People are fascinated with love stories.  Just think about entertainment: 90% of song lyrics, and 90% of movies are about love.  Humans crave and desire love… or at least the idea of it.

The problem is, the majority of people have a false idea of what love really is.  I don’t pretend to be an expert on the subject by any means, but I do feel I’ve learned a lot about it over the years.

Not everything you read or see on TV is reality.  When UberFacts tweets that it only takes 0.01 seconds to fall in love with someone, that ought to be your first clue that “Facts” are not always Facts.  Or when you watch a movie and see a couple “fall in love” simply because they had a whopping 3 glorious dates, you might want to be careful or you’ll start to believe you’re in love with the guy/girl you just met last week.

Part of the problem might also be the fact that we only have one word in the English language for love.  I can say that I love my family, and I love the Chicago Cubs, but they obviously have very different meanings.  Over time, however, a lot of people will water down the word love and use it constantly as if it has no real meaning.

One of the most popular TV series’ of our time is “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”.  Talk about “fake” love.  I could be wrong, but I believe only 1 or 2 of the couples in the history of these shows have ever stayed together.  The main reason: It’s not reality.  I feel like anybody could fall for anybody if they were given non-stop luxurious and Hollywood driven dates.  I mean who cares if the person is also dating 10 other people at the same time, right?

What happens when the cameras are turned off, and a normal life begins?  What happens when problems and challenges arise?  The feeling of “I didn’t sign up for this!” sets in quickly.  And unfortunately, that false sense of love happens each and every day across the world.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with people watching the show.  I will even admit that I have watched the show from time to time.  It can definitely be entertaining.  We just have to be careful how we let it affect our view of what love really is.  If you are a fan of the show, keep enjoying yourself!  But make sure you don’t let a Hollywood worldview overtake your own thought process.

Here’s what love REALLY is:  A choice.  It’s not a feeling.  It’s not an emotion.  It’s not something that consumes your every thought.  It’s all about choosing to live your life for another.  Feelings and emotions are like weather.  They come and go.  But true love never fails.  True love lasts a lifetime, and doesn’t run away when things get tough.  When you make your wedding vows, you are signing the dotted line as a covenant to each other.

I believe the greatest love was shown to us when Jesus Christ laid down His life for ours.  The Church is His bride.  As our bridegroom, I doubt He always felt all warm and fuzzy towards us when we were letting Him down.  But He still chose to sign the dotted line…. on the Cross.  He showed us what surrender and sacrifice were all about.  The media will tempt you into thinking love is only about feelings.  It’s so much more than that.

The cross is proof.