Anyone who reads this blog(precious few, and gems all of you!) or speaks with me at any depth, knows that I am being strongly influenced by a book titled Work of Love. Now I won't laden anyone with details, but one of the main points is that love is a duty. Love is to be chosen actively. This idea thrills me. We choose to love. I choose to love you. As best I can at any rate. At my wedding(in a galaxy far,far away) the preacher will command us to love one another. Much like similar commands in Deuteronomy and Matthew. Love is a duty. It doesn't 'happen'. That is attraction's job, love comes later, usually beginning with some sort of temporary lowering of ego boundaries(i.e. you are reallyyyy nice. Really, really nice). This is temporary, and when this 'in love' experience fades you must choose to love. Otherwise the relationship is over. What other reason do you need to choose love and do it as a duty? Duty is poo-pooed by some as too rigid to contain love, but is the love of a father or mother too rigid to love his children because he loves his children by doing his duty to provide for them? Get to it folks!
Choose love or die. Relationally. And as my cousin Jeremy Foster says so often, "Life moves at the speed of relationship." Stop standing there.
