Love is Always an Encounter Before its a Decision

I read a Donald Miller blog years ago where he wrote about how his blog is the first sounding board to the book he is writing. I liked that and am endeavoring to do the same. Right now I am thrilled to be writing about our identities as sons and daughters of an always good and loving Father.

Over the coming months and probably years, I will post thoughts here. For me, I know I have something when I can communicate it in a way that releases life. That’s my heart; so if something I write seems harsh or off the wall, love me enough to tell me. I may disagree with you but I wont bite. Please know that I am writing opinions and suggestions.

Below are some thoughts that God is working in me regarding becoming love – which is really what this breathing oxygen is all about…in my opinion…

Love is Always an Encounter Before its a Decision

Love is always an encounter before it’s a decision. The encounter is the point, if its not, the decision to love can never be made. We love because He first loved us. Our love is a response to an encounter with His love. From our encounter we can decide to love but in all honesty, the decision to love is not the goal of a believers life, it’s the first stepping-stone to our destiny.

We were not saved by love so that we could decide to love. We were saved by love so that we could become love. If you become love, you don’t have to decide to love, its just who you are.

In many ways throughout my life, I have placed my focus on the decision to love. At these times I have almost elevated it above the encounter. What I have learned is that when I do this, I relegate, demote and dis-empower His love. A love birthed from a decision has less power to transform than a love birthed from an encounter.

I am not saying that the decision to love is bad, it’s absolutely astounding and we must perfect it. I’m simply saying that from my own experience, if I stop encountering His love, my decision to love becomes sterile. In fact, loving God or others becomes an overwhelming impossibility. I have learned that I cant fully love without first encountering His. We love because we are first loved.

I love my wife Karen, and yes, there have been moments in my life where I have not felt it and had to make a decision to love her. But that is not nor should it ever be the norm in a love relationship. As Karen and I grow in love, having to "decide" has decreased. I believe that before we enter heaven we will have so encountered love that having to make a decision to love will have long since gone extinct - at least, that's the goal, hey, its how God loves us...

I use my relationship with my wife to show what happens when two people chose to love each other like God loves. My heart here is to reveal that the power of our love is birthed in the encounter with love. If Karen and my relationship became solely about a decision, eventually we would stop having love encounters. A marriage without true love encounters is not fun and eventually deteriorates to nothing more than a legal partnership.

It’s the same with God; a relationship without true love encounters is simply religious formality. My prayer is that God would daily reveal his love to me. And not just that but also that he would give me eyes to see it and the heart to experience it...........