Love, to me, is like riding a roller coaster. When you first encounter a roller coaster you have never been on before you are filled with excitement, wonder, amazement, and even a little scared. You agree to get on the ride, and the attendant helps you with the restraining device. The ride starts moving and you get a half smile on your face simply because you really don’t know what you are in for, and then comes the first hill.
At the top of the first hill is the least scary moment of a ride, but seconds later you will be screaming your head off, hanging on to that restraining device as if your life depends on it, and in reality, it does. There are twist and turns and ups and downs and tunnels of darkness, and even loops that can change your perspective, and it is about then you say to yourself, what was I thinking? You ride, you hang on, you go through all that commotion and then you are back into the station. The ride stops. It is time to get off. You stager to the exit, the contents in your stomach have been shaken, not stirred, and you certainly feel it, yet what do you proclaim out loud, “I want to ride it again!”
In a dating relationship one can certainly get off the ride, but there are some coasters you ride till death do you part. Now that would make an interesting sign above the entrance to a coaster. My kids and I love coasters. There was one Saturday at Six Flags Great America the park wasn’t too busy and we rode 40 times on roller coasters. The last coaster of the day we stayed on continuously for 16 times. We, as humans, are addicted to love. We like it, we want it, we crave it, and we need it.
The past couple of days I have listened to people on TV try to say what love is. None of them, even the ones with “PHD” after their names even came close. Real love is as described in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, and it takes this kind of love to stay in any relationship, from friends, to coworker, to family, and to spouse. Let me list a few here:
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. (NIV)
The real test to see if you are love is to replace the word “love” in the above section and insert your name. You can certainly insert the name of Jesus in there, for we know He is love. So if you are currently in any relationship let love be your restraint, and hang on.
brady, mark a. 