February 14, 2023

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

Dear Friends,
I looked up meaning of Agape Love, the highest form of love/Unconditional Love to share with you today.
Valentine’s Day usually is about romantic love which is wonderful, however real LOVE or Agape Love is more than that.
Agape Love is the love GOD has for all of us, pure, whole, unconditional and forever. That is the LOVE we as human beings strive for in our own personal lives for God and with our family, friends, colleagues and even strangers. Before we know what unconditional love is, we need to know what it is not.

Conditional love is about control. We are happy when a person does what we want or meets our expectations. This is similar to when our computer
runs well and we can do everything we need to do. However, when it shuts down or the mouse stops working etc. we get frustrated and possibly angry
because it isn’t doing what we want it to do. This type of relationship with people is damaging, hurtful and unhealthy.
It is a ‘I love you when you do what I want’ relationship.

What is unconditional love?
“The term unconditional love does not mean love without limits or bounds. It means, “I offer you my love freely without condition.”
This means that when we offer our love, we offer it without expectation of return or repayment. It is important to offer this type of unconditional
love in our relationships, otherwise, we are offering love with “strings attached.”
This creates power and control imbalances.
Unconditional love means loving someone through hardships, mistakes, and frustrations. In fact, it is what every meaningful, lasting relationship is made of.
When we enter relationships with other people, we are entering relationships with another human being—a person full of quirks and flaws and challenges.
And we also show our own quirks and flaws and challenges.
One of the most beautiful experiences in human life is learning to lean into the tension of those challenges by offering connection, love, and understanding
and by accepting influence, creating compromise, and moving forward in a way in which both people win.”
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/understanding-unconditional-love

I would also like to add, Unconditional Agape LOVE means loving those who “hate and despise you.” Jesus the Christ says in Matthew 5:43-45:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ‘ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that
you may be children of your Father in heaven.”
This is the most challenging LOVE of all. When we can FORGIVE others for what they may or may not have done to us, we are experiencing Agape Love.
Forgiveness is beneficial not only for the person we are forgiving, but is absolutely beneficial to us.
“Research tells us that the parts of the brain that light up during unconditional love are similar to those involved in romantic love and maternal love and are
linked to the brain’s reward system. This suggests that unconditional love may be rewarding without receiving anything in return.
Research has found that giving and receiving love plays a vital role in psychological well-being.”
https://www.verywellmind.com/does-unconditional-love-make-for-healthy-relationships-4165457

Loving You,                                                                                                                       Abigail and Steve