“Wuv…Twu wuv will fowow you foweva…so tweasure your wuv.”
I’m probably one of the few people who does not particularly believe in the idea of ‘love at first sight’, but I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for those Hallmark movies that make it seem so realistic and possible to achieve. For the longest time, I had in my mind that somehow, someway, I would fall in love in one of the ways that I had seen on so many Hallmark movies. Eventually, that idea fizzled out and I began to give up on the idea of ‘Love at first sight’ and even on the idea of ‘True Love’. The result of that caused me to turn my focus not just to my school work at the time, but my responsibilities as one of the spiritual leaders for the Freed-Hardeman University Chorale. I began immersing myself into more in depth bible study and, at times, conversations with various people inside and outside of that group, of whom, I consider to be some of my closest friends and spiritual family. I began to realize that the more I immersed myself into studying the Bible, the less I felt the need to be receiving love, as much as I had the desire to show the love that I had gained in my heart for others. As soon as that happened I found within my heart a desire to really show others just a sampling of what the ‘True Love’ of God looked like. I started feeling more fulfilled and happier with my life than I can ever remember feeling and before I could blink twice, God sent me a blessing that, for the past 8-9 years, I can remember praying for. I would not say that my boyfriend and I are a perfect 
match by any means, but as he so eloquently put it just recently, “We may not be a match made in heaven, but we’re a match made FOR heaven!” God’s love for us is more than just ‘True Love’, its Everlasting Love.
God’s love is a never ending love that, if we give it the opportunity, will prove just that. His love is shown to us in many ways, each and every day. His love is letting us make mistakes. His love is granting us the things we ask for. His love is sometimes letting us reap the consequences of our decisions. As odd as it may seem to us, and to others who are learning about Christ, the ultimate showing of God’s love is shown to us is in scripture by letting His Son, Jesus Christ, die for us (Matthew 26-27; Mark 15; Luke 22-23; and John 18-19). Nothing and no one would ever be able to match that kind of love. Giving up your most precious possession. The thing that you hold the most dear. Letting that go, facing the world, enduring all kinds of ridicule and frustration, all because of that thing you cherished so much.
If you were not able to interpret the quote at the beginning of this, that was a quote from the movie The Princess Bride, during the wedding scene near the end. In “English” it translates, “Love, true love, will follow you forever…so treasure your love.” Yes, we will have things that we ‘love’ or really care for as we go throughout the years of our lives, but that is dangerous ground if we do not realize that the love we should really be concerned about and focused on is our True Love, Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
As followers of Christ, we understand and follow the steps of salvation; we hear, we believe, we repeat, we confess, and we are baptized. And still, under Satan’s attack and the turmoil of life, we find these same words flowing from our hearts; “Help my unbelief!” This Sunday (September 17th) we’ll be looking closing at that second step of salvation and how examine just how deeply do we believe. Take the next step on Sunday morning and join those of us who…’Believe.’