I attended a beautiful wedding this weekend and weddings always bring up a mixed bag of emotions for me, as I’m sure they do for you too.

Young love, like the love displayed in weddings, is so often full of fresh innocence, passion, and allegiance.  Most often, the stuff that clouds our view of the other person hasn’t yet come into play and we are existing in the wonder of Great Expectations.

Then life happens. And our once ‘great expectations’ ebb and flow when trials come our way that we hadn’t foreseen, annoying habits surface that we hadn’t anticipated, or perhaps the unexpected challenges that come along with being a part of an entirely new family dynamic rear up and take center stage. Yep, that is the real stuff that comes along with love! Humph!!

One thing I know without a doubt is that if God isn’t at the center of our life and our love, our so-called love tank will be running on empty as soon as the honeymoon train leaves the station and it will be a constant uphill battle from there.

Even so, love at any age is challenging. That’s a fact. And most of us have lived long enough to experience all different types of love. In the simplest forms, we have four Greek terms that describe these facets of love: Eros—romantic love. Philia—friendship love. Storge—familial love.  And Agape—God love.

Each one carries with it a weight heavy enough to hang a horse. Why? Because love is so often complicated and messy. Even our relationship with God—because we are human—can be messy in that His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9) which can be painful and confusing to us, hence messy!

This week I want to encourage you to explore your experience with love in all the facets you can stand, and take some time to unpack your personal biology of love. Take a look at the pattern that follows love relationships including a passion for the object of our love (God or others), connection (emotional intimacy), and a particular posture of commitment.

Taking these aspects of a love relationship into play, where do you excel and where do you fall short? In other words, what is your Achilles heel when it comes to love?

Do you often bail when commitment comes knocking? Perhaps your passion is like a run-a-way train that is out of balance? Or maybe vulnerability is difficult and you find it painful to connect on an emotional level deeper than the weather outside?

Whatever your weakness, God has some help for you. After all, He designed you to love and be loved.

Truth be told, I’ve always been a big proponent of balance but I’m not sure that it applies when it comes to God’s view of love. He calls us—commands us actually—to love and to love hard.

We are to forgive in excess (Matthew 18:22) which can only be explained by love.

We are to lay down our life for our family and friends (John 15:13) which can only be explained by love.

We are to accept the love of a Holy God in spite of our sin and unloveliness (John 3:16) which can only be explained by a love beyond our imagination.

Our verse for this week is calling us to a deep and uncommon love in that the type of love God has designed us for is one that covers a multitude of sins! Think about that for a moment. Do we practice this type of uncommon love? The kind that forgives, sacrifices, and accepts at all costs?

Where love is a choice, uncommon love is a command. It may not always feel like loving in this way is an honor, especially when our expectations have been tainted by the culture we live in. But rest assured, God’s way of love fulfills the greatest of expectations. It is raw. It is real. It is honest and giving. It is sacrificial. It is beyond what our imagination can comprehend.

Go ahead, enter into His great expectations and see that His way to an uncommon love is the only way.

Reflect and Respond:

When an opportunity to love someone this week presents itself (because it inevitably will), ask God to help you to stretch beyond your normal reaction and respond in an uncommon way.

Hugs for a great week and remember, you are not alone. Be blessed with great expectations of His great and glorious love.