This last week I posted a lot about abuse and abusive relationships. The thought kept sticking with me: this is not how it is supposed to be. Husbands and wives are supposed to love and respect one another. Neither one of them is supposed to belittle the other, demean the other, bruise the other, threaten the other.
Physical, sexual, emotional, or whatever kind of abuse. None of it is good. None of it is "True Love." It's the opposite of love. Abuse is the opposite of love.
So then I thought, if abuse is the polar opposite of love, what kind of love would be the at the other pole?
What is the best kind of love?
Some might say that service is the best kind of love. Or maybe a verbal declaration. Maybe it's priority or kindness. Perhaps it's when your spouse is faithful to you and your relationship. All of these are great answers. The world would be a lot better if everyone would give answers like these.
These are glimpses of the best kind of love, but not the complete package. Not by a long shot.
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the best love is charity. The pure love of Christ.
Whatever religion you associate with, I am sure that most of us would agree that our beliefs coincide with treating each other well, caring for each other and showing kindness.
I believe that Christ died for us and atoned for our sins and I believe that the abuse that goes on in this world is so far from what he wants for us.
This is not how it's supposed to be.
How can we live in a world where we have such a good example of love as Christ and still have people that try to degrade a fellow human being with such ferociousness? We have someone who atoned for us so that we can have eternal hope, and yet there are people who take pleasure in creating a situation seemingly void of hope.
And sometimes these abusers even claim to "love" their victim.
It's disgusting. It's humiliating. It's wrong.
This is not how it's supposed to be.
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