Student Wellbeing 

Choose to love

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT) 

‘Love is a doing word. You choose to love.’

Hear that again, ‘you choose to love'. 

What a beautiful yet confronting idea. When you choose to love, you choose to overlook offence, you choose to be grateful, and you choose to put others before yourself. You choose to embrace instead of holding a grudge. You choose to be a person of peace instead of fighting to be right, for being right’s sake. You choose to remain faithful and loyal to that friend, spouse or family member, even when the going is tough. The choice to love is yours and yours alone. 

The complete opposite of this is also true. Holding onto anger, bitterness, exclusion or hurt is a choice that we make. Being jealous or filled with envy, fearful or consumed with worry is a choice that we make. Is it easy to always love? Absolutely not! Do people wound us in unimaginable ways? Of course. Do we hide the heartache behind a veneer of smiles and positive affirmations? Yes, we do. 

Life throws us curve balls. We sometimes mess up. Perhaps our perspective and worldview conditions us to react or retreat. Even so, the choice is there before each and every one of us. Choose to love. 

Who is there in your world that you can choose to love? Are there attitudes you are holding onto, or behaviours that you have that could change? Does a perspective within you need to shift? 

Love is a doing word. You choose to love.

My prayer is that you would be one who is known for loving others and that this community of faith would be a place in which the choice to love others far outweighs selfish desire and gain. May we have outward eyes to notice others and see them as God see us, as His creation, beautifully made and worthy or love, dignity, honour and respect.

Peace to You and Yours, 

Adam Wood

Director Faith Formation & Wellbeing