What Does "I Love You." Really Mean?

What does "I love you" really mean anyways? When a 14 year old boy tells a 13 year old girl, "I love you." is it true? When a guy looked into a woman's bright eyes and says, "I'm in love with you." is it true? When a girl feels emotionally attached to a young man, does she love him? 

Love, the true meaning of it, has been dragged though the mud and made into something cheap and easy. The word love has been misused and abused by many. "Love" today, is not what it was a hundred years ago. You can "tack on" love if you want something, you can throw it in someone's face (i.e. "I loved you!"), you can pervert and twist what it really means...

Love isn't getting butterflies when he walks into the room. Love isn't always an urge for intimacy. Love isn't what takes place behind closed doors.

Love is sacrifice.

Love is commitment.

Love is humility.

Love is Patient.

Love is kind.

"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails..." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

" ...Do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Galatians 5:13

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7 

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfect in love." 1 John 4:18

"...A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17

" For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" John 3:16

Do any of these verses sound like the "love" this culture promotes? I don't think so.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing love. I am merely calling into question the usage of the word and how shallow we have made it out to be. I'm not saying you can't love someone, I'm saying loving someone takes more than just saying so. It takes time, work, and energy.

When two people truly love one another, it is because they are willing to put in the effort it takes. It is because they realize the love with which they have been lavished by God. Only through the recognition of the Creator's love for you, can you purely bestow love upon anyone else.

Have you ever noticed how many broken families there are these days? If there was never a true heart commitment of love, there will never be a functioning family, a beautiful "love life", or a strong relationship. Think about the flip side...What if there was a true, God-given commitment? Wow. Think of the beauty there!

I have been raised to believe that you never tell someone "I love you" unless you are committed (for example, engagement) If your heart isn't backing the statement, please, just leave it unsaid. To tell a young woman that you love her before you are "all-in" (committed), would be an act of selfishness. You may think you "love" her, but do you? Are you ready to marry her? To put a ring on her finger? Are you ready to go to work every morning? To be the "bread winner"? Are you ready to have babies? Little mouths to feed? Are you ready to make big mistakes, and walk through them with another sinful being at your side?Are you willing to disagree, have fights, forgive, and be selfless? Are you willing to listen to her cry, complain, and criticize? Are you just hopping to serve and study her? Are you truly ready for the commitment "I love you" should carry on its shoulders?

Take a moment and think before you declare your "undying" love for Prince Charming. If he hasn't said it, you shouldn't say it. If he has said it, no ring in hand, not on bended knee, take a moment and think about your dearest Prince. Does he just want something from you, or does he really mean it? Does he want to spend his life with you as his wife? Does he want you because he truly loves you, or does he just want you.

Don't settle for the cheap form of emotional, selfish, indulgence ("love"), when you can have the same love your Creator is offering you. He loved you so much He died for you (John 3:16)! Please, please, please, don't walk away shaking your head, hurt and confused! If you have any questions, concerns, or thoughts, don't be shy about sharing them! I would love to hear from you!


If you have any prayer requests, please visit the "Prayer Request" page on this blog. I will pray for you personally or (if you so desire, and only if you desire) with my family. I have been asking the Holy Spirit to teach me how to pray. It has been such a beautiful journey folks! I would like to be intentional about praying for whoever would ask...


With a heart that cries out to truly be able to love you for you,


~ Rachel S.

White Knuckles

     Holding everything with an open hand is hard, I have to admit. There are so many things I am tempted to grasp in a "white knuckled" death grip (if you know what I mean!). I tell myself that it is my right to hold tightly, to never let go. To be honest, I am fibbing to myself. I have no right at all to be breathing at this very moment, except through the blood of Christ who died on the cross. I don't have a right to the clothes on my back, the chair I am sitting on, or to the bed I sleep in every night. The only right I have, is a right that has been given me by the Almighty. Salvation.

     So...what use is there in trying to hold onto the things that never belonged to us in the first place? Everything you see around you is a gift from God. You have been blessed with life, a body, and a chance to glorify your Creator. What will you do with it? Will you choke out life by holding it too tightly? Will you write your name and ownership on every good gift given to you by Christ?

     As humans, we tend to take possession of what is given to us. We have a "hide and protect" mentality when it comes to the good things in life, don't we? What good is there in hiding and protecting what isn't ours to keep? What joy is there in fight against the One who gives and takes away?

     Think about the people in your life. They have also been placed there by God. Will you hold them as if you own them? Or will you say, "Lord Jesus, thank you for this person. Thank you for placing them in my life, and blessing me through them. God, I pray that you would allow me not only to be willing to give you my life, but also to be able to freely give you them as well. Lord, you give and you take away, and I accept this."

     Say, in a relationship, it is easy to pin everything on emotion and feelings, right? Don't follow your emotions, they ebb and flow. Follow the Almighty, knowing that He has you (and everything He has given you) in the palm of His hand. Don't wrap your heart completely around someone whom God has not "given" you. Hold true to the relationship, but even tighter to Christ. If you set your heart on Him, you will not be disappointed. If you set your heart on man, you are going to find yourself picking up the broken pieces. I'm not saying you should never trust anybody, or love anyone, but rather you should look first to Christ for love. For you are only truly able to love because He first loved you.

     Hold loosely the things that God may take away, know it is always for your good. Open up your hands and offer Him everything. Open your heart and hand Him the key. Learn to cherish the blessing God has placed in your care, but be willing to give them up, knowing that they were never yours to keep.

     Remember, the only right we have, was given us by the Almighty. We have Salvation, and it is our very own, through the blood of Him who died.


"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." ~

Jim Elliot

Asking for Prayer

Dear friends, family, acquaintances, and readers, 

     I have come here to ask you for prayer. I did not know a better way to get the word out, so I figured I would tell all of you (or shall I say, ask all of you) to be praying for the people in India who will feel, see, and endure effects from the cyclone. We have a dear brother in Christ, William, who has asked for prayer, as he is sure to see the damage from the storm (if it is to reach him). He asked that we pray for all the Christians who will have to weather the storm in places not fit for protection. He also asked that we keep the whole of his ministry (CSI ministries) in prayer at this time.

     Thank you all for your support! To God be all glory, and from God all salvation!

Blessings Always,

~Rachel S.

Broken, Weak, and Weary = A Good Place to Be

     Do you ever feel tired out and just plain spent? Your worries seem to loom like a gathering storm and you are not sure how you're going to stay dry when the storm clouds break. It seems like you are constantly stuck between two boulders that never budge. Every little thing seems to irritate you, give you a headache, or set you in a bad mood. Dirty socks on the living room floor (the culprit to be left un-named), five loads of laundry calling, "fold me!" on the couch, a fridge with a sticky puddle of goop on the top shelf (that has been there for who-knows-how-long), and a newly scrubbed front porch with artistic puppy paws stamped across it in lovely red mud (oh, I love you Phoebe, I love you Addie, but I just don't like you right now!!!)...these are the things aren't they? The things that tend to drive us me crazy.
     I don't know about you, but a deep breath (a big sigh of "oh great" or "not again!") is sure to follow when these things pop up (*note*: seemingly all at once). I am tempted to grab a handful of hair and run out of my house screaming...but that would not be completely in character, and...yes, it would be rather scary!
     Sometimes I can look around, see everything that is wrong, and still stand tall, knowing that God will give me the strength to get through my day. Nope, I don't even have to worry about tomorrow. All I need to do is glorify God through the work He has given me to do in the here and now. And trust me, I am not always going to glorify Him! I will stumble and make Him sad. I can take comfort in the fact that He is teaching me every second of every day, in every circumstance, trial, and pain. He is watching me and keeping me, holding me, and weeping over me. What more can I ask for? He loves me. Will a crumb covered kitchen counter, or a yucky over-filled trash can change that? No. Will the finger smudged windows or the washer full of two-day-old wet laundry take away from that? Never.

     Don't ever believe that you are any less to Him or He is any less to you because the world has tried to overwhelm you. There is a hope beyond a hope beyond a hope for you! He is hope itself.

     Please, don't grab a handful of hair and run out of your house screaming! Grasp the horns of the altar and lay it all at to foot of the cross. As spent, tired, and worthless as you feel, you are a beautiful sight my friend. You are right where God wants you. Right where He can work and love on you the most. When you are broken, you will be put back together. Some things cannot be fixed until they are broken. Once they are broken, they can be re-shaped and re-made into something whole and beautiful. Don't look at this weariness as a bad thing. Look at it as a tool that God is using to break you, and re-make you. He cares enough to use these little things (dirty socks, snotty noses, and stained t-shirts) to change you. What a thought!

     God bless you all!


With love,

~Rachel Rose