We live in a generation where love can easily be measured by access.
How quickly someone replies. How much they know about you. How much of your time they get. How far you are willing to go for them. Sometimes, we even confuse being constantly available with being genuinely loved.
But biblical love was never meant to be measured by how much access someone has to us.
Love has purpose.
It has sacrifice. It has patience. It has purity. It has commitment. It knows when to stay, but it also knows when something is no longer healthy or aligned with
God's will.
That is why not everything that feels like love actually brings us peace.
Some connections leave us anxious. Some relationships make us lose ourselves. Some people want access to our hearts without taking responsibility for caring for them.
And maybe that is why we need to stop asking only, “Do they love me?”
We should also ask, “Does this love bring me closer to God?”
Because love that is rooted in God should not constantly pull us away from Him.
Real love does not demand that we compromise our values just to keep someone. It does not make us prove our worth by giving more and more of ourselves. It recognizes that a person's value is not determined by how much access they can give to someone else.
Sometimes, loving someone means being present.
Sometimes, it means forgiving.
Sometimes, it means letting go.
And sometimes, it means setting boundaries because we understand that our hearts, our peace, and our relationship with God matter, too.
Setting boundaries does not necessarily mean we love someone any less. It can mean recognizing that love must be accompanied by wisdom, respect, and responsibility.
The world may tell us that love means giving someone everything. But God teaches us that love must have purpose, guided by truth, grace, and wisdom.
This Sunday, perhaps we can pray for a different kind of love.
Not the kind that simply feels intense.
Not the kind that only seeks attention or access.
But the kind that is patient, intentional, pure, sacrificial, and centered on God.
A love that respects boundaries, encourages growth, strengthens faith, and brings out the goodness God has placed within us.
May we learn to love others without losing ourselves, to care without compromising our values, and to give without forgetting that we, too, are worthy of care and respect.
Because love was never supposed to empty us of who God created us to be. It should help us grow into the people He calls us to become. 🤍
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:4
