I wouldn't even think about it, because those are the words I use to describe my Lord and Savior! So why would I discount LOVE as a word with the same strength as those?

What does love really mean to you? Is it just another word in your vocabulary or is love a strong word to you?

"I pray that your LOVE with overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return."

Phillipians 1:9-10