Tag Archives: Meaning Of Love

Rebecca Black Finds Both Fame and Rejection

14 year old Rebecca Black found instant fame and success with her internet music video “Friday,” but back at her own school, she does not feel loved.

Sure she found fame, but unfortunately, Rebecca also found a great deal of criticism.  While many people love her music, others ridiculed her so harshly that she withdrew from her school. Rejection like that hurts at the deepest level.

All of us want to find love.  We all want a relationship with others that appreciates our worth.  Unfortunately, real love is hard to find.  Many relationships start off well but end with someone being rejected.

Can a person learn to love unconditionally?  Can he experience unconditional love? What would that love relationship look like?

These questions depend on your meaning of love. God provides us with a definition of love that is selfless and more interested in serving others than being served.  God demonstrated that love for us when He sent His son into the world to show us the meaning of love: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God showed us what love is because He knew that we struggle with knowing how to love ourselves and others.  Jesus wants to take away the heartache of conditional love. He died on Calvary’s cross taking on the pain of rejection so that you could be free from the sin that separates you from God.  He offers you a loving relationship that is built on His grace.

If you know the pain caused by rejection and conditional love, begin a new relationship with God today.  It’s as simple as praying a prayer like this: “Dear Jesus, I am sorry for the wrongs I have done. I am tired of being rejected by people. I need You to accept me.  I ask for your forgiveness and choose to make Jesus Christ the Lord of my life today, in Jesus’ name. Amen.” Click here if you want to let us know you prayed the prayer.

-Bill Hennessy

 

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Risking It All For Love

Finding a loving relationship can seem like a risky business.  When you find love, you find life fulfilling and worthwhile. Everything seems tailor made for your enjoyment.  But, in order to feel loved, you open yourself up to the possibility of rejection and heartache.  You cannot find true love without taking risks.

What is love? It is finding value and satisfaction in another person to the point that you consider their needs as important as your own.  Real love demands that both people show affection and lend worth to the other.  That isn’t easy because deep inside, we want our needs met first. Real love places the emphasis on meeting someone else’s need before our own.

Unconditional love is demonstrated through selfless behavior. It risks being rejected. The person who loves unconditionally has a faith that the person receiving the love will return it. The problem is that sometimes people do not know how to love.  They do not even know what love is because they haven’t experienced it before.

The good news is that they can learn to love unconditionally.  God offers us an example of love that surpasses any other. The Bible declares that “God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.” (John 3:16 MSG)

If you want to know how to love, think about what Jesus did for you.  He put your needs before His own. He paid a debt He didn’t owe so that you could be free from a debt you couldn’t pay! You can begin a loving relationship with Him simply by acknowledging what He did for you.  Ask Him to forgive the wrong things you have done. Ask Him to become the Lord of your life. When you do, you will know true love.

What is real love? God demonstrated it for us because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!

- Bill Hennessy

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Finding Real Love


What is real love? How can I love unconditionally? When will I be loved? These are significant questions that need answers. 

Most people know they need relationships, but question how to love without the risk of being rejected. Real love does not harm.  Those who truly love model unconditional love and do not use their affection as a commodity to be traded.  Rejection is not part of love, but a cruel and manipulative tool used by those who seek control over others.

If you want to know the meaning of love, consider Jesus.  The Bible declares that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) God knew that all mankind struggles to find love. He understands our need for relationship and affection.  He offered His own Son, Jesus as the perfect example.  Jesus never sinned, but loved us so much that He bore the pain of the cross to purchase our freedom. 

What is love?  The Apostle Paul described it this way: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:9) God’s demonstrates unconditional love.  He showed us what love is by sending His own Son as a way to pay the debt of sin He knew we could never settle ourselves. 

 

If you have suffered the heartache of conditional love, consider God’s offer of true love. Jesus offers you new life and the hope of unconditional acceptance. Simply ask Him to love you and become the Savior of your life today. It is the first step toward unconditional love.

 

- Bill Hennessy

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Finding Unconditional Love

 

Unconditional love can only be found as we learn the real meaning of love.  What is love?  The meaning of love can only be discovered when we understand God's love toward us.  God loves unconditionally. He offers us a way to have a relationship with him without holding what we have done in the past against us.  

We can come to God without fear of being rejected. God understands how much we want to be loved for who we really are, not just who we try to be.  He also knows the pain of rejection.  Jesus experienced the rejection from everyone, both his friends and His enemies.  When He hung on the cross for our sins, our rejection hung on His shoulders like a weight.

What is real love?  It is that God sent His son, Jesus, to die for us and then rise again after three days in order for us to experience real love.   We can have a real relationship with Him.  He offers forgiveness and acceptance rather than rejection.  By accepting God's plan for our lives, we first learn what love is and then how to love God and other people.

God’s love is real.  It is personal.  It does not condemn us.  It is also powerful.  When we experience God’s Love, we can overcome the pain of being rejected by people.  We can learn how to love others in a way that will build them up and not hurt them.  Once we know God, we can know real love.

-Marie Hennessy
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Real Love is Not a Conditional Love

 

 

Someone has said, “The true measure of our wealth is found in our relationships.”  We all want real love.  We all hope for unconditional love.  Unfortunately, we often experience rejection because the person we hope to share life with seems unable to love unconditionally. So, what are we to do?

What is love?  How can we define it? Real love understands that no one is perfect. Real love overlooks the faults of another in order to offer companionship and share life’s ups and downs. Real love offers acceptance and not rejection. It is based on the best we see in each other, not our false expectations that demand perfection. It’s choosing to love even when we risk being rejected.

When we love unconditionally, there will always be risk involved.  Most of us do not know how to love like that. So, we need an example.  Where can we find one?  God.  In fact, John 3:16 tells us "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. 

Jesus, God’s son, knew rejection and yet showed us the meaning of love.  He loves unconditionally and offers us forgiveness for the wrongs we have done.  When we experience His love and forgiveness, we can begin to extend that same love and forgiveness to others.

If you want to know what love is, begin by asking God to love you.  Ask Him to show you how to love.  Your relationships will begin to take on a new strength and joy.

- Bill Hennessy

 

 

 

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Finding Unconditional Love

Love is an interesting aspect of life.  The word has different meanings to different people.  To some, love means that you will do whatever I ask, when I ask, and you will not hold me accountable.  To others, love means commitment, requires tangible expressions, and spontaneity.  We each hold an ideal of what love means and how it is to be expressed.  For example, the basic story is this: Boy and girl meet.  Boy and girl fall in love.  Boy and girl get married and live happily ever after.  Unfortunately, the reality is that this story is much more complicated.  Relationships often involve rejection as the two involved have different opinions as to what love is.

Thankfully, love is more than a feeling for feelings can change quickly.  Living solely by your feelings does not teach you how to love or the true meaning of love.  Love starts with feelings and feelings must be alive and thriving in a relationship.  But, the foundation for real love is unconditional love.

In order to love unconditionally, you must place the one you love first.  That person takes priority.  The primary example of perfect love is God the Father.  John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  God loves us so much that He gave us His very best; His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.  We express our love to others by giving them our very best.

The One who can give you real love, the One who can teach you how to love, the One who loves unconditionally is Jesus Christ.  He loves you so much that He gave His life to pay for your sins.  It is because of this expression of His love that we are reconciled with God the Father.  John 15:13 describes His love for you in this way, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
So, imagine what would happen if both the boy and the girl in a relationship loved each other as Jesus loves them!  I Corinthians 13:4-8 describes it this way, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”  That is unconditional love!

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